2 months ago
![Photo by SADiE SiMON on September 17, 2026. May be an image of text that says 'M[A]Y the rose โข of. england never bud bud the thistle of scotland never grow the harp of ireland never play till i poor convict gain liberty my'.](https://scontent-sjc6-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.82787-15/813817811_18072553778724737_4052859203537834232_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_e35_p720x720_tt6&_nc_cat=102&ig_cache_key=Mzk4ODM1OTA3MDk3NTg4Mjg4Mg%3D%3D.3-ccb7-5&ccb=7-5&_nc_sid=58cdad&efg=eyJ2ZW5jb2RlX3RhZyI6IkNBUk9VU0VMX0lURU0ueHBpZHMuMTA4OC5zZHIucmVndWxhcl9waG90by5DMyJ9&_nc_ohc=UwjSn5vG1eMQ7kNvwF3KPkM&_nc_oc=AdpYGAkscIxCkOoxYsAPQJJPnJ4ssHDq66sqzV-kz-qqcS-Nfci_Nr1lB6kx76KxduX0bkwDS-ylkR4NEC2NzDO9&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-sjc6-1.cdninstagram.com&_nc_gid=xgGfOFkxwotEQkRhDYx-8w&_nc_ss=70580&oh=00_AQT9nU70w45OlT7ccdY_tLw4sZpdXIuIJjeJy-qPcw5gJQ&oe=6AF2BF62)
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Posted On: September 17th 2026, 06:44 pm
crying in my studio ๐
These love tokens were made by convicts and given to their dear ones as mementos. Something to hold onto, to see, to feel, and to be connected through wherever in the world they may be.
One of my family members, Matthew, was transported from Ireland to Australia in 1828 for the crime of cow stealing. The ship, the Mangles, was built in India by a company that bears the name of another part of my family. It was used for penal transportation and British East India Company trade.
Sitting here now, I wonder if Matthew left any tokens or mementos behind, especially for his daughter. He and his wife lived out the rest of their days in New South Wales, while his daughter remained in Ireland and eventually immigrated to Canada.
These stories of love and loss (as Sunder John Boopalan calls them) are so intimately intertwined with histories of colonization and empire. Why did Matthew steal a cow? Why was he sent to Australia? Why did we leave Ireland?
On some of the coins in this collection you can even see a head of state on one side and a love note on the other.
These tokens are just a few of 315 total in the National Museum of Australiaโs collection of Convict Tokens.
https://love-tokens.nma.gov.au
These love tokens were made by convicts and given to their dear ones as mementos. Something to hold onto, to see, to feel, and to be connected through wherever in the world they may be.
One of my family members, Matthew, was transported from Ireland to Australia in 1828 for the crime of cow stealing. The ship, the Mangles, was built in India by a company that bears the name of another part of my family. It was used for penal transportation and British East India Company trade.
Sitting here now, I wonder if Matthew left any tokens or mementos behind, especially for his daughter. He and his wife lived out the rest of their days in New South Wales, while his daughter remained in Ireland and eventually immigrated to Canada.
These stories of love and loss (as Sunder John Boopalan calls them) are so intimately intertwined with histories of colonization and empire. Why did Matthew steal a cow? Why was he sent to Australia? Why did we leave Ireland?
On some of the coins in this collection you can even see a head of state on one side and a love note on the other.
These tokens are just a few of 315 total in the National Museum of Australiaโs collection of Convict Tokens.
https://love-tokens.nma.gov.au
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