The Port Macquarie Settlement, New South Wales, 1821–1847: Interconnections within Landscapes of Convict Labor and Industry

Abstract

This article explores the convict-punishment settlement of Port Macquarie on the mid-north coast of New South Wales between 1821 and 1847. Synthesizing previous and new historical and archaeological research, it identifies a range of major and minor sites of labor, accommodation, reform, and punishment within the settlement’s landscape during its period as a restricted convict prison from 1821 to 1830. From this it reconstructs the network of labor provision and infrastructure development, which we argue was not just about making the settlement economically self-sustaining, but also intended to create the framework for a transition to a “free” settlement. To this end this article also examines the ways in which that transformation occurred, with former sites of convict labor and the convicts themselves transitioning from government control to private settlers, until the withdrawal of the government infrastructure for convict management in 1847.