John Frost was found guilty of High Treason for his role in the Chartist Uprising of November 1839. He was sentenced to be hanged and quartered. Due to public outrage, this sentence was reduced to Transportation for Life. In February 1840, Frost boarded a prison ship and set sail for Port Arthur – a penal colony in Tasmania. He was pardoned 14 years later and returned to Britain in 1856, when it is believed this photograph was taken.