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Post by Admin on Sept 9, 2017 19:33:05 GMT
The last convict ship, the Hougoumont, left Britain in 1867 and arrived in Western Australia on 10 January 1868. By 1860 all the Australian colonies, apart from Western Australia, had been granted partial self-government by Britain but Western Australia had to wait until 1890 to become self-governing because the proportion of ex-convicts was too high. Western Australia's convict era only came to an end with the cessation of penal transportation by Britain. In May 1865, the colony was advised of the change in British policy, and told that Britain would send one convict ship in each of the years 1865, 1866 and 1867, after which transportation would cease. In accordance with this, the last convict ship to Western Australia, the Hougoumont, departed Britain in 1867 and arrived in Western Australia on 10 January 1868. Effects of the convict era continued to be felt for many years. In 1874, Western Australia's Legislative Council lobbied the British government for responsible government but were refused, the grounds for refusal including that the proportion of ex-convicts in the colony was too high. For many years following the cessation of penal transportation to Western Australia, that period of Western Australia's history was systematically ignored. Few historians chose to study the era, and some historians actively avoided it. For example, Hal Colebatch's centenary history of Western Australia, A Story of a Hundred Years, contains no mention of Western Australia's convict era. Moreover, the possession of convict ancestry was for many years considered shameful; persons with convict ancestry tended not to speak of it, so that later generations were often ignorant of this aspect of their ancestry. In recent times, however, the stigma associated with convict ancestry has evaporated, and for some people has even become a source of pride. There has been a surge in interest in convict history and genealogy throughout Australia. The First Fleet was the 11 ships that departed from Portsmouth, England, on 13 May 1787 to found the penal colony that became the first European settlement in Australia. The Fleet consisted of two Royal Navy vessels, three store ships and six convict transports, carrying between 1,000 and 1,500 convicts, marines, seamen, civil officers and free people (accounts differ on the numbers), and a vast quantity of stores. From England, the Fleet sailed southwest to Rio de Janeiro, then east to Cape Town and via the Great Southern Ocean to Botany Bay, arriving over the period of 18 to 20 January 1788, taking 250 to 252 days from departure to final arrival. Convicts were originally transported to the Thirteen Colonies in North America, but after the American War of Independence ended in 1783, the newly formed United States refused to accept further convicts.[1] On 6 December 1785, Orders in Council were issued in London for the establishment of a penal colony in New South Wales, on land claimed for Britain by explorer James Cook in his first voyage to the Pacific in 1770.
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Post by Admin on Sept 23, 2018 18:25:00 GMT
Mocking Australia's criminal heritage is something of a national pastime, but Kiwis are increasingly discovering their own family trees are sprinkled with the same law-breaking lineage. About 162,000 convicts were sent to penal colonies across Australia between 1788 and 1868. Now growing access to historic records has increased awareness of the number who went on to start new lives in New Zealand. Genealogy company Ancestry.com says some former Aussie prisoners played an important role in New Zealand's early European settler history, including being recruited by the government to fight in the land wars. Ancestry.com spokesman Nigel Seeto said former penal colony inhabitants often made the journey "for a second chance or for opportunity or because they'd worn out their welcome in Australia and saw New Zealand as their best chance for a new life" Benjamin Shadbolt, who was sent to Australia after being convicted of theft in Britain, spent 17 years doing hard labour in Norfolk Island and Tasmania before fleeing to New Zealand. Tim Shadbolt said some New Zealanders had been "slightly devious" in covering up the past of their relatives. While the story passed down through his family was that his great-grandfather arrived here as a whaler, Shadbolt found that wasn't true when he researched Benjamin's background. Seeto said the Benjamin Shadbolt story was a classic example of a former Australian convict who had managed to build a successful life after moving to New Zealand.
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Post by Admin on Mar 2, 2020 6:25:32 GMT
Today, one in five Australians is the descendant of a convict. The Culture Trip sails back to the 18th century to find out why. In 2018, Sydney is one of the most sparkling cities on the face of the Earth, but behind the glittering harbour and golden beaches hides a history that’s surprisingly sordid. The British established Australia’s oldest city in the late 18th century as a penal colony to house its surplus of petty criminals — a murky past that continues to leave its mark on the country today. Why did Britain have so many crooks? In the 18th century, the Industrial Revolution created a generation of urban poor — people who moved from farms to overcrowded cities with no work and money. Crime soared in these squalid Dickensian conditions, as many families were forced to steal to survive. British prisons reached their capacity, so authorities shunted thousands of criminals into hulks — disused ships that shouldn’t sail but could float in harbours housing prisoners. When these hulks filled up, transportation became the answer. Serious crimes like murder and rape were punishable by death, but petty offences — such as stealing anything worth more than one shilling, the average day’s wage — were deemed worthy of a one-way ticket to some foreign corner of the globe. Why did the British choose Australia? The British first sent prisoners to America, but as the War of Independence reached its conclusion in 1782, the old colonial power was left with nowhere to discard their crooks … until they saw a solution Down Under. The east coast of New Holland had been mapped by Captain James Cook on his voyage in 1770, so the British thought this territory — despite being inhabited by Indigenous people for 60,000 years — was the perfect dumping ground for their excess criminals. An eight-month boat trip 10,000 miles across the sea soon became the punishment for thieving a bag of sugar or a loaf of bread. The first Australian convicts arrived on the First Fleet in 1788, part of the 1,500-strong colonisation party that included military and civilians. Admiral Arthur Phillip founded the penal colony of New South Wales on January 26, 1788 — still the controversial date of Australia’s national day — and set convicts to work according to their skills, planting the seeds of the first European settlement to colonise the Australian continent.
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Post by Admin on Mar 2, 2020 18:14:48 GMT
Convict life Conditions in those early years were tough — food was in short supply, and farmers who knew how to get the most out of the harsh Australian conditions were even rarer. Governor Lachlan Macquarie was the first to imagine Sydney and NSW as something more than a penal colony in the early 19th century, encouraging reformed convicts to participate in society and shape the free settlement that has flourished over the subsequent two centuries. Emancipated convicts were burdened by a heavy social stigma, but contributed significantly to the nascent British colonies in Australia. Opposition to transportation grew with increasing numbers of free settlers in the 1830s, but it took until 1868 for the last convict ship to pull into Western Australia. By then, Australia’s population had reached one million, and could sustain itself without relying on convict labour. More than 160,000 convicts — 80% men, 20% women — were transported to Australia from the British Isles between 1788 and 1868. The British sent criminals to NSW, Queensland, Tasmania and WA, but freed convicts soon spread their footprint across the country, and these days, one in five Australians is the descendant of a convict. The convict legacy At first, the fledgling Australian colonies were ashamed of their criminal roots and tried to shake off the association, but today, Australians take a perverse pride in their convict history. Throughout the 20th century, historians helped change the perception of convicts both by highlighting the injustice of transportation — an excessive punishment for trivial crimes committed by desperate, impoverished people — and by telling the stories of iconic convicts such as seminal Australian novelist Henry Savery and architect Francis Greenway. There’s no more famous convict celebrity than Ned Kelly, an Irish bushranger whose battles with the British elite — including his final bloody shoot-out with police and eventual hanging in 1878 — have imbued him with Robin Hood status in Australian folklore. This rebellious convict past is seen as a key ingredient in Australia’s roguish, ‘larrikin’ national character. These days, Australia is peppered with convict sites that preserve and celebrate the tales of the country’s convict era. Australia is home to 11 UNESCO Heritage Listed convict sites — Hyde Park Barracks in Sydney, Port Arthur in Tasmania and Fremantle Prison in WA are all compelling attractions for history buffs to visit.
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Post by Admin on Mar 3, 2020 5:32:44 GMT
Child convicts of Australia - Chapter 1 of 6 - Transportation and the First Fleet From 1788, for 80 years, convicts were transported from Britain to New South Wales. These included children as young as nine years of age. What was life like for these children who had been sent to the other side of the world for crimes like petty theft? All convicts, including children were expected to work. If they behaved badly, their youth did not protect them from being punished as harshly as adult convicts. Some child convicts went on to learn a trade, gain their freedom and live successful lives. Step into the shoes of these child convicts to find out more about their stories. 26th January is the official national day of Australia and marks the arrival of the First Fleet of British ships and the raising of the Union flag at Sydney Cove. Australia continues to recognise the story of its modern founding to this day. The First Fleet as it became known, was formed of 11 ships that left from Portsmouth in southern England on 13th May 1787. This was an historic voyage across oceans to the other side of the world in order to establish the first European settlement, and penal colony, in Australia. The Fleet used two Royal Navy vessels as well as six ships to transport around 1,000 convicts as well as seamen, officers and free people. The journey was arduous, first sailing south towards South America before turning eastwards at Cape Town and voyaging through the Great Southern Ocean to make its arrival at Botany Bay. The leader of this great expedition was Commodore Arthur Phillip who had the power to make land grants in the colony and create legislation. The arrival of the ships at Botany Bay on 21st January 1788 was met initially with relief at finally having reached their destination. Unfortunately, it was soon realised that the bay was not as favourable as they had hoped. The previous accounts by the navigator Captain James Cook had somewhat misled the crew into believing this would be a suitable location.
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