Caroline Anne Forell, University of Oregon School of Law, has
published Convicts, Thieves, Domestics, and Wives in Colonial
Australia: The Rebellious Lives of Ellen Murphy and Jane New.
Here is the abstract. This Article examines the lives of two
female convicts who rebelled against the law and the Australian
penal system in the early nineteenth century. It follows Ellen
Murphy and Jane New from their first arrests through their
experiences with and exits from the penal system. As thieves,
convicts, domestics, and wives, Ellen and Jane interacted
repeatedly with the law. Both the notorious Jane (who was the
subject of a habeas corpus action in In re Jane New), and the
more representative Ellen, began thieving as young teenagers in
the teeming cities of England. The law arrested, tried, and
convicted them. Next it transported them to Van Diemen’s Land
(now, Tasmania). It then unsuccessfully attempted to manage
their lives.Download the article from SSRN at the link. The law
influenced convict women’s choices in