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1718-1783 British Convicts sent to America
About 50,000 British criminals were transported to colonies in America. -
British first discover Australia - Terra Nullius declared
Captain James Cook in the Endeavour entered Botany Bay and declared Terra Nullius in the name of the British Empire. Terra Nullius meant:
- the country had no government, as recognised by the Europeans; and
- the Europeans believed that no-one owned the land. They wrongly concluded that the Indigenous people roamed over the land and never settled, were non-workers who did not engage in trade, construction or manufacturing and therefore did not deserve land or property rights. -
1775-1783 American War of Independence
AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE - hostilities with Britain brought transportation to a halt. Britain could no longer send convicts to America. -
1783-1787 British prisons and hulks begin to overflow
British prisons and hulks began to over-flow and disease was spreading due to the cities being over crowded. The industrial revolution meant people had moved to the cities to look for work. There was widespread poverty and the strict British government had very harsh penalties for minor crimes like stealing food. This meant that the number of prisoners in British gaols was huge. The government became worried that prisoners would riot or escape. A new settlement needed to be found. -
New South Wales proclaimed as a colony
The colony of New South Wales was proclaimed by King George III, following advice from Sir Joseph Banks who had sailed there with Cook in 1770. He said New South Wales was a good distance from British which would make escape difficult and that the soil was good for growing food. -
Arrival of First Fleet - Governor Arthur Phillip
The First Fleet of eleven ships arrived and Sydney with 751 convicts and their children, and 252 marines and their families settling. Governor Arthur Phillip (1788-1792) started a system of labour in which people, whatever their crime, were employed according to their skills – as brick makers, carpenters, nurses, servants, cattlemen, shepherds and farmers. Women convicts were assumed to be most useful as wives and mothers, and marriage effectively freed a woman convict. -
First conflict between Aboriginal people and First Fleet
The first conflict between the First Fleet arrivals and Aboriginal people takes place near Rushcutters Bay, Sydney. Two convicts are killed. As they spread out British settlers destroyed the resources that were used for food and illness relief such as local plants and animals. This caused disease and malnutrition. The British rations of flour, sugar, tea was not nutritious for their bodies. Traditional Indigenous lifestyles suffered from the loss of friends and family as they died. -
1788-1790 Food Shortage
The natural food sources of fish and kangaroos were not enough. The seed brought with them did not grow as it had dried out after the long voyage or been attacked by insects. The land was too sandy for farming. The sheep could not survive in the new environment. The convicts were from the city and were not farmers. Farms were built on the banks of the Hawkesbury River. This land often flooded, was used by Aboriginal people, and so did not improve the food shortage. Food had to come by ship. -
Smallpox outbreak
British explorers unknowingly exposed Australia's Indigenous people to many varieties of disease, such as smallpox, tuberculosis, influenza, measles, whooping cough and the common cold which were all often deadly as they had not built up a natural resistance to disease. In 1789 Smallpox decimated the Aboriginal population of Port Jackson, Botany Bay and Broken Bay. The disease spread inland and along the coast. -
Bennelong Arrested
Bennelong (1764?-1813), Aboriginal man, was captured and brought to the settlement at Sydney Cove by order of Governor Arthur Phillip, who hoped to learn from him more of the natives' customs and language. Bennelong took readily to life among the white men, relished their food, acquired a taste for liquor, learned to speak English and became particularly attached to the governor, in whose house he lodged. -
Arrival of Second Fleet
SECOND FLEET of convicts arrived brining much needed food for the colony. -
1790-1816 Hawkesbury and Nepean Wars Begin
Pemulwuy spears Governor Phillip’s gamekeeper, John McEntire, and Phillip orders the first punishment. Led by Pemulwuy and his son Tedbury, the Eora tribe raid stations using firesticks to set the bush on fire, destroy buildings, and burn crops. Conflict continued as the settlers took over more and more land. The Indigenous people's strong connection with the land was being disrespected. Indigenous people were killed and many more were forced off their ancestral land and became displaced. -
Arrival of Third Fleet
THIRD FLEET of convicts arrived. -
Arrival of first free settlers
First free settlers arrived. They included men, women and children who had chosen to come the Australia. Some were free individuals or families looking for a new life. Others were wives and children of convicts who had now been pardoned, or soldiers from the first, second or third fleets who were coming to reunite their family in Australia. -
Richmond Hill battle - Aboriginal people defend their country
The Richmond Hill battle is considered to be the first recorded battle between Aboriginal people defending their country against the British. Australia had become lawful, under British law, but Indigenous people were treated very differently to non-Indigenous people. Governor Arthur Philip had been told to treat the Indigenous people fairly so used posters to attempted to teach the Indigenous people about the new laws. They showed that equal punishments would be used on all people. -
Black Wars
Two Aboriginal boys killed near Windsor by five Hawkesbury settlers. A court martial found them guilty but Acting-Governor King is instructed to pardon the men. Beginning of a six-year period of resistance to white settlement by Aboriginal people in the Hawkesbury and Parramatta areas. Known as the 'Black Wars'. -
Settlers authorised to shoot unarmed aboriginal people
William Moree, a lieutenant of the New South Wales Rum Corps, orders to open fire at Risdon Cove, Tasmania, on a group of about 300 Aboriginal people who are probably hunting kangaroos. Between 30 and 60 Aboriginal people are killed. The Lieutenant tries to cover-up the incident, claiming only 3 had been shot. Hostilities increase - the slaughter of Aboriginal people in Australia has begun. Settlers are authorised to shoot unarmed Aboriginal people. -
Protection Policy Implemented
Indigenous Australian children were placed in institutions to learn British culture. The children were given an education, shelter, religion (Christianity) and integration. They had no contact with their family and friends, and had to forget their traditional life. Lack of understanding meant the Australian government did not think the Indigenous way of life was suitable for children, they needed to be 'rescued' to ensure a better future. This had a devastating affect on the Indigenous people. -
Economic progress - Labour and Employment
From 1810 convicts were used to develop the colony. Convict labour was used to build public facilities – roads, bridges, courthouses and hospitals. The assignment of convicts to free settlers and small land holders for farming labour was expanded by Commissioner Bigge in the 1820s and 1830s and this became the major form of employment. By 1821 there was a growing number of freed convicts who were appointed to positions of trust and responsibility as well as being granted land. -
Queensland colony established
In 1824, the penal colony at Redcliffe was established by Lieutenant John Oxley. Known as the Moreton Bay Settlement, it later moved to the site now called Brisbane. The main inhabitants of 'Brisbane Town', as it was known, were the convicts of the Moreton Bay Penal Station until it was closed in 1839. Around 2,280 convicts were sent to the settlement in those fifteen years. -
Van Dieman's Land colony established
The colony of Van Diemen's Land was established in its own right in 1827, although convicts were sent their from 1803, and officially became known as Tasmania in 1856. In the 50 years from 1803–1853 around 75,000 convicts were transported to Tasmania. By 1835 there were over 800 convicts working in chain-gangs at the infamous Port Arthur penal station, which operated between 1830 and 1877. -
Western Australia free colony established
The Colony of Western Australia (also known as Swan River Colony) was established as a free colony on 2 May 1829 when Captain Fremantle formally took possession of the land of Western Australia in the name of the King of England. In May 1849 the British authorised the conversion of Western Australia to a penal colony. From 1849 to 1868 over 9000 convicts were from England. -
Port Phillip District Wars rage in Victoria
Port Phillip District Wars rage in Victoria (then administered by New South Wales and known as Port Phillip district) from 1830 to 1850. The Indigenous Koorie population resists the large influx of immigrants and settlers who bring large herds of sheep and cattle into the state. -
1830's - Women in the Colony
Twenty per cent of the first convicts were women. The majority of women convicts, and many free women seeking employment, were sent to the 'female factories' as unassigned women. The female factories were originally profit-making textile factories. The Parramatta Factory grew as an enclave for pregnant women and also served as an orphanage from the 1830s. -
Myall Creek Massacre
In Myall Creek settlers believed Indigenous groups were responsible for the spearing and death of two white men. A group of angry men armed themselves with guns and weapons and travelled to the closest Indigenous campsite. They captured and killed 28 indigenous people (men, women and children). The men responsible were prosecuted, found guilty of murder and hanged. This showed that crimes against Indigenous people were not going to be tolerated by the authorities. -
Last Convicts Arrive in Australia
The last consignment of convicts arrived in Western Australia, thus ending the Transportation System which had brought around 162,000 convicts on 806 ships to Australia in the period 1788 to 1868. The Australian population was about 1 million. By 1868 there were enough people to take on the work, and enough people who needed the work. The colonies could therefore sustain themselves and continue to grow. The convicts had served their purpose.
