Catherine McMahon - A remarkable convict woman

Irish-born Catherine McMahon was transported to Van Diemen's Land in 1849 aboard the convict ship Australasia. This meticulously researched biography follows her life before and after conviction, along with the lives of her two husbands, both also convicts.

Catherine's first husband, John Copley, a Yorkshireman convicted of sheep stealing, survived a term on Norfolk Island before meeting and marrying Catherine. After struggling for permission to marry, the couple ran a business in Tasmania before being declared insolvent and moving illegally to Victoria, where they raised a family on the goldfields before selecting land at Jallukar, near Stawell. After John's death in 1876, Catherine fought a bushfire, the Lands Department, land selection laws stacked against women, the local council and squatters to hold onto the land — and won, eventually selling it in 1888. Three years later she married her second husband, Thomas May, a fellow convict transported from Brighton at just 14 years old.

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BOOK DETAIL

• Softcover book
• 320-pages, indexed
• Illustrated with a handful of colour photos throughout.

CONDITION

Used but generally good condition. Top edge of back cover and rear few pages has been creased. Previous owner's details written in the front.

DELIVERY & IN-STORE PICKUP

• Combined Shipping: Sourcing multiple titles for your Tasmanian history library? The Book Cellar offers combined flat-rate parcel delivery across Australia. Secure your books using our online checkout, or phone the bookshop directly on 03 6381 1545 to coordinate multi-volume shipping.
• Free Instore Pickup: Located in Tasmania or travelling the Midland Highway? Select "Instore Pickup" at checkout to pay no postage and collect your items directly from the counter at The Book Cellar, underneath Foxhunters Return in Campbell Town.