The British colony of Australia began in 1788 with the establishment of a penal settlement at Port Jackson in New South Wales. Overcrowding in British prisons led the government to send convicts to Australia to establish prison colonies where they would provide labor. From the 1810s onward, convict transportation increased and convicts built up Australia's infrastructure and worked for settlers. The most notorious prison was Port Arthur in Tasmania, which housed the hardest criminals from 1833 to the 1850s. Gold discoveries in the 1850s attracted many new settlers and accelerated Australia's growth toward independence from Britain.
2. Australia the Colony
• The colony of Australia began with the
establishment of Port Jackson, a settlement in
New South Wales on January 26, 1788.
The History of Australia
4. Prison Colonies
• 1787 – British ships
called the “First Fleet”
left England with
convicts to establish a
prison colony at Port
Jackson – convicts
settled in 1788.
5. Convicts Take Over
Australia
• The British experienced overcrowding in their prison system
and sought to solve the problem by sentencing their
prisoners to “transportation” -- Australia.
• Here they founded a system of labor in which
people, whatever their crime, were employed according to
their skills.
• From 1810, convicts were seen as a source of labor to
advance and develop the British colony.
• Convict labor was used to develop the public facilities of the
colonies - roads, bridges, courthouses, and hospitals. Convicts
also worked for free settlers and small land holders.
6. Port Arthur
• Port Arthur was named after Van Diemen's Land
lieutenant governor George Arthur. The settlement
started as a timber station in 1830, but it is best known
for being a penal colony.
• From 1833, until the 1850s, it was the destination for
the hardest of convicted British and Irish criminals,
those who were secondary offenders having re-
offended after their arrival in Australia. Rebellious
personalities from other convict stations were also sent
here.
• In addition, Port Arthur had some of the strictest
security measures of the British penal system.
9. Port Arthur
• Some tales suggest that prisoners committed
murder (an offence punishable by death) just
to escape the desolation of life at the camp.
• The Island of the Dead was the destination for
all who died inside the prison camps.
11. Aborigines vs. British
• British settlers brought disease and guns to
Australia.
• The Aborigines had no immunity against
European diseases.
• In the 19th & 20th centuries, conflict worsened.
• Surviving Aborigines were forced onto
reservations in the interior.
12. Australia Grows Up!
• 1851- Gold was
discovered in New
South Wales and
Victoria, attracting a
large population.
• Australia’s population
quadrupled!!
• Independence became
an issue.
