Margaret Foster Poet Rhyme

Notes About The Poem

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Mary Wade 1777–1859

 

Mary was  thought to be the youngest ever convict to be transported to Australia at the age of 11. Her hideous crime was that she stole another girls clothes and for that she was sentenced to death by hanging. Luckily for her, an issue relating to George III and his mental health meant that all the women on death row had their death sentence changed to being transported to Australia.

 

Mary sailed on the Lady Juliana, the first convict ship to carry only women and children.

 

This is only a small part of Mary’s story

 

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Sincerely yours Mary Wade

I nearly hanged, it was my fate
In seventeen eighty nine
I had stolen an old fur tippet 
And claimed that it was mine

They put me into prison
Then sent me to be tried
The verdict came back guilty
and many tears I cried

But through the grace of mad King George
came a welcome dispensation
My sentence was commuted
and I was handed transportation

The journey was horrendous.
Eleven months or more.
Till we landed in Australia
That far and distant shore 

And what this place has given me
When all is rendered down
Is a life I never would have had
In the slums of London Town.

				sincerely, yours, Mary Wade 




Transportation of convicts to Australia began in 1787 and continued until 1868. During this time, approximately 163,000 convicts were transported on 825 ships

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Beryl Edmonds January 19, 2025 at 6:21 AM A great ending to a sad story Margaret, you told through poetry Mary Wade’s tale well… Beryl Margaret Foster January 21, 2025 at 12:57 AM Thank you, Beryl, so many more were not as lucky as Mary.