Damon Mcknight
Western Australia was a penal colony of the British Empire between 1850 and 1868, receiving about 9,700 convicts, largely as a source of cheap labour. The colony started receiving small numbers of juvenile offenders from 1842, but it was not formally constituted as a penal colony until 1849. The last convict ship to Australia, the Hougoumont, arrived in Western Australia on 10 January 1868, marking the end of penal transportation by Britain.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Was Western Australia a penal colony? | Yes, Western Australia was a penal colony of the British Empire from 1849 to 1868. |
| Year of formal constitution as a penal colony | 1849 |
| Number of convicts transported to Western Australia | 9,721 convicts transported between 1850 and 1868. Another source states the number as 9,668. |
| Number of convict ship voyages | 43 |
| Year convict transportation began | Convicts were sent to Western Australia as early as 1826, but direct transportation began in 1850. |
| Year convict transportation ended | 1868 |
| Number of convicts in Western Australia at the end of convict transportation | 3,158 |
| Number of juvenile prisoners transported from Parkhurst Prison between 1842 and 1849 | 234 |
| Number of convicts on the last convict ship, the Hougoumont | 229 |
| Year the Swan River Colony was established as a "free settlement" | 1829 |
| Year transportation to the eastern colonies ceased | 1852 |
| Total number of convicts transported to Australia from Britain and Ireland | Approximately 162,000 convicts transported between 1788 and 1868. Another source states the number as 160,000. |
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What You'll Learn
Western Australia was a penal colony from 1849 to 1868
The Swan River Colony, established as a "free settlement" in 1829, was Western Australia's first colony. However, the idea of accepting convicts was in constant circulation from the start, and the colony received small numbers of juvenile offenders from 1842. In 1844, members of the York Agricultural Society brought forward a motion requesting the importation of convicts to address the perceived labour shortage. This marked a turning point, as it directed the settlers' attention towards the potential benefits of convict labour.
Western Australia was formally constituted as a penal colony in 1849, and between 1850 and 1868, 9,721 convicts were transported there on 43 convict ship voyages. The convicts were utilised as a source of cheap labour, working on infrastructure projects, ranches, and the construction of their own jails.
The penal transportation system was not without opposition. The Anti-Transportation League, founded by Congregational minister John West, played a role in ending transportation to certain colonies. Despite this, Western Australia continued to receive convicts until 1868, when the last convict ship, the Hougoumont, arrived with 229 convicts aboard.
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The colony received 9,721 convicts on 43 ships
Western Australia was a penal colony of the British Empire. Although it received small numbers of juvenile offenders from 1842, it was not formally constituted as a penal colony until 1849.
The first convicts to arrive in what is now Western Australia were convicts of the New South Wales penal system. They were sent to King George Sound in 1826 to help establish a settlement there. At that time, the western portion of Australia was unclaimed land known as New Holland. The Governor of New South Wales, Ralph Darling, sent Major Edmund Lockyer, with troops and 23 convicts, to establish the settlement. This marked the beginning of the convict era of Western Australia, which lasted until the cessation of penal transportation by Britain in 1868.
The decision to import convicts into Western Australia was influenced by several factors. One factor was the belief that it would provide free labour to rescue the region from economic collapse due to a shortage of labour. The York Agricultural Society, consisting mostly of pastoralists, was a prominent advocate for the establishment of a penal colony in Western Australia for this reason. Additionally, the eastern colonies had banned the importation of convicts, and Western Australian officials requested that transportation be revived to provide labour for their struggling colony's development. The remote and unstable conditions in Western Australia offered a harsh environment for the convicts, with misery, isolation, hard work, and deprivation.
The convicts transported to Western Australia were mostly male, with approximately one in seven convicts being female. They were primarily transported for petty crimes, particularly theft, and were set to work creating infrastructure for the convict system and the colony. This included the construction of jails, bridges, roads, and public buildings. The port town of Fremantle, facing the Indian Ocean and situated on the Swan River, served as the headquarters for the penal system. The workers were spread throughout the colony, mainly along the coast, and some were hired by free settlers.
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The Swan River Colony was a free settlement
Western Australia was a penal colony of the British Empire from 1849 to 1868. However, the Swan River Colony, founded in 1829, was initially established as a free settlement.
The Swan River Colony was the first British settlement in Western Australia. It was established on the Swan River, in an area that was soon named Perth, which became the capital city of Western Australia. The founding father of the colony was Captain James Stirling, who explored the area in 1827 and lobbied for its establishment as a free settlement, as opposed to a penal colony. Stirling's lobbying, along with rumours in London that France was planning to establish a colony in Western Australia, led to the British Colonial Office agreeing to establish the Swan River Colony as a free settlement in December 1828.
The colony was established with the arrival of several ships carrying settlers and supplies in 1829. However, the colony struggled in its early years due to poor land conditions for farming, which led to food shortages and starvation. By 1832, the population of the colony had decreased to around 1,500 people. Despite these challenges, the Swan River Colony remained a free settlement, and promoters of the colony often mentioned its status as a convict-free settlement to attract potential settlers.
In the mid-1840s, there were increasing calls for Western Australia to become a penal colony, as the colony's economy was struggling and there was a perceived shortage of labour. In 1849, the British government changed Western Australia from a free colony to a penal colony. This decision was influenced by the lobbying of groups like the York Agricultural Society, who argued that the colony's economy was on the brink of collapse and that importing convicts would provide the necessary labour to rescue the region. Between 1850 and 1868, more than 9,000 convicts arrived in Western Australia, outnumbering the free settlers by the time transportation ceased in 1868.
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The York Agricultural Society lobbied for a penal colony
Western Australia was a penal colony of the British Empire. Although it received small numbers of juvenile offenders from 1842, it was not formally constituted as a penal colony until 1849. Between 1850 and 1868, 9,721 convicts were transported to Western Australia on 43 convict ship voyages. The last convict ship to arrive carried 269 convicts.
The York Agricultural Society, which consisted mostly of pastoralists, played a significant role in lobbying for Western Australia to become a penal colony. In 1844, members of the York Agricultural Society brought forward a motion stating that the home government was obligated to provide them with labour, and they petitioned for a gang of forty convicts to be exclusively employed in public works. Although nothing concrete came of this initial motion, it marked a turning point, as it directed the settlers' attention towards the importation of convicts as a solution to their difficulties.
In 1845, three memorials were circulated, requesting the establishment of a penal colony in Western Australia. Two were aborted, but the third resulted in a petition by the York Agricultural Society to the Legislative Council. They argued that the colony's economy was on the brink of collapse due to an extreme shortage of labour. This petition was debated and rejected by the Legislative Council, but it was forwarded to the British Colonial Office nonetheless. The York Agricultural Society continued to circulate petitions, and in 1847, their efforts convinced a substantial proportion of the colony of the merits of becoming a penal settlement.
The York Agricultural Society can be seen as an influential lobby group representing the interests of a small but powerful minority. Their lobbying efforts contributed to the decision to convert Western Australia into a penal colony, providing free labour to rescue the struggling colony.
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The last convict ship arrived in 1868
Western Australia was a penal colony of the British Empire. Although it received small numbers of juvenile offenders from 1842, it was not formally constituted as a penal colony until 1849.
The last convict ship to arrive in Western Australia was the Hougoumont, which arrived at the port of Fremantle on 9 or 10 January 1868, with 229 or 269 convicts on board. The ship's arrival marked the end of 80 years of penal transportation to Australia, during which more than 160,000 convicts were transported.
The end of convict transportation to Western Australia was preceded by a change in British policy, communicated to the colony in May 1865. Britain informed the colony that it would send one convict ship in each of the years 1865, 1866, and 1867, after which transportation would cease.
Between 1850 and 1868, 43 convict ships transported 9,668 convicts to Western Australia. The colony's population nearly quadrupled during this period, rising from 5,886 to 22,738. At the time of the Hougoumont's arrival, 3,158 convicts remained under government control in Western Australia.
The decision to end convict transportation to Western Australia was influenced by financial considerations. The cost of transporting convicts was ten times greater than the cost of imprisoning them in Great Britain. Additionally, the Western Australian colony did not have the funds to pay for labourers, and the burden fell on the British government.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, Western Australia was a penal colony of the British Empire from 1849 to 1868.
Although Western Australia was not formally constituted as a penal colony until 1849, it received small numbers of juvenile offenders from 1842.
Western Australia became a penal colony because its struggling colony needed free labour to survive. The colony's economy was on the brink of collapse due to an extreme shortage of labour.
Between 1850 and 1868, 9,721 convicts were transported to Western Australia on 43 convict ship voyages. Between 1852 and 1868, nearly 10,000 convicts arrived on the western shore.
