This exhibition is a response to the journals of Elizabeth Fenton and Mary Morton Allport. These women were early colonists of Van Diemen’s Land, arriving in 1829 and 1831. Their journals detail the daily challenges of managing households and reveal their desire to maintain their positions within the social hierarchy. The writings cover the arc of their lives from arriving in an unknown land and the challenging conditions they faced, to their eventual success as respected matriarchs of the colony.

For Elizabeth, her writing was an important way to make meaningful connections with her world. For Mary, considered to be the first professional female artist in Australia, art and music gave her both independence and fulfilment. Their journals are noteworthy for the candid way they write about the society. They reveal the contrast of keeping the societal standards up while cooking echidna stews and climbing through windows to escape less than desirable visitors.

The exhibition will also feature several rarely seen collection items including Mary Morton Allport’s papier Mache writing set, her Book of Treasures sketchbook, and Elizabeth Fenton’s original hand embroidered journal which has recently been digitised.