Transportation To Australia Trivia Quiz

Answer: William Pitt

Transportation to America had come to a halt because the United States was now independent. Britain had a rising crime rate and nowhere to keep convicts. Keeping people in prison for long periods was not common in Britain then. As a stop gap measure, hulks or decommissioned troop carriers were used. Conditions on board were appalling.

There was a constant fear of typhus spreading into the wider population. Pitt, under intense political pressure, revived transportation. He picked Botany Bay as a penal settlement, having first rejected Gibraltar, Tristan da Cunha and the West African coast.

Answer: 700

The youngest was 9, he had stolen clothes and a pistol. The oldest was 82 and she had committed perjury. Incredible times!

Answer: Robber

It referred to highwaymen in particular. The most common crime that caused the offender to be transported was theft, sometimes for very trivial items, e.g. a pair of shoes. Perhaps the modern "sneakthief" comes from this word.

Answer: 251 days

The ships in the fleet arrived at different times. The first of two ships to arrive in 251 days was the 'Alexander'. 'The Lady Juliana' took 309 days while one ship never arrived at all as she was wrecked when she hit an iceberg.

Answer: No

Captain Phillip thought the harbour was unsuitable. He sailed north to what is now Sydney, one of the greatest natural harbours in the world.

Answer: Work

10% of prisoners worked on government farms and public works. The remainder worked for free settlers who had gone to Australia and received grants of land.

Answer: Yes

A court order had to be obtained first, but I'm sure there was no problem getting one. The most common punishment was the 'cat o' nine tails'. The number of lashes ranged from 25 to 300! I cannot imagine anyone surviving that number of lashes.

Answer: Female Factory

The first female factory was built at Parramatta in 1804. They worked there and some also lived there. The ratio of men to women was 6:1, so men lined up when female prisoners arrived. If a man dropped a scarf/handkerchief in front of a woman and she picked it up, then marriage was instant. Given that ratio having a husband was a very good idea.

Answer: The worst

This was for the worst offenders and the regime there was brutal.
Tasmania had one of the first juvenile prisons in the world at Point Puer. Boys between 9-18 got a basic education and as a result had a much better chance of making something of themselves than if they had remained in Europe.

Answer: No

This meant s/he could work for wages and live more or less as a free person. Once the sentence was served then inducements were offered to keep the person in Australia. Most accepted very gratefully, they had a future there but not at home. They could not afford to go home in any case. (The government did not provide a return passage, unless it emerged that a prisoner had been wrongfully convicted).