Amy 'Emma' Staples was living in England in 1801, when she was convicted of stealing several silver teaspoons from a house where she worked.
She was sentenced to death, but that was changed to life and transportation to Australia when it was discovered she was pregnant.
Amy was shipped with her child to Sydney in 1803 and sent to the Parramatta Female Factory.
She was among about 25,000 women, most of whom were first-time offenders, who were sent to Australia from Britain and Ireland from 1788 to 1853.
They were largely outnumbered by men and faced harsh treatment and servitude, but showed great resilience and made a valuable contribution to society.
Many of their stories, however, remain untold.
In a bid to pay tribute to some of those women, a history group on the New South Wales Mid North Coast has unearthed stories of the Kempsey Shire's many female convict ancestors.
In honour of the women, locals have crafted bonnets similar to those worn at the time and created a public display called Sisters in Chains.
"During the years of British transportation to Australia, one in eight convicts were women," the Kempsey Family History Group's Debbie Reynolds said.
"The women faced extreme difficulty in achieving freedom, but with hard work and good conduct they built new lives in the community.
"It is important we recognise their tenacity and strength to overcome adversity and the contribution they made socially and economically.
"They did this while considered suitable only for domestic service or as wives."
The convict bonnet display was inspired by an earlier project by Tasmanian artist Dr Christina Henri, Roses of the Heart, to have volunteers make 25,566 bonnets, one for each of the women transported to Australia.
'A life worth knowing'
Amy Staples was the seventh great-grandmother of Kempsey history group member Bruce Cain and a bonnet has been created in her honour.
Mr Cain said Amy went on to marry a Parramatta blacksmith, with whom she had seven children.
"When her husband died, she fell on bad times and had to put two of her sons into the Male Orphan School in Sydney and two of her daughters in the Parramatta Girls Orphan School," Mr Cain said.
Amy's eldest daughter later married, and Amy worked for her son-in-law as a servant.
"It's rewarding to actually breathe life into the stories of these people," Mr Cain said.
"They have a life worth knowing about and it's up to us as descendants of these people to continue on with the story that otherwise will be lost in time."
'They had a terrible time'
A bonnet has also been created in honour of convict Mary Ann Williams, who stole a plate in England when she was 18 and arrived in Sydney in 1827.
"She is my grandson's seventh great-grandmother," the Kempsey Family History Group's Jocelyn Bakewell said.
Mary Ann was assigned to a merchant couple in Sydney and was introduced to a man in their employ named Joseph Mantle, who was looking for a wife.
"He asked her to marry him and they had five children," Ms Bakewell said.
Joseph later died, and Mary Ann married again, had another five children and also outlived her second husband.
She married for a third time in 1865.
"They had a terrible time, the women … they only stole food or clothing because they didn't have any," Ms Bakewell said.
"I think it's great that people start to realise what their ancestors did go through."
'She lost her baby at sea'
Another history group member, Ted O'Donnell, highlighted the story of his family's convict ancestor, Susannah Softley, who was sent to Australia after she stole a five-shilling note in 1833.
"At the time when she was put on the boat she was already married in England with three children and was five months pregnant," he said.
Susannah's daughter was born at sea and died at five weeks old from an infection, "occasioned by the scratch of a pin in the napkin".
"She lost her baby at sea and on arrival in Australia was sent to a workhouse," Mr O'Donnell said.
"It wasn't until she got her ticket of freedom she got married again."
It is hoped the unearthed convict stories will eventually be collated into a book.
The project was supported by a Kemspey Shire Council community grant.
