Emma Cotton (or Cotterell) sailed into Sydney harbour on the Rubicon in 1833 as a free immigrant. A 32-year-old woman of independent means, she took on needlework in the colony. Emma’s genteel life unravelled four years later when she appeared before a Sydney court charged with stealing a bundle of “wearing apparel”.
Emma was transported to Van Diemen’s Land (lutruwita or Tasmania) for seven years, then spent the rest of her life in Hobart. After her sudden death in February 1863, a local newspaper reported she was “better known as old Emma the fortune teller”. If Emma had been able to foretell her own future, she may have chosen to stay in London.
