Out of the shadows: Shining a light on Tassie's hidden female history

His exile to Van Diemen's Land, and subsequent escape the the United States via Westbury - memorialised in the town - are as much a part of his mythos as his participation in the American Civil War and death in the Missouri River.

However, little is known about his first wife Catherine Bennett - something artist Christina Henri is on a mission to fix.

Dr Henri said through hours of research she had pieced together Ms Bennett's biography.

The pair met at Ross after Mr Meagher helped repair a carriage Ms Bennett, a governess, was travelling in.

They married and moved to a cabin at Lake Sorrell until Mr Meagher fled the colony.

Ms Bennett remained in Van Diemen's Land and gave birth to the couple's first child Henry, who died in infancy.

Dr Henri said this showed a softer side of Mr Meagher than in most historical portrayals, but also that Ms Bennett was a remarkable woman.

"She just seems to have been a very good person," she said.

"Obviously, with Thomas Francis Meagher's intellect and his knowledge of the world I don't think he would have fallen for her unless she'd been someone that really grabbed his attention.

"She was beautiful looking, but she had to have more qualities than just beauty for him to be interested in her."

Ms Bennett eventually left Van Diemen's Land, following her husband to America but stopping in his home town of Waterford, Ireland along the way.

Despite the fact Ms Bennett was reportedly treated like royalty on arrival due to her husband's status, Dr Henri said this barely rated a mention in the museum there.

After reuniting with Mr Meagher - who later remarried - briefly in America and falling pregnant Ms Bennett returned to Waterford.

Living with her father-in-law, she died of typhus shortly after giving birth to Mr Meagher's only surviving child, Thomas Bennett Meagher.

The couple and their first son is memorialised at St. John's Catholic Church in Richmond.

Dr Henri is also due to travel to Waterford to share her findings, ensuring Ms Bennett is not forgotten.

"She was obviously someone of note, and we should know more about that," she said.

Ms Bennett is not the only woman Dr Henri hopes to shine a light on.

She has spent 20 years sewing bonnets to commemorate the 25,566 convict women transported to Australia, and said it was important to tell the stories of those women, lest they be lost to history.

"Generally, especially if they were well-behaved, you find almost nothing out about the women," Dr Henri said.

"There's nothing mentioned in the papers.

"Unless there was some sort of incident that they were involved in, they just don't get a mention until they die.

"If these stories don't get told, we just don't know what's going on in their lives. They're just shadows."