Who were Australia’s convicts? Why were they sent to Australia? What were their crimes?
Read about their wretched lives in Great Britain; their harsh treatment, poor food and cruel conditions on the long voyage to Australia; and then the terrible conditions that greeted them when they landed here - hard work, rough accommodation, inhumane commandants, chain gangs and the dreaded cat-o-nine tails.
From the landing of the First Fleet in 1788 convict settlements were established around the continent. About 163,000 convicts arrived in Australia, ending only with the last shipment of convicts to Western Australia in 1868.
