160 000.
Between 1788 and 1868 about 160 000 British convicts were sent to Australia. This State Library of South Australia guide will assist you to locate worldwide resources for researching your convict ancestors.
How many convicts did the UK send to Australia?
162,000 convicts
Between 1788 and 1868 more than 162,000 convicts were transported to Australia. Of these, about 7,000 arrived in 1833 alone. The convicts were transported as punishment for crimes committed in Britain and Ireland. In Australia their lives were hard as they helped build the young colony.
Were there any convicts in Victoria in colonial times?
Although Victoria’s first settlers may have thought of Port Phillip as a free colony, convicts worked for land-owners and later prison ‘hulk’ ships housed a growing criminal population. Read on to discover why Victoria’s convict heritage is a secret history…
When did the last convicts arrive in Victoria?
The last 269 convicts sent to Australia arrived at the port of Fremantle on the ship Hougoumont on 9 January 1868. About 162,000 convicts arrived in Australia between 1788 and 1868. Find out approximately how many were (a) men, (b) women and (c) Irish.
How many convict ships to Australia?
In all, about 164,000 convicts were transported to the Australian colonies between 1788 and 1868 onboard 806 ships.
Is Australia full of British prisoners?
Over the next 80 years, more than 160,000 convicts were transported to Australia from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, in lieu of being given the death penalty. Today, about 20% of Australians are descendants of convicts, including plenty of prominent citizens.
How old was the youngest convict sent to Australia?
13 years old
John Hudson, described as ‘sometimes a chimney sweeper’, was the youngest known convict to sail with the First Fleet. Voyaging on board the Friendship to NSW, the boy thief was 13 years old on arrival at Sydney Cove. He was only nine when first sentenced.
Who was the oldest convict in Australia?
Dorothy Handland
Dorothy Handland (born Dorothy Coolley; c. 1705/26 -) was perhaps the oldest convict transported on the First Fleet.
Who was the last Australian convict?
Samuel Speed
The Last Convict is an historical novel based on the life of Samuel Speed, who believed himself to be – and is widely accepted as – the last transported convict to survive in Australia. He died in November 1938, on the eve of the Second World War and within the lifetime of many people still living.
What did female convicts do in Australia?
They would be employed in ‘factories’ (equivalent of the English workhouse) but often had to find their own accommodation, and would be under great pressure to pay for it with sexual services. In this way, all the women convicts tended to be regarded as prostitutes.
What were the 19 crimes that sent prisoners to Australia?
The crimes that make up 19 Crimes include:
- Grand Larceny, theft above the value of one shilling.
- Petty Larceny, theft under one shilling.
- Buying or receiving stolen goods, jewels, and plate…
- Stealing lead, iron, or copper, or buying or receiving.
- Impersonating an Egyptian.
- Stealing from furnished lodgings.
Did any convicts escape Australia?
Some convicts actually did get away. For example, in December 1820, William Russell and William Atkins escaped from the Barracks, and left the colony in a boat. Also in December 1820, George Napier ran away from his government work gang without permission. He was still on the run in January the following year.
Who invaded Australia first?
The Dutch East India Company ship, Duyfken, captained by Willem Janszoon, made the first documented European landing in Australia in 1606.
What percentage of Australia is convict?
Hundreds of thousands of convicts were transported from Britain and Ireland to Australia between 1787 and 1868. Today, it’s estimated that 20% of the Australian population are descended from people originally transported as convicts, while around 2 million Britons have transported convict ancestry.
Did England send female prisoners to Australia?
It’s estimated that 164,000 convicts were shipped to Australia between 1788 and 1868 under the British government’s new Transportation Act — a humane alternative to the death penalty. Approximately 25,000 of these convicts were women, charged with petty crimes such as stealing bread.
What was the worst punishment for convicts sent to Australia?
Leg-irons. More serious crimes were punished by forcing convicts to wear leg irons. They were very heavy (weighing up to 18 kilograms) and uncomfortable and sometimes convicts had to wear them for months. They were fixed around a convict’s ankles by a blacksmith.
Do Australian prisoners get paid?
Earnings. Prisoners are paid for work undertaken in work programs or attendance at prison programs at three different levels calculated according to the degree of responsibility, complexity of the task, skills required and hours of duty involved.
What crimes would send you to Australia?
Those who were taken to Australia had committed a range of different crimes including theft, assault, robbery and fraud. As part of their punishment they were sentenced to penal transportation for seven years, fourteen years or even life, despite the crimes that they had committed being generally low-grade.
Did New Zealand have convicts?
Between 1843 and 1853 (when transportation to Van Diemen’s Land ceased) at least 110 convicts arrived in Hobart from New Zealand. A handful of these prisoners were sentenced at a court of quarter sessions or county court.
Are there any 10 year olds in jail in Australia?
Despite pressure to raise the age of criminal responsibility in Australia, a child as young as 10 can still be given a custodial sentence in almost all states and territories. One boy’s experience has seen him strip-searched, assaulted and locked up for hours at a time, and it hasn’t led to reform.
How many lashes did convicts get?
Difficult convicts were often sentenced up to 100 lashes. Flogging instruments included the cat o’ nine tails, a whip with nine knotted strands or cords, and the birch, a bundle of long birch twigs bound together by cord. Flogging was a brutal punishment that caused extreme pain and physical scarring.