Such was life: Benjamin "Taffy" Jones
A tattered piece of parchment, preserved in the Irwin Districts Museum, once defined a man!s life and introduces us to Benjamin “Taffy” Jones. This Ticket of Leave, one of only two originals still in WA, determined where Jones could live, where he could work and even what he could eat. It ruled his life. Jones was a cabbage thief who was convicted of murder in Aberdare in Wales. Transported on the last convict ship to be sent to WA he became part of the work force that was forced to work building infrastructure, from roads to churches to police stations, in the struggling, isolated colony. As museum representatives Dr Bruce Baskerville and Trish Parker explain, it was hard work and led to many convicts having tragic deaths from excessive drinking, accidents, exposure, illness and suicide. Jones was no exception. He was last seen drunk on a beach in Geraldton and later found drowned. Like so many convicts, Benjamin “Taffy” Jones died an alcoholic and a loner, thousands of kilometres from his wife, child and homeland.
