This cap is a powerful reminder of the harsh life experienced by convicts in colonial times. It is not known who wore it or whether it was used in New South Wales, Van Diemen's Land, or one of the other colonies.
From the early days of the penal settlement in New South Wales headwear was included among the clothing issued to convicts. When the First Fleet arrived each male convict was issued with a tall crowned hat and a woollen cap. In Governor Macquarie's time leather caps with flaps and ties, a vestige of the eighteenth century cocked hat, were standard convict issue.
A number of leather convict caps exist in museums around Australia, including three in the Powerhouse Museum's collection. Fewer woollen caps have survived, even though there is evidence that such caps were routinely issued to convicts. Commissioner Bigge's 1822 report into the affairs of the colony of New South Wales records that each convict was provided with a woollen cap or hat.
This particular convict cap, which was acquired by the Museum in 1981 from the collection of the Royal Australian Historical Society, is made of greenish-grey felted wool. It is stamped 'BO' in ochre paint on the lower rim. 'BO' stands for Board of Ordnance, which organised the supply of convict clothing from Britain between the 1820s and 1855, when the War Department took over these duties. (This is a useful key in dating convict dress.) Below the 'BO' stamp is a broad arrow mark, signifying British government property.
Peter Cox, 2000
The cap is stamped 'BO' on the lower rim. This indicates that it was issued by the Board of Ordnance which organised the supply of convict clothing from Britain until 1855 when the War Department took over these responsibilities.
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