The launch of the Roses from the Heart exhibition and photographic collection on the Digital Repository of Ireland (DRI) took place at South East Technological University (SETU) on Monday, 11 March.
Held at the Luke Wadding Library at SETU’s Cork Road Campus in Waterford, the event was a collaboration between the ‘Roses from the Heart’ Waterford Group, SETU Libraries and the Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) office.
Distinguished guests included the Hon. Gary Gray AO, Australian Ambassador to Ireland and Cllr Joe Conway, Mayor of Waterford City and County.
Launching the event, Professor Veronica Campbell, President of SETU, conveyed her admiration for the concept behind the ‘Roses from the Heart’ project.
A 'beautiful memorial'
“It is truly a beautiful memorial to remember women from Ireland and Britain who were transported as convicts to Australia between 1788 and 1853. Through the creation of individual bonnets for every woman exiled, we acknowledge their existence, their stories, and their resilience,” said Prof. Campbell.
“SETU is delighted to support initiatives such as ‘Roses from the Heart’ as projects such as this educate, provoke thought and create new conversations on gender equality and how we remember our past,” the SETU President added.
Dr Christina Henri, creator of ‘Roses from the Heart’, delivered a keynote talk as part of a series of speakers. After becoming the honorary artist in residence at the Cascades female factory historic site, Hobart, the artist devised using colonial bonnets as symbolism in 2003.
Creating a robust discussion
Liz Power, Coordinator of Waterford Women’s Centre expressed her delight in contributing to the event, “The Roses from the Heart tribute founded by Dr Christina Henri holds a very special place in our hearts and from the onset has resonated with the values and ethos of the Waterford Women’s Centre,” she said.
The initial introduction to Dr Henri resulted in the development of the Waterford Women’s Centre Bonnet Project, supported by funding from the WWETB.
Each year a group of women come together to make a bonnet in memory of a woman from Waterford, who was sent to Australia as a convict. “Through the creation of these bonnets, many robust discussions around history, gender inequality and class take place. Many of the women taking part in the project reflect on their own personal circumstances and feel, had they lived in those times, they too may have suffered the same fate, to be sent as a female convict to Van Diemen’s land,” explained Ms Power.
Recognition
Ann Fitzgerald, Roses from the Heart Waterford Group also recognised the collaborative efforts of local individuals, Dr Henri, and SETU in honouring the lives of Waterford convict women.
Other speakers at the event included Dr Allison Kenneally, Vice President for Equality Diversity & Inclusion (EDI), Brenda O Neill, INSYTE-Cooley Research Laboratory, Kieran Cronin, SETU Library and Pat McInerney, Department of Computing and Mathematics and INSYTE-Cooley Research Laboratory.
A selection of bonnets created as part of the 'Roses from the Heart' Waterford project, commemorating the lives of over 350 Waterford convict women transported to Tasmania and New South Wales between 1788-1853, will be publicly displayed in the Special Collections Room of the Luke Wadding Library until March 22.
Photos by George Goulding & Robbie Byrne