Convict's jacket

This convict's jacket comes from Tasmania, and dates to the mid-19th century. Its bright yellow colour, poor quality of cloth (made from either Suffolk wool or Parramatta cloth which was coarsely woven), lack of lining, and cropped cut, all mark this out as a convict's jacket.

Prisoners at Port Arthur in Tasmania wore all-yellow suits, as did political prisoners (mostly Irish), and the lowest class of convicts, particularly those on life sentences, wore yellow clothing. Wearing such a gaudy uniform would have been humiliating and shaming: wearers were colloquially known as 'canaries'.

Convicts transported to Australia were issued with distinctive clothing which enabled identification if they attempted to escape. During this period, men's dress was generally dark and sombre in colour, so the yellow of this jacket would have made an escapee easy to spot.