Between 1822 and 1833, any re-offending convicts in Van Diemen’s Land were sent to Sarah Island (known as Langerrareroune by the local Toogee people) on Tasmania’s remote west coast.
Transported to a distant land for crimes of poverty, Australia’s female convicts were charged with the task to tame and have children with convict men.
The Hougoumont, the last ship to take convicts from the UK to Australia, docked in Fremantle, Western Australia, on January 9, 1868 – 150 years ago. It brought an end to a process which deposited about 168,000 convicted prisoners in Australia after it began in 1788.
The first Australian food to be cultivated abroad was a seashore spinach.
Six years into his seven-year sentence, John Irving was busy helping treat patients in the fledgling colony of Sydney.
1804’s Castle Hill Rebellion was the first Australian convict uprising, a violent and chaotic attempt to overthrow the colonial authorities.
The arrival records of the First Fleet, and some of our most famous convicts, are now available on the web.
Minus most of the skull, the skeletal remains of bushranger Ned Kelly have been found at Pentridge Prison.
Port Arthur, Freemantle Prison and Cockatoo Island are among 11 former convict sites inscribed this week.
A new government initiative will help to preserve the history of Australia’s iconic heritage sites.