New SBS documentary series The Idea of Australia delves into the myths of Australia, exploring the cultural narratives that have shaped our understanding of this country and its people. Professor Tony Moore, who features in the documentary, provides a fresh perspective on Australia’s convict legacy - reframing convicts not as passive victims, but as active agents in the fight for justice, rights, and democracy.
Professor Moore leads the international Australian Research Council digital history project Conviction Politics, which includes its traveling exhibition Unshackled: the True Convict Story.
Available to comment:
Professor Tony Moore, Lecturer, Communications and Media Studies
Contact details: +61 475 412 801 or [email protected]
Read more of Dr Moore’s work at Monash Lens
The following can be attributed to Professor Moore:
“Convict transportation needs to be understood as one of the great forced migrations of unfree labour in world history, complementary to and continuous with the slave trade to the Americas from Africa, but this is the dispossessed people from Great Britain and Ireland.”
“Between 1788 and 1868, more than 160,000 men, women and children were sent across the seas in chains to build a colony for no, or next to no, pay. Australia’s first employers received a 100% discount on land or labour.”
“The stories of this rag tag bunch of journalists and political activists accused of sedition, as well as industrial and rural protesters, trade unionists, rebels and revolutionaries have the power to inspire new generations to further advance Australia’s democracy today.”
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