The poorest men and women in colonial NSW are no longer marginalised, but front and centre in a book that reveals what life was like for them.

Most convicts arriving in New South Wales didn’t expect to make their fortunes. Some went on to great success,but countless convicts and free migrants struggled with limited prospects, discrimination and misfortune. Many desperate people turned to The Benevolent Society, Australia’s first charity founded in 1813, for assistance and sustenance. In this rich and revealing book, Tanya Evans collaborates with family historians – many writing about their own ancestors – to present the everyday lives of these people. The detailed and extensive archives of The Benevolent Society allow us to reclaim these unknown lives and understand our own history better, not to mention the often random nature of betterment and progress.