Convict-era leather punishment shoe

Convict-era leather punishment shoe found at the site of the Bridgewater Road Station, Granton, Tasmania.

A hand-stitched brown leather shoe with iron nails in the sole and heel. The side sections of the shoe have been cut away at the ankle, leaving only the back of the heel and the front toe section of the shoe. The front of the shoe has holes for laces at the centre front and it narrows to a squared point at the toe.

The sole and heel of the shoe appear to be made of layers of leather. The rusted metal nails in the sole are in four rows running from toe to the ball of the foot, while the nails on the heel are placed around the edge of the heel wedge with some in the middle.

The side and middle of the heel have deteriorated as well as some of the leather in the toe area. Around the edge of the sole are short cream lines, which appear to be holes filled with a cream substance. The shoe is stitched with a natural-cream coloured thread that has deteriorated in places.