by A.J. Bergevin
In November 2024 I embarked on a journey to research my ancestral grandfather, Charles Bergevin, who was a prisoner at the Longbottom Stockade. I visited the City of Canada Bay Museum, where there was a display and information about the Longbottom Stockade, as well as the Canadian exile monument in Bayview Park. The monument was originally unveiled in Cabarita Park by Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in 1970 to honour the Exiles and their role in the political history of Canada. In 1984, the monument was relocated to Bayview Park as this was where the Canadian Exiles disembarked in 1840 on their way to the Longbottom Stockade.
On his arrival in Australia as a prisoner, Charles Bergevin (also called Langevin) was described as 53 years old, 5 foot 6.5 inches tall, dark complexion with brown eyes, and brown hair mixed with gray and bald on top. He was a farmer of 140 arpents (one arpent is equivalent to one English acre) in Sainte Martine, Quebec. He fought at the Battle of Chateauguay against invading Americans in the War of 1812, and twenty-five years later he joined the rebellion against the British Government and served as Treasurer of his area. Family legend says that he hid Louis Joseph Papineau, one of the rebellion leaders, at his farm when Papineau was fleeing to the United States; the British burned his house down. The house was rebuilt on the original foundation, which still exists.
During the 13th trial of the rebels, it was noted that “one of the better class farmers’ interrupted a Crown witness who was accusing a fellow defendant of ‘a grave offense”. Charles shouted, “It was myself who did that. I am unwilling that another person should suffer for my own deeds”. Charles was condemned to death, but the sentence was commuted to transportation to Australia.
Charles was imprisoned at the Longbottom Stockade. During his time, a fellow prisoner Francoise Maurice Lepailleur reported that Charles was starting to lose heart and despair because the government was doing nothing to help their circumstances. Bad behavior dominated in the settlement – there was theft and poor morale. Later, Lepailleur writes that Charles and another person were accused of stealing another prisoner’s money, and that Charles would sell his meat ration for three pence a pound and go without for three days of the week. I can only assume that my great grandfather was trying to save money for his eventual passage home to Canada. Charles worked on holy days, even though he wasn’t required to work for the government on holy days. Charles gathered oyster shells and sold them to lime manufactures for five pence a bushel; allegedly a man could gather 6-10 bushels a day! Most of the oyster shell gatherers were the farmers from the Stockade.
In mid-June 1841, Charles and fellow convicts were ordered to do road work in public which they previously never had to do; the Canadian exiles thought it was humiliating because they didn’t consider themselves ordinary convicts.
In 1842 Charles received a ticket of leave which gave him the right to live and work outside the Stockade. His time working outside of the Stockade was not without adversity. He was robbed by his employer, thought to be Etienne Prevost, a French soap maker. He also worked for George Robert Nichols, a prominent barrister who declared bankruptcy and Charles allegedly lost his wages while working for him. And he was robbed at this home.
The exiles petitioned many times to be pardoned. Assisted by Archbishop Polding and the Catholic clergy, the pardon was granted in January of 1844 but not received until June of that same year. In July 1844, Charles sailed on the Achilles to return home to Canada; he was required to pay his own passage! A year after Charles arrived home, he sent a letter of thanks to Archbishop Polding giving tribute to friends of the Canadians for advocating to get them home.
Charles’ wife Genevieve kept the farm going while he was in exile. On his return he served as Beauharnois County Councillor from 1847 – 1849. He passed away in 1864 fully esteemed by his community.
As a consequence of his exile, Charles, not by choice, circumnavigated the earth.
Bibliography
Bergevin, H. (1991). Les Patriotes Exiles en Australia en 1839. La Societe de Geneologie de Lanaudiere.
Boissery, B. (1995). Deep Sense of Wrong. Dandurn Press.
Ducharme, Leandre, 1815-1845? & Mackaness, George, 1882-1968. (1944). Journal of a political exile in Australia / by Leon (Leandre) Ducharme ; translated from the original, with introduction and notes by George Mackaness. Sydney : G. Mackaness.
Lepailleur, Francois-Maurice, 1806-1891 & Greenwood, F. Murray (Frank Murray), 1935-. (1980). Land of a thousand sorrows : the Australian prison journal, 1840-1842, of the exiled Canadien patriote, Francois-Maurice Lepailleur / translated and edited by F. Murray Greenwood. Carlton, Vic. : Melbourne University Press/.
Petrie, Brian. (2013). French Canadian rebels as Australian convicts : the experiences of the fifty-eight Lower canadians transported to Australia in 1839 / Brian M. Petrie. North Melbourne, Vic : Australian Scholarly.
Prieur, Francois Xavier, 1814-1891 & Mackaness, George, 1882-1968. (1949). Notes of a convict of 1838 / by Francois Xavier Prieur ; translated from the original, with an introduction and notes by George Mackaness. [Sydney] : G. Mackaness.
Image
Rene Bergevin, Art Graphique Inc, 1991
Saint Martine en Images