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A new role for a new land
Joseph Banks, who sailed with Captain Cook, recommended that Botany Bay (on the east coast of NSW) would be used as a site for convict settlement, since the prison system was becoming overcrowded following the failure of transportation of convicts to America. -
Orders in council
British Parliment past orders in council: the eastern coast of Australia, and the adjacent islands, were appointed places to which offenders could be transported overseas from Britian. -
The First Fleet
Captain-General Arthur Phillip was in charge of the First Fleet holding 1487 people abord, including 759 convicts of which 192 were women. There were 211 Royal Marines plus wives and children, other Royal Navy officers and Merchant navy crews. Captain Phillip held enlightened views and believed in moral and industrial rehabilitation of the convicts in his fleet. He released them from their chains and assured them oppitunities for good behaviour. -
The First Fleet sight Van Diemen's Land
Under cloudy skies, the south-western coast of Van Diemen's Land was first sighted on the 3 Janurary 1788. -
Raising the Union flag at Sydney Cove
Long before Covernor Phillip established Sydney Cove, Brtian knew that the land, now known as Tasmania existed, but they didn't know it was a separate island from Australia. -
Penal settlement at Norfolk Island
Lieutenant Philip Gidley King establishes penal settlement at Norfolk Island to which convicts were retransported for committing further offences in the colony. -
Convicts
Governor Phillips was empowered to take convicts from the contractors who brought them out in boats and were assignment to other settlers. -
Ticket of leave system was introduced
There was no specific date when the system was introduced, but it was introduced by Covernor Phillip. -
The Second Fleet
The Second Fleet arrived between 3-28 June 1790.
The ships that travelled over were Guardian, Justinian, Lady Juliana, Neptune, Scarborough and Surprize.
There were approximately 1000 menconvicts and 222 women. Unfortunately 267 people died on the voyage. The six ships that left England in the second fleet all left in different times. It took ten months to reach van diemens land. -
Settlement of Van Diemen's Land
To prevent settlement by the French, Lieutenant Bowen was sent to start a settlement on the southern coast of Van Diemen's Land. His two ships, the Lady Nelson and the Albion transported twenty-five convicts to Risdon, near Hobart, the first convicts to land in Tasmania. Shortly after, David Collins formed a second settlement at Sullivan's Cove, the site of the modern city of Hobart. Within a short period of time, the settlement at Risdon moved to Sullivan's Cove. -
Convicts from India
Governor King accepted convicts which had previously been stationed in India and Ceylon, now called Sri Lanka. -
Settlement of North Tasmania
In order to increase security against French invasion, Colonel Paterson transported a small group of convicts from Norfolk Island to Port Dalrymple, near modern day George Town, in the north of Tasmania. -
Rejoining husbands
A committee recommended that provision was made for women who were industrious and of good charactor to live with their husbands. -
Risks of passage
General Hewitt recommended improvements in convict service while being transported on boats. Of the first 3, 833 convicts who were set out from Britain, 385 died during the voyage due to scurvy, low fever and typhus. He pointed out the dangers of closs confinement - no fresh air, no fresh water, no fresh food or time on deck. Doctors were incompetent (including my ancestor Dr. Edward Hungerford Luttrell) and Masters were men without education or refinement. -
Macquarie Harbour
Tasmanian Governor Sorell established Macquarie Harbour on the isolated, ruggered west coast for reconvicted convicts. -
Arthur's line
Governor Arthur decided to get rid of the troublesome natives and used both free settlers and convicts to form a line across the island. They swept the island, pushing all of the natives south, but only mannaged to trap a hand full. The killing of natives by shooting and introduced diseases did much more to wipe out the Tasmanian Aboriginal poulation. The last pure blooded Tasmanian native, Trugananie, died in 1876. -
Prisoners with political or social views
During the industrial depression in Britain, many who took part in hunger-riots and machine-breaking were transported. These agitators were often highly intillectual. -
Port Arthur
Governor Arthur closed Macquarie Harbour and moved this settlement to Port Arthur where the only inhabitants initially were the prisoners and their guards. No female convicts were sent initially. -
Retransportation from New South Wales
In 1840 the transportation of convicts to NSW, and later Norfolk Island, was stopped and all convicts from Norfolk Island were transfered to Van Diemen's Land. Along with increased convicts following the closure of transportation to NSW, this lead to vast overloading of the capacity to handle the convicts in Tasmania. -
Convicts Transported
From 1788-1840 there were 88, 250 convicts transported to NSW and Tasmania. -
End of an era
British Government decided to terminate all transportation of convicts to eastern Australia. -
A new start for a new land
Along with celebrations to mark the abolishment of transportation of convicts to any of the Australian colonies, Van Diemen's Land was renamed Tasmania, in memory of it's first discoverer more than 200 years before. -
The last Convict ship to any Australian colony
During the period of transportation the number of convicts sent under sentance to Australia amounted to 160, 663 of whom 67, 655 convicts were sent to Tasmania between 1803-1852.