australia day

...my original intention to photograph another manor house was immediately put on hold when I was reminded of these signs (the top one in particular) as we crossed the river Frome not far from Thomas Hardy's Cottage. These signs are common across our part of Dorset, along with another kind of sign that visitors and those passing through may have noticed - red fingerpost roadsigns. There is a great example on the A31 at Winterborne Tomson.

In the early part of the 19th century, Dorchester Gaol produced a steady stream of prisoners bound for hard-labour in Australia. The convicts were marched from Dorchester to Portsmouth, from where they set sail. The journey from Dorchester to Portsmouth took several days, requiring several overnight stops. The guards who escorted them were not necessarily renowned for their literacy so the way markers that identified their nightly billets were painted red. The post at Winterborne Tomson indicates a right turn to Bloxworth, when coming from Dorchester. A short distance along the lane is Botany Bay Farm, the name of which is not coincidental as there was a large barn here that the prisoners and their guards slept in. Very few travellers today will have noticed the farm but may well be familiar with the pub in Winterborne Zelston. The public house was originally called the General Allenby but was changed to the Botany Bay Inne in 1988 to mark the Australian bicentennial year.

I am not sure how many convicts finding themselves 'down under' were guilty of injuring bridges but six Dorset men who did find themselves in Botany Bay after being sentenced to seven years' transportation, were the Tolpuddle Martyrs. They were charged with having taken an illegal oath but, in the eyes of the establishment, their real crime was to have formed a trade union. Following their trial, the working classes rose up, organising a massive demonstration in London and delivering an 800,000 strong petition to parliament in protest of their sentence. After three years, the government granted them free pardons and they returned home as heroes.

I always find this particular pair of signs interesting because of the names of the county clerk. The top one is from 1827 and the lower one about 70 years later. Knowing the propensity for political nepotism in Dorset, one cannot help but wonder if the two men were related - but why the additional 'f'...