Rebecca Huber-Ross

A recent meeting of the 2025-26 Fredonia Shakespeare Club was at the home of Judi Lutz Woods and Leanna McMahon was the hostess. Vice President Sharon Klug welcomed Club members to the meeting.

After a brief business meeting concluded, a paper by Rebecca Huber-Ross was presented on the UNESCO Convict Sites in Australia.

A summary of this paper included this information:

There are 11 UNESCO World Heritage sites in Australia. These sites were designated by UNESCO relatively recently in 2010. They are Darlington Probation Station (Tasmania), Brickendon and Woolmers Estates (Tasmania), Port Arthur (Tasmania), Hyde Park Barracks (New South Wales), Old Government House and Domain (NSW), Old Great North Road (NSW), Coal Mines (Tasmania), Fremantle Prison (Western Australia), Cascades Female Factory (Tasmania), Cockatoo Island (NSW), and Kingston and Arthur’s Vale Historic Area (Norfolk Island).

Between 1788 and 1868 the British penal system transported about 162,000 convicts from Great Britain and Ireland to various penal colonies in Australia. Prior to this the convicts had been sent to the American colonies. In 1787 the first fleet of 11 ships set sail for Botany Bay, NSW. They arrived on January 20, 1788, to found Sydney, NSW, the first European settlement on the continent. There was high mortality on this fleet due to starvation.

Most convicts were transported for petty crimes, particularly theft. Thieves comprised 80% of all transportees. Approximately, one in seven convicts were women as about 24,000 women were transportees. In addition, there were 3,600 political prisoners due to political unrest in Britain and Ireland. Criminals who committed more serious crimes such as rape or murder were also punishable by death so comparatively few were transported.

Factors contributing to the large prison population were a surge in population in England from 1740 on, poverty, social injustice, child labor, harsh and dirty living conditions, and long working hours. In addition, the Industrial Revolution economically displaced much of the working class.

Most of the transportees were convicts but there were free settlers, and military personnel as well. Although most of the convicts were British or Irish there were prisoners from many different countries. The number of free settlers increased by the mid 1830’s.

In the penal colonies there was a tiered system of convict management. This system was based on conduct, skills and sentence severity. These were assigned service, which was a preferred system where convicts worked for private settlers, often leading to better conditions. Government Laborers/Gang which was convicts assigned to public words, such as building roads, bridges, and clearing land. Iron-Gangs which were reserved for severe offenders or those who committed crimes while in the colony. They worked in chains on the most demanding tasks. Finally, the Penal Settlements (Secondary Punishment Stations) were maximum-security stations like Port Arthur or Norfolk Island for the most recalcitrant convicts.

There was also a progression system of Ticket to Leave and Conditional/Absolute Pardon. The ticket to leave allowed the convicts to work for themselves before their sentence expired. Such as, they could work a Saturday for pay somewhere in their colony. The pardons were the final stages of freedom, often based on good behavior. Most of the convicts, upon obtaining freedom, chose to stay in Australia.

Among the convicts there were two special classifications. Female convicts were often assigned as domestic servants or sent to “female factories” for punishment and production. Educated/skilled convicts were frequently employed in clerical or specialized roles such as skilled farmers.

Many convicts after obtaining their freedom became constables and other figures in colonial government. Others became successful merchants, playwrights, pharmacists, carpenters, tailors, coopers, painters, civil engineers, philanthropists, journalists, postmasters, poets, farmers, and successful business owners and employers.

Attitudes toward convict lineage in Australia have shifted from a 19th-century “convict stain” of shame to a 20th-century badge of pride, often viewed today as “Australian royalty” or a sign of resilience. While only about 20% of Australians can trace direct ancestry to the 167,000 transported convicts, many view them as survivors who built the nation rather than violent criminals. Before WWII, having convict ancestors was hidden due to the social stigma. Now, it is fashionable to discover convict roots, with many viewing these ancestors as pioneering figures, or “Australian Royalty”. Finding a convict ancestor is often seen as a direct, tangible connection to the nation’s early colonial, “rough and tumble” history. Despite the widespread acceptance, some may still feel a, albeit diminishing, stigma, particularly if the conviction was for a particularly heinous crime. 

It is widely acknowledged that many convicts were victims of harsh economic conditions in Britain, and their descendants are proud of the resilience required to survive in early Australia.