The Convicts
In the seventeen hundreds life in England had become increasingly hard for the average person; machines had been invented to do many of the rural jobs that had existed before and as a result several people moved into the cities seeking work. Before long the cities were overcrowded and a lack of jobs meant that many people became very poor and began to steal in order to survive. In an attempt to combat the rise in crime, penalties for even minor crimes became very harsh. The robbery of anything up to the cost of a shilling was worth seven years transportation to a penal settlement.
The prisons in England soon became full and the prisoners were moved onto hulks. These were old rotting ships that were no longer sea-worthy but could still float at harbour. The hulks were overcrowded and filled with diseases and over the course of twenty years, one third of the prisoners on the hulks died. With prisons becoming increasingly overcrowded and the prisoners costing the government money, England began to transport convicts to America in 1710. However, when the American War of Independence ended in 1783 America refused to take any more convicts and England were forced to look elsewhere for a place to send their over-abundance of prisoners. They settled on New South Wales, Australia.
The convicts sent to Australia were quite multi-cultural. England and Wales made up 70% of the convict population sent, whilst Ireland made up 24% and Scotland 5%. However, there were also convicts from Canada, India, New Zealand, Hong Kong and the Caribbean. The majority of the convicts were transported for theft, though there were also soldiers who had been sentenced for desertion, mutiny or insubordination. Most men were given a few chances before being transported whilst women were often sent after their first offence. In fact one in five convicts on the first fleet were women.
The conditions on board the transportation ships to Australia were harsh. Although the first fleet of convicts arrived in a relatively good condition, subsequent fleets recorded a huge loss of life on board. The convicts were kept below decks on the prison deck and were often either barred in or chained. They were supposed to be allowed up on deck once a day for fresh air and exercise though this was not always followed through and the conditions below were incredibly cramped. A mixture of cruel masters, harsh disciplines and diseases such as scurvy, dysentery and typhoid resulted in a significant number of deaths. In the second fleet, one ship alone had a death rate of 33% and those who hadn’t died on the fleet were too ill to walk upon reaching Australia. Instead of the convict settlement receiving the 1017 able-bodied prisoners they had been promised, they received 759 starved, abused and close to death individuals.
After 1801 conditions slowly improved aboard the ships. They were only sent twice a year to avoid the Southern winter, surgeons were given the sole responsibility of ensuring the well-being of the convicts and charterers were paid a bonus for their safe arrival. From the 1840s the convicts even had their spiritual needs met by a religious instructor on board.
Upon arrival in Australia the convicts were sent to settlements to work for the duration of their sentence. The male convicts did physical labour such as building roads and farming whilst the female convicts were likely to act as servants or to make rope. Some convicts were treated very harshly and died and many convicts attempted to escape their prisons into the bush. Once their sentence had been carried out and they had been pardoned, the convicts were free to return to their native countries, however their lack of money and the distance meant that very few ever did see their homes or families again.
It must have been very daunting to be a convict sent to Australia. Below, in the Convict Close-Up sections, are the individual profiles of two convicts
You may wish to focus on a convict for the letter writing activity. The profiles of these convicts will give you some ideas of a typical convict's story.
For more convict stories visit This Page which contains convict stories and objects from the National Museum of Australia. Click on each of the images to read the convict story that accompanies it.
Convict Close-up
Margaret Catchpole
Name: Margaret Catchpole
Crime: Stole a horse from her employers and rode it to London with the intention of selling it.
Sentence: Arrested and sentenced to death, which was later reduced to 7 years transportation to Australia, this was later increased to transportation for life.
Interesting Fact: Managed to escape one midnight from the London gaol she was being kept in over a 22 foot wall using a clothesline. She was quickly recaptured however and this is why her sentence was increased.
Departure: Left for Australia on the Nile in 1801 and landed in Sydney.
In Australia: Worked as a cook for well known families.
Pardon: Granted in 1814 for good behaviour.
Life after being a Convict: Ran a store in Richmond
Death: influenza in 1819 at age 57.
Convict Close-up
William Buckley
Name: William Buckley
Crime: Knowingly receiving a bolt of stolen cloth (he claimed he had no idea it had been stolen).
Sentence: 14 years transportation to Australia.
Departure: Left aboard the H.M.S. Calcutta in April 1803.
In Australia: Worked at the settlement of Port Philip.
Interesting Fact: Managed to cut a boat loose and escape. He took a spear that marked an aboriginal gravesight and was welcomed into the Aboriginal Wathaurung tribe as the returned spirit of a dead relative where he lived for the next thirty-two years.
Pardon: Eventually revealed his identity to some sailors and received a pardon from the Governor.
Life after being a Convict: Employed as a guide and interpretor between the Aboriginal and European people due to his aboriginal knowledge.
Death: 1856 in a cart accident at age 75