Australia’s History as a Penal Colony

Violet Ward (PR L6)

Australia is a country probably best known to most Brits as having summer during winter and lots of spiders; however, it is a country with a deep history as a British penal colony established in 1788, which led to years of isolation for the convicts sent there.

In the 18th century, criminal activity was extremely common across England (especially in cities) and punishment was often harsh and excessive. The reason for this overwhelming excess of crime was partly due to the lack of a police force in England. Consequently, victims of crimes had to hire a mob to locate the perpetrator, and only once they had been caught would they be sent to a very basic court – a court that would often dish out death sentences solely to get criminals off the street and deter other criminals, with little consideration of the severity of the crime. The British government acknowledged that the number of people being met with capital punishment was getting out of control; this is why in 1718 it declared the Transportation Act. This initially involved convicted criminals being sent to the new world of America where they were put to work labouring. For the government this seemed like the perfect solution: the labour problem in the colonies was solved and criminals were removed from the streets and gaols. This is clear by the fact that 50,000 people were transported to America for 80 years after the act was first declared. However, when the American revolution broke out the initial problems resurfaced as the government could no longer send people to the west, and this is when the government looked to the east, and specifically Australia.

On the 13th of May 1787, the consequences of the Transportation Act began to be seen with the embarkation of the ‘first fleet’. This fleet comprised 11 ships, a mixture of Royal Navy vessels, supply ships and ships for criminal transportation. The fleet was led by Admiral Arthur Philips, a man who had high hopes for the land he was sailing to. On this first fleet there was a total of 736 convicts, many of whom had committed crimes which, by today’s standards, would hardly even lead to a small fine, such as 70-year-old Elizabeth Beckford, who stole a wheel of cheese, or 11-year-old James Grace who had stolen some ribbon. However, despite the crime being practically negligible, the punishment was severe and before they could even carry out their sentence, the convicts had to undergo a gruelling eight-month voyage, which saw 48 people dying by the time the fleet arrived in Botany Bay in January 1788.

However, the land that Admiral Philips and his fleet were met with was characterised by very poor soil, making it an inauspicious location for them to set up a colony. So, they moved north and found a site with fertile soil and fresh water which Philips named Sydney. However, despite having made it to their final destination safely, the hardships for the remaining convicts were only just beginning; they now had to embark on years of labour as they were given the task of setting up the colony whilst being overseen by their captors, most of whom were cruel and unforgiving. This makes it clear that the feeling of isolation was not only created by the sheer distance the convicts were from home and their loved ones, but also the painful work they had to endure. As colonisation in Sydney was accelerating, a new prison island was established, Norfolk Island. This island saw the creation of an intense labour camp under the jurisdiction of brutal military officers; it became the location where the worst prisoners were sent, and they were treated inhumanely and cruelly. Norfolk Island greatly intensified the feeling of isolation for all the prisoners sent there.

Back on the mainland, Arthur Philips had set up a system which allowed the best to be got out of each convict as they would be assigned to jobs that fitted well with their skill set. However, this policy created further isolation, especially for the female convicts. This is clear from the fact that they were separated from the men and sent to a ‘female factory’ which forced women to launder clothes, sew and spin while they were awaiting further assignment. Additionally, a main role for women was to populate the colony. The women who had brought children with them or given birth during the voyage faced further isolation from their children, who would be placed in orphanages until the sentence had been served. One job for convicts that was particularly cruel was house-building: not only did they have to undergo serious and painful manual labour, sometimes working 18 hours a day, but they were also overseen by officers who had a tendency to use the whip. This highlights the severity of the punishment they were met with.

On the other hand, it can be argued that the experiences of the convicts in Australia marked an improvement to what they would have endured in Britain. Aside from the fact that if they remained in Britain many of the prisoners who have been faced with the death sentence, the food in Australia was of a much better quality and there were new and exciting opportunities in this new land. Once a convict had served their sentence they could remain in Australia and climb the social ranks rather than paying a high fare to return to England and remain trapped in their public role as a criminal. The convicts’ desire to remain in Australia and relinquish new opportunities can be seen by the fact that nowadays roughly 20% of the Australian population is descended from people sent to Australia from Britain as convicts. By 1850 the Transportation Act was abolished as the British government recognised the cruelty of this punishment: however, by then thousands of people had settled in Australia, starting new lives and setting the course of the new nation.

Finally, the use of Australia as a penal colony also created a different form of isolation, one for the natives of Australia. These indigenous people were met with severe racism and not long after the British invasion were segregated and relocated from their homelands. The colonisation created a lasting impact on the relationship between the indigenous people and the settlers which is still felt nowadays. Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people alive today have experiences with being forcibly removed from their parents, not being allowed in towns after 6:00 and being barred from schools and hospitals, among many other events that highlight the ongoing isolation. Furthermore, indigenous Australians only started being counted in the government census in 1967: this further emphasises the impact that the colonisers left in Australia and the effect they had on the lives of the aborigines.

In conclusion, it is clear that the colonisation of Australia led to a severe feeling of isolation for thousands of people, specifically the convicts and aborigines; however, while the descendants of the convicts have shaped society in Australia today, the families of the indigenous people continue to meet difficulties.