2017 John Turner Memorial Lecture: Professor Hamish Maxwell-Stewart
The University of Newcastle (UON), Newcastle City Council and the Global Newcastle Research Group present the 2017 John Turner Memorial Lecture.
Bringing the Artful Dodger to Life: Data Visualisation and Convict Transportation will be delivered by Professor Hamish Maxwell-Stewart, a highly regarded historian of convictism and a leader in the application of digital techniques to the analysis of historical evidence.
Using data drawn from 72,000 convict records, this lecture will explore the lives of the men and women transported from Ireland and Britain to Van Diemen’s Land in the first half of the nineteenth century. Data visualisation techniques will be employed to examine variations in the backgrounds of convicts born in rural and urban environments as well as the impact of forced migration to Australia on marriage, offending rates and life expectancy.
This lecture series commemorates the life and work of Dr John Turner who shared his love of history with generations of students of the WEA and University of Newcastle before his premature death in 1998. Dr Turner was one of the foremost historians of the Hunter Valley, with a keen interest in local convict history. His histories of coal mining, manufacturing, convict artist Joseph Lycett and Newcastle as a convict settlement remain essential reading for those seeking to understand the city’s foundational period.
Hamish Maxwell-Stewart is a Professor of History at the University of Tasmania. He is the author of several books including Closing Hell's Gates: The Death of a Convict Station (2008) and numerous articles on convict transportation; and has worked on a number of heritage interpretations that explore the lives of convicts transported to Australia. He has regularly appeared on both the Australian and British editions of “Who Do You Think You Are?” as well as other television programs such as Coast Australia and Tony Robinson Explores Australia.
This is a free public event, however places are limited.
The University of Newcastle acknowledges the traditional custodians of the lands within our footprint areas: Awabakal, Darkinjung, Biripai, Worimi, Wonnarua, and Eora Nations. We also pay respect to the wisdom of our Elders past and present.