Upcycling in the colony?
Students find out about the First Fleet’s creative history of card playing in the early colony.
Upcycling in the colony?
Reverend Johnson brought hundreds of religious books with him on the First Fleet. They were not well received by the convicts. According to one Australian historian some convicts transformed these Bibles and prayer books into playing cards! That certainly shows inventiveness and ingenuity. Even if it was not true, we do know that playing cards was a popular convict pastime.
Read Judge David Collins’s mention of the game in Feb 1794.
He… played at cards with another convict.
In the early days of the colony it was a crime to play cards if you were gambling. In March 1789 convict Thomas Stanton lost his clothes gambling in a card game with a marine and was sentenced to receive 150 lashes (50 at a time, once a week), and he had his clothes confiscated! On 24 October 1789 convict Edward Goodwin was sentenced to receive 50 lashes for playing cards at 2am.
Consider this: Where did these men get a pack of cards? Perhaps it is true that the religious books were upcycled into decks of cards.
Look at this set of playing cards from the 18th century. We can imagine that the First Fleeters would have used or created a similar deck of playing cards.
Notice what is missing from these playing cards compared to the ones you use. Remember that many convicts could not read or write.
Answer these questions:
- How do you think Reverend Johnson felt about playing cards?
- If there are no numerals or letters on the cards, how can you tell the difference? What about the King and the Jack?
- What card games were the convicts probably playing?
- What card games do you like to play?
Research the benefits of card playing.
Look at the cards below. They are NOT from convict times. They were designed only 100 years ago with references to what was happening at that time, World War I. They are just to inspire you!
Make a set of cards from what you can find in the recycling bin (not a bible!) or perhaps use newspaper. Or design a set of cards on white paper with reference to 1788. Think about your design. Could the King card be a picture of Governor Arthur Phillip? Or is he the Joker? Who might be the Queen? And the Jack? What is the main image on the reverse side? Ships? Maps? What decorative images will you add? Perhaps you could use Australian flora and fauna instead of Hearts, Diamonds, Spades and Clubs?
Play a card game!