Left to right: Peter Hughes, Janet Carding, Elisabeth Wilson, Duncan Hall
The Public Trustee, helping Tasmanians maintain control over cherished possessions for over 160 years, has discovered a piece of Tasmanian history with a fascinating convict story that will soon be shared with all, after a donation of antique colonial furniture to the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery.
Rare historic find by Public Trustee said in preparing to refurbish the Public Trustee’s office, staff found furniture that bore the iconic convict arrow stamp – a washstand and a leather-topped cedar table – and the table also carried an extremely rare convict signature.
“These items have been used in our offices for many years, possibly since the establishment of the Public Trustee in 1853, and now we have established their importance it is our pleasure to share them with every Tasmanian,” Mr Benbow said.
The barely legible signature of ‘Michael Brandreth’ led Public Trustee genealogist, Dr Elisabeth Wilson, who normally works to find next of kin for deceased estates, to dive into the State Archives, where she found more than she bargained for.
“Michael hailed from Derbyshire, where he was tried in 1830 for ‘breaking into a shop and stealing’, before being transported to Van Diemen’s Land in 1830, leaving his wife and children behind,” Dr Wilson said.
“Once he arrived, the cabinet maker and joiner was ‘appropriated’ to the King’s Yard, the government’s timberyard located at Macquarie Point. Over the years he faced charges of intoxication, absconding, absence from church and muster, and more.
“In 1833, Brandreth was sentenced to imprisonment and ‘hard labour at his trade’ in the King’s Yard and it may have been during this time that he took the bold and illegal act of signing his name to his work.”
Dr Wilson explained that the items are not part of a deceased estate, but have actually been used in the Public Trustee’s offices over the past 160 years.
“The arrow stamp tells us this furniture was government property, most likely made in the King’s Yard for a government building in approximately 1830-40, and at some stage was given to the Public Trustee after it was established in 1853.”
According to Dr Wilson’s research, Michael Brandreth went on to earn a ticket of leave and a conditional pardon in 1843, by which time he had met a woman who changed his life.
“Susan Pickup was a milliner and dressmaker who was convicted of housebreaking and arrived in 1831, when she immediately began to earn a very long conduct record with many offences for insolence, being drunk and disorderly, being found with men in her bed, being with a man in a state of adultery, conducting herself in a shameful and indecent manner, and so on,” said Dr Wilson.
“There must have been something about her though, because even though she was transported at the same time as her husband, there were five separate applications to marry her, three from Michael Brandreth himself, most of which were declined on the grounds that she was already married.
“Susan and Michael were eventually married in New Norfolk in 1846, but Michael died of tuberculosis in 1847. Susan then went on to marry again just one year later.”
The cedar table bearing Michael Brandreth’s signature will be on display at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery until Sunday, 28 February 2016.
• Vanessa Goodwin, Minister for the Arts
Historic acquisition for TMAG
Significant pieces of historic colonial furniture have been presented to the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG) by the Public Trustee.
A nineteenth century washstand and a leather-topped cedar table that carries an extremely rare convict signature and the iconic Government broad arrow stamp have been transferred to TMAG for the benefit of all Tasmanians.
The items have been used in the Public Trustee’s offices over the past 160 years and are not part of a deceased estate. The significance of the furniture was only uncovered by staff when they were preparing to undergo an office refurbishment.
The cedar table is now on display to museum visitors and is particularly significant as it is one of only two known signed pieces from this era and therefore one of the very few that can be assigned to a particular convict maker.
The convict who signed the table has been identified as Michael Brandreth and the Public Trustee genealogist, Dr Elizabeth Wilson, has undertaken some research on his story.
In 1830, at the age of 35, Brandreth was convicted of breaking into a shop and stealing. He was sentenced to transportation for life and arrived in Hobart in the same year. He was assigned to the Government’s Lumber Yard to work in his trade, cabinet making.
The historical furniture will strengthen the TMAG State Collection, which serves as a repository of Tasmania’s cultural heritage. I would like to thank the Public Trustee for providing Tasmanians with the opportunity to share an important piece of Tasmania’s colonial history.
The cedar table presented by the Public Trustee will be on display in the Central Gallery at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery until Sunday, 28 February 2016.
Vanessa Goodwin, Minister for the Arts
