‘The Valley of Swells’ ‘Special’ or ‘Educated’ Convicts on the Wellington Valley Settlement, 1827–1830

Abstract

Between 1827 and 1830, around forty convict men were exiled to the government’s remote agricultural and stock establishment at Wellington Valley (NSW), having been identified and labelled an ‘educated’ or ‘special’ convict. Men of education and status formed a small but conspicuous minority within the predominantly working-class convict population of NSW. Their presence complicated the principles and policies of convict management, and challenged prevailing notions of class, rank and power in the penal colony. But, having long been accustomed to privilege and preferential treatment, educated convicts were, from the mid 1820s, subjected to new policies which demanded they be made more aware of their status as convicted felons. This article examines one outcome of those policies - the short but fascinating experiment of isolating ‘special’ convicts at Wellington Valley between 1827 and 1830. I consider the developing perceptions and prejudices underlining this experiment, before describing life and labour on the settlement. What are some of the implications and lessons of this remarkable but hitherto neglected episode in Australia’s colonial history?This article has been peer-reviewed.