The Orphan School Children
Minted in Hobart from bronze recovered from the original From the Shadows sculpture.
In Tasmania, formerly Van Diemen’s Land between 1828 and 1879 nearly 6,000 children passed through the doors of the government-run Orphan Schools.
Many were the children of convicts, and not orphans. Some arrived on convict ships with their convict mothers and were taken from them on arrival, some never to be reunited.
Some children arrived in Van Diemen’s Land with their convict mothers, only to be separated from them. Families were fragmented and, in many cases, mothers and children were never reunited.
Just over 400 children died in the institution, mostly of preventable diseases, and were buried in St John’s Burial Ground in unmarked graves. The children were exposed to a convict-related institution which was prison-like in design and administration.
From the Shadows
Two bronze sculptures representing Orphan School children were created by internationally renowned Irish sculptor Rowan Gillespie as part of the From the Shadows project.
In April 2025, the sculptures were stolen and destroyed.
Fragments of the Orphan School girl sculpture were recovered.
The Medal
This medal is struck from bronze recovered from the original Orphan School girl sculpture after it was stolen and destroyed in April 2025.
The recovered bronze has been given a new form — preserving a physical connection to the original sculpture and the children whose story it commemorated.
Minted in Hobart from the bronze of the original sculpture.
An Earlier Tasmanian Medal
There is another remarkable medal associated with this same historic precinct.
St John’s Anglican Church at New Town was built in 1835. In 1916, its original bell fractured. The bell was subsequently melted down and its bronze was made into medals, which were sold to help raise funds for a replacement bell.
More than a century later, The Orphan School Children medal follows an extraordinary parallel.
The Design
Artist and sculptor Katie Driden was visiting the Hobart Mint team when she joined us on a visit to the Orphan School in New Town, where we met with Bob Gordon and Diane Snowden of From the Shadows Inc. The medal project was still in its early stages.
During the visit, we asked Katie if she would consider creating the design for the medal. The following day, she presented us with the beautiful original sketch you see here.
The oak leaves in Katie’s design reference the black oaks planted along St John’s Avenue in 1897 to commemorate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. The avenue leads through the historic precinct towards St John’s Church.
The other side of the medal depicts two of the original Orphan School Children sculptures, created in 2019 by internationally renowned Irish sculptor Rowan Gillespie. The sculptures were modelled on descendants of children who had once lived at the Orphan School.
A Fundraiser
100% of the proceeds from this medal are being donated to Friends of the Orphan Schools St John's Park Precinct Inc.
The organisation works to preserve, interpret and promote the history and heritage of the Orphan Schools and the St John’s Park precinct in New Town.
By purchasing this medal, collectors are helping support the ongoing preservation and interpretation of this important part of Tasmania’s history.