Brian and Beverley Oakley examine the convict token made by Brian’s great-grandfather. Picture: National Museum of Australia

Visitors embarked on a time-traveling journey through history as the captivating ‘When this you see remember me’ exhibition brought a poignant slice of Australia’s past to Bega Valley Shire, New South Wales. 

This evocative showcase, featuring a remarkable collection of convict love tokens, was put on display at Tura Marrang Library and Community Centre, creating an immersive experience that tugged at the heartstrings.

Convict tokens, etched with personal details and messages of separation, serve as a powerful link to Australia’s early days. These tokens were often a heartfelt farewell, a tangible connection between convicts bound for a faraway land and the loved ones they left behind.

Curated by the National Museum of Australia, this traveling exhibit offers a window into the world of these intimate keepsakes. Bega residents and visitors alike got an opportunity to explore a selection of 40 tokens from the national museum’s vast collection, the largest of its kind globally, totalling 315 tokens.

Laina Hall, senior curator at the National Museum of Australia, explained the significance of these tokens, stating: “Most people have an understanding of the fact that Australia’s initial British population was made up of convicts, but what these objects do, in a really amazing way, is connect us to an individual.”

The exhibition served as an opportunity to uncover the personal stories behind these tokens, offering a glimpse into the lives of early convicts. These keepsakes were often exchanged as messages of love and connection with friends and loved ones.

The tokens were also accessible through an interactive media screen, allowing visitors to closely examine both sides of the tokens and read the engraved messages.

These tokens, though small in size, carry immense historical significance. They were created by convicts who repurposed copper coins, smoothing them flat and engraving them with messages, illustrations, or symbols, such as figures in chains or soaring birds, to convey messages of slavery, liberty, or imprisonment.

* This story was first published in the November edition of Anglo&Celtic magazine

**The exhibition in Bega closed on November 5th. To learn more about convict tokens and see the National Museum of Australia’s collection, click here.