ABSTRACT
There has been little attempt to examine convicts and care giving in colonial Australia from a nursing perspective for the period between settlement in 1788 and the introduction of what is known as ‘female nursing’ in 1868. The notable exception to the dearth of material is Bartz Schultz’s A Tapestry of Service; however, the study’s main shortcoming, as the author acknowledges, is the absence of critical analysis and interpretation.1 Rather it is a chronological narrative about people, events and institutions with little effort to investigate these in the light of their respective influence on the development of health care and services.2 This chapter attempts to redress some of the omissions. The account does so in that it incorporates relevant observations from other scholars, offering comment about historiographical concerns crucial to an understanding of the status and image of the convict worker in British and colonial society, particular attention being given to convict women. Thus in so doing it elaborates upon points made by Schultz and analyses the evolution of health care and the emergence of female nursing.
