Convict Child – Elizabeth

 

My name is Elizabeth Haywood, I am 13 years old and very poor. I work as an apprentice shoe-maker and because I couldn’t get paid enough from working. At the end of the day, I only got around 10 pence. Because of that, I absolutely hated working there and got paid so little. So after work, I saw a lady selling clothes. I stole a bonnet and a shawl from them, hoping I could sell it to earn some money. But then, I got caught and then had to journey to Australia for 7 years, which was a horrible experience.

The living conditions on the ship were horrid as we sailed through the tropics. I was crowded on the ship with around 700 other convicts, 17 of them were children, like me. On the ship, there were cockroaches, fleas, bedbugs and so many more pests, which made me very uncomfortable. I didn’t get to eat much on the ship either and we was only allowed on deck for a couple hours a day. All the adults were also very rude, they would push me around and always ignored me. I would’ve rather been working as an apprentice shoe-maker than being here, I really wished I hadn’t stolen the bonnet and shawl.

Starving and horribly sick, I begged one of the adults for one piece of bread. He immediately responded, “Get away from me! Why would I ever give a piece of bread to someone like you?” He then pushed me away. I tried many other people, but their responses were all the same. Many hours later, we were then finally allowed on deck. I stood on the edge of the ship and  felt the cool breeze flow through my hair. Before long, we had to go back, which made me feel sick again.  Many months later, we had finally arrived in Australia.