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In 2004 the custodians of the Female Factory Historic Site in Hobart brought the historic "Rajah" quilt to Tasmania
The Tasmanian Bicentenary Rajah Quilt Project was an event organised to showcase contemporary textile art in conjunction with the exhibition of the Rajah quilt in Tasmania as part of the State's bicentenary celebration.
The Rajah quilt, produced by women prisoners during transportation to Van Diemens Land on the ship Rajah and now held in the National Museum in Canberra, is thought to be the only surviving example of the many quilts produced under similar circumstances.
The Rajah departed Woolwich on 5 April 1841 and arrived in Hobart on 19 July 1841. On board were 180 convict women and 10 children, accompanied by Miss Kezia Hayter who had been recommended by Elizabeth Fry. All but one woman survived the voyage. The surgeon's log reported "the health of all was upon arrival in Hobart much improved and considerably better than when they embarked at Woolwich".
The Quilt was made from the "patchwork Pieces" included in the "Bag of Useful things" given to each woman. The varying skills and techniques indicate that it was the work of many hands. The finely worked inscription on this quilt, the only surviving convict quilt in Australia reads:
TO THE LADIES
of the Convict Ship Committee
This quilt worked by the Convicts of the Ship Rajah during the voyage to Van Diemens Land
is presented as a testimony of the gratitude with which they remember their exertions
for their welfare while in England and during their passage and also as a proof
that they have not neglected the Ladies kind admonition of being industrious
June 1841 |
Senior Momentum co-ordinated the creation of three large sculptural pieces inspired by the Rajah Quilt.
- Metal Rajah Quilt
- an outdoor sculpture able to withstand the storms that parallel the storms that had overtaken the lives of the convict women
- Sails and Stays
- an installation suggesting the voyage of the Rajah, a ship in full sail
- Useful Bags
- a contemporary perspective on the quilt - what would free women of the twenty first century consider useful and essential when making a journey to a remote place?
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The metal "Rajah Quilt" on show at the Female Factory Muster, Hobart, 2004
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Sails and Stays at the Bond Store, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, 2004
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Useful Bags
Materials: personally significant found objects selected by each participant, ziplock plastic bags, plastic clamps, laminated paper, two sided tape, plastic mesh
Size: width 90cm; height 148cm.
Elizabeth Fry and her committee gave every woman convict being transported to Australia a "bag of useful things" which included among other things needles, thread and two pounds (estimated to be about 10 metres) of patchwork Pieces to assist and occupy them on their journey. The fabric scraps used to make the Rajah Quilt came from such bags.
What would free women of the twenty first century consider useful and essential in similar circumstances - making a no-return journey to a remote place?
This work consists of twelve bags clipped to a large rectangle of plastic mesh. It presents a contemporary perspective on the quilt, emphasising the "filling in the sandwich" and challenging traditional materials and techniques by using ziplock plastic bags instead of textiles and replacing stitching with plastic clamps.
Each bag contains objects selected by an individual woman and reflects her specific perspective and preferences.
Made by twelve members of Limited Edition: Suzi Barton-Johnson, Janine Bowes, Jill Cartwright, Wyn Foley, Vanda Jackson, Danuta Jaques, Julia Jaques, Jennifer Line, Diana Murdoch, Gaye Oldham, Wendy Paull and Krista Sands
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