Historian Deborah Swiss will speak on Thursday, Jan. 19 about her book, “The Tin Ticket: The Heroic Journey of Australia’s Convict Women.” Swiss's lecture will be held at the Music Hall at 7 p.m.

The book focuses on three survivors who were transported to Van Diemen’s Land – ordinary women who triumphed over tragedy, relying on their resiliency and strength alongside friendships with one another. It also tells the tale of Elizabeth Gurney Fry, a Quaker reformer who touched their lives.

In the 19th century, 25,000 girls and women were transported to Australia from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The British government targeted them as “tamers and breeders” following their arrest for petty theft, for pilfering small items as the only means to survive, other than prostitution. After serving punishments that far exceeded the scope of their crimes, these heroines became the heart and soul of a new nation.