The deeds, misdeeds, lives and adventures of 141 convicts who arrived at Berry Park and Duckenfield have been unearthed in a new historical tome.
Titled Toil and Trouble from Maitland to Moreton Bay and written by Brian Walsh, the book reveals the story of those men and women who worked for Hunter Valley settler John Eales during their sentences.
“Eales employed many convicts in the process of becoming one of the wealthiest men in NSW through his shipping interests and his squatting enterprises on the Liverpool Plains and in what is now Queensland,” Dr Walsh said.
“The book also hints that he was a man of many parts – a tough employer, ruthless in business but supportive of loyal, hard-working convicts and prepared to negotiate with government on their behalf.”
Full article available at Maitland Mercury, Feb. 4, 2014.
