New evidence has uncovered what happened next to a man who led a workers' revolt in south Wales almost 200 years ago.

Lewis Lewis, or Lewsyn yr Heliwr, was described as a "hero" for his role in the Merthyr Rising of 1831, when workers protested over low wages.

Another who became well known for his role in the uprising was Dic Penderyn, who was later executed.

But little was previously known about Lewis' later life, other than his deportation to Australia, until the recent discovery of a "misfiled" document.

Rhodri Johns, from Cwmbran, who has lived in Australia for 30 years, made the discovery with the help of Kempsey Museum in New South Wales.

Johns said what he found during his search was "completely unexpected".

Some basic facts were already known about what happened to Lewis after the uprising, including that was deported to Australia by ship in 1832, sent to Port Macquarie prison and the year he died.

But now an intestate record, which may have been filed incorrectly under a different name, has shed more light on Lewis' death and his work as a farm labourer in the Macleay River Valley in eastern Australia, once his conviction was spent.

"We are [now] fairly confident of where he died in Kempsey and that he had a funeral. We know that from his documents and we think it was in the local cemetery there," Johns said.

When he died, Lewis had around £13 to his name, according to the records.

"He had some money on him and he had some debts up and down the valley where he'd been working."

"That's the way it worked, you incurred a debt and you cast your promissory note and then you paid off the individuals.

"So economically he was probably in a reasonable position. He didn't have a lot of money but enough to suggest that he'd been working and was in a reasonable position."

Lewis also applied for his family, including his wife and four children, to join him in Australia. The file shows this was approved by the colonial authorities in New South Wales.

However, Lewis died alone and there is no evidence as to what happened to that application.

"He must have liked working there and he saw it as his home for the rest of his life and he wanted his family out to live with him," he added.

Phil Lee of the Macleay River Historical Society, based at Kempsey Museum, said Lewis had a funeral and had enough money to pay for it.

"He died in Kempsey and was possibly buried in one of the burial grounds here, the most likely being East Kempsey cemetery, which has several very early graves."

Thousands of workers marched to the Castle Inn on 2 June, where it is believed a white cloth dipped in cow's blood was raised as a flag above the crowd as a symbol of working class defiance.

Inside, local employers and magistrates were meeting.

British soldiers from the Argyll and Sutherland Highlander assembled in front of the building and opened fire on the crowd.

Lewis, a well-known and respected worker, stood above the crowd and called for them to push forward and disarm the soldiers.

Many rioters were arrested and charged. A young man, Richard Lewis - known as Dic Penderyn - was sentenced to death by hanging after it was alleged he stabbed a soldier, Donald Black, in the leg.

Later, as Penderyn stood on the gallows at Cardiff gaol, he is said to have cried "injustice" and he died a martyr.

The historian, Gwyn Alf Williams, described the Merthyr Rising as the birth of a Welsh working class consciousness.

Johns believes the fact that Lewis was given a funeral showed he was a respected individual.

His death is recorded on the intestate as "sudden" in 1847 while in the employment of a Mr Charles Steele, a large landowner in the Macleay River Valley.

"All in all, he did very well, but you can't help feeling kind of sad, really, that, you know, when you look at his whole life story, in Merthyr, he was a charismatic, popular figure.

"He'd wanted to finish his life with his family, but he never got that opportunity."

Johns is hoping funds can be raised for a Lewis Lewis memorial in Kempsey ahead of the 200th anniversary of the Merthyr Rising in 2031.

Historian Elin Jones said: "We haven't remembered and honoured [Lewis] yet, but I think we have the opportunity to do that now and it will be fantastic."

She described Lewis as a "lost leader" of the working class during the mid-19th Century in Wales.

"Unlike the Chartist leader, John Frost, who was also sent to Australia years later for high treason, Lewis Lewis never returned to these shores.

"As a result, part of his history has been lost, until now," Jones added.