“On the 30th September, Christiana McDonald, a Convict aged 18, fell overboard, in endeavouring to save her cap, which was blown into main channels: the ship was going through the water at the rate of eight knots at the time. The helm was instantly put down, and a boat lowered; but she sunk almost immediately.”

From the Journal of His Majesty’s Convict Ship the Lady of the Lake William Evans, Surgeon. Between the 2nd May and 6th November 1829.

This is one brief story of a woman transported to Australia. Many others are lost.

It’s often said that history is written by the victors. Whoever writes the history has the power, and whoever illustrates history has even more. The records that have survived were mostly written by men in power. Those without the ability to read relied on images to know our histories and culture. We think of the peak of womanhood, and we think of the Madonna and Child. We think of the peak of manhood, and we think of Napoleon crowning himself. We think of the image of perfect selflessness, and it’s Jesus feeding the masses. But who wrote these stories? Who painted these iconic images? Who gets to decide which stories are told, and which ones will be lost?

What would it look like if people without power had been allowed to write their own stories? How would we imagine them, and what would be passed down?