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"Ducharme was among the French Canadian rebels transported to New South Wales on the Buffalo in 1839-40. He and his fellow exiles were sent to a penal settlement at Longbottom on arrival, and stayed there for some 20 months, working in road gangs. Ducharme was then assigned to Alexander George Dumas, a clerk in the office of the Principal Superintendent of Convicts, and following the granting of his ticket-of-leave, worked for himself. He was pardoned in 1844 and returned to Canada via London. His account corroborates much of what is contained in the Notes of fellow exile Francois Xavier Prieur (q.v.), but is not as personal or as detailed. Apparently written up from a journal and occasionally reverting to journal form, it deals thoroughly with the voyage on the Buffalo and conditions at Longbottom, where the Canadians were eventually able to work the system to suit themselves. It deals only cursorily with the author's time as an assigned and ticket-of-leave convict. At the close of his narrative, Ducharme includes a general description of the colony of New South Wales, including climatic conditions, agriculture and resources, commerce, wildlife and Aborigines, describing the last as 'the most stupid and most disgusting race of men in the world'" (Walsh and Hooton 55).
Source
Walsh, Kay and Joy Hooton. Australian Autobiographical Narratives : An Annotated Bibliography. Canberra : Australian Scholarly Editions Centre, University College, ADFA and National Library of Australia, 1993.
Notes
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First published in French in Montreal.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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Les exiles quebecois en Nouvelle-Galles du Sud
1984
single work
criticism
— Appears in: The French-Australian Cultural Connection : Papers from a Symposium Held at the University of New South Wales, 16-17 September 1983 1984; (p. 56-60) This is a brief account of the presence of the first Francophone group in the New South Wales penal colony. 58 Quebecois, sent to Australia as political exiles, have left their mark on the history of Sydney, and particularly in the Concord area. This paper is concerned with the three existing journals written by members of this group: Ducharme, Prieur and Lepailleur. -- Author's abstract (p. 60).
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Les exiles quebecois en Nouvelle-Galles du Sud
1984
single work
criticism
— Appears in: The French-Australian Cultural Connection : Papers from a Symposium Held at the University of New South Wales, 16-17 September 1983 1984; (p. 56-60) This is a brief account of the presence of the first Francophone group in the New South Wales penal colony. 58 Quebecois, sent to Australia as political exiles, have left their mark on the history of Sydney, and particularly in the Concord area. This paper is concerned with the three existing journals written by members of this group: Ducharme, Prieur and Lepailleur. -- Author's abstract (p. 60).
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Quebec,
cCanada,cAmericas,
- Sydney, New South Wales,
- 1830s
- 1840s