Vandemonian Lags: New Musical Theatre from the Tasmanian Convict Underbelly

For the first time in Ballarat – The acclaimed theatrical piece that presents an extraordinary musical journey based on true stories from Tasmania’s convict past. It stars Mick Thomas, Tim Rogers, Claire Anne Taylor, Brian Nankervis, Jeff Lang, Ben Salter, Sal Kimber, Darren Hanlon, Shelley Short and Van Walker, backed by an all-star band featuring Weddings Parties Anything’s Jen Anderson, Mark Wallace, and Michael Barclay with Craig Pilkington.

It was a centrepiece of the inaugural DARK MOFO festival in Hobart in 2013, last played at Port Fairy Folk Festival in 2019 and is the subject of a concert album and feature film.

On the mainland, those who hailed from the island Colony were known as ‘Vandiemonians’ or ‘Vandemonians’. The second moniker referenced the place where they had (usually) served time but, as Bruce Moore notes, it also “blended with the word demon. – Caitlin Mahar, 2007

The discovery of gold in Victoria in 1851 gave rise to an amazing exodus from Van Diemen’s Land. Convicts and ex-convicts crossed Bass Strait in their thousands. Many of the ‘Vandemonians’ fell to crime and quickly became hated and feared on the goldfields. In 1852 the Victorian Government passed the Convicts Prevention Act with the express aim of preventing any further introduction of the prison population to the booming colony. Needless to say, the act was a complete failure.