Introduction

= = [] = = [] = = =__** Background **__= = =
 * Two hundred years ago only a few people in England lived happy and comfortable lives.**


 * It was hard to get a lot of work and some people did not have enough food to eat and could not afford medicines when they were sick. Most families had to send their children out to work. Some worked in coal mines, factories and some even climbed up chimneys to clean them. A lot of people, including children started to steal food and things that they could sell for food. Often it was only something small but it still meant they had to go to gaol when they were caught. There were 222 different crimes that carried the death penalty. If you were caught, for example, stealing something worth more than 5 shillings, cutting down a tree or even catching a fish in a river that ran through someone else's property you would be sentenced to die.**


 * In England the prisons were so full that they used old ships as floating prisons. These ships were cold and cramped, and the prisoners on them often died because of disease or hunger. The government decided that they could "transport" or send some of these prisoners to their colonies, as convicts. The men who were chosen had usually been before the courts a few times before being transported, whereas women were more likely to be transported for a first offence.**


 * The colonies were land the British had claimed as their own (even though aboriginal or native people did already live there!). The British though they could send people to these colonies to help build farms and homes. The great majority of convicts were working men and women with a range of skills.**


 * The English Government used to send their prisoners to America, but after a war between England and America the American's wouldn't let them do this anymore. So the English had to decide how they could deal with so many prisoners in England. And, although it would mean an 8 month boat journey, they decided that they would send prisoners to New South Wales. Not only would they be able to get rid of their prison problem, but it also meant that the new colony of New South Wales would have people to help to make it a new country. These prisoners, known as convicts would help to build roads and buildings, run farm and have families.**


 * On 13 of May 1787, the fleet of 11 ships set sail from Portsmouth, England. Led by Captain Arthur Phillip, this historic convoy, which later became known as the First Fleet, carried officers, crew, marines and their families, and convicts from Britain to a distant and little known land on the far side of the world. Along the way they stopped at Tenerife, Rio de Janeiro and Cape Town, to get more food supplies and water.**


 * The Fleet consisted of two Royal Navy escort ships, HMS //Sirius// and HMS //Supply//. They accompanied six convict transports, the //Alexander, Charlotte, Friendship, Lady Penrhyn, Prince of Wales// and the //Scarborough//, and three store ships, the //Borrowdale//, //Fishburn// and //Golden Grove//.**


 * The ships were specially built for the long eight month voyage which had to carry prison chambers for the convicts, and also carry food and animals. The animals included sheep, goats, chickens, dogs and cats, that also needed special areas to place them. The supply ships were loaded with enough supplies for the new settlement to survive for two years, after which they would have to make use of the land, local animals, and materials. The supply ships had all sorts of things such as clothes, tools, building materials (bricks, nails, ready-cut wood), cooking equipment (including some complete cast-iron stoves), plant seeds, furniture and even a portable canvas house for the governor.**


 * Convicts were housed below decks on the prison deck and often further confined behind bars. In many cases they were restrained in chains and were only allowed on deck for fresh air and exercise. People slept in hammocks and there were tables for eating and stools to sit on. To keep the convicts secure, thick wooden walls were built across the deck (floor) from side to side. These had small holes in them so the guards could shoot in case of trouble. The hatches (doors up to the decks) were kept shut with cross bars, bolts and locks. Guards were always on duty at each hatch, and a guard with a gun was always on the quarter deck.**

**The First Fleet left England on 13th May 1787 for the ‘lands beyond the seas’ – Australia, stopping at Tenerife, Rio de Janeiro and Cape Town, where food supplies were replenished. The fleet arrived at Botany Bay between 18th and 20th January 1788. **


 * The first ship, //Supply//, reached Botany Bay on 18 January 1788. Phillip soon decided that this site, picked by Sir Joseph Banks, was not suitable. It had poor soil, no safe place to leave the ships, and no drinking water. Phillip decided to go north to Port Jackson . On 26 January the marines and convicts landed at Sydney Cove . It was a successful trip, as only 40 convicts had died. Phillip named the settlement Sydney after Lord Sydney, the British government's Home Secretary.**
 * 1403 people left Portsmouth.**


 * On the voyage 7 babies were born. 69 people died or left the ships. 1332 people landed in Port Jackson which is now known as Sydney.**

[|First Fleet Voyage]



A Victorian slum. A picture of the Seven Dials district of London in 1872. What do you think it was like to live there?




 * Times were harsh and punishments severe.**
 * Many people convicted of crimes, sometimes quite minor, were transported to NSW. Convicts with certain skills were very useful in starting the new colony. ﻿ **









ue to the [|Bloody Code], by the 1770s, there were 222 crimes in Britain which carried the [|death penalty],[|[][|6][|]] almost all of them for crimes against property. Many even included offences such as the stealing of goods worth over 5 shillings, the cutting down of a tree, stealing an animal or stealing from a rabbit warren. For example, Michael Hammond and his sister, Ann, whose ages were given as 7 and 11, were reportedly hanged at [|King's Lynn] on Wednesday, 28 September 1708 for [|theft]. The local press did not consider the executions of two children newsworthy.[|[][|7][|]] The Bloody Code died out in the 1800s because judges and juries thought that punishments were too harsh. Since the law makers still wanted punishments to scare potential criminals, but needed them to become less harsh, transportation became the more common punishment.[|[][|8][|]]