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Period: to
Convict History
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The First Fleet Arrives in Botany Bay
The first fleet was led by Capain Arthur Phillip. -
Norfolk Island becomes a prison island
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Flogging of Women and Children abolished
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Commissioner John Bigge appointed to investigate treatment of prisoners
Bigge was appointed by the Colonial Office in London to investigatethe treatment of prisoners in New South Wales. -
Sarah Island Settlement
The Sarah Island Settlement, southwest of Maquarie Harbour, was opened as a place of 'secondary' punishment. Here, they attempted to control the uncontrollable. It gained a gruesome reputation from the horror stories of what went on in Sarah Island. -
The colony of Van Dieman's Land is established
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Cascades Female Factory Opens
Cascades Female Factory opens in Hobart. -
Port Arthur Prison Opened
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Sarah Island Settlement Closes
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Molesworth Report on Transportation
Sir William Molesworth is appointed by the British House of Commons to investigate whether the penalty of transportation is too harsh. He concluded that transportation was not acting as a deterrent and should be abolished. -
Port Arthur Prison is closed.
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Flogging has become rare in Australian Colonies
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Norfolk Island Prison Closed
Most of the people living on the island were Australian, New Zealander, and Polynesian. They belonged to the Anglican, Roman Catholic, or other Christian churches. The prisoners were removed in 1856 -
Penal Servitude act abolishes transportation of women
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Executions no longer public
Act passed to ensure executions take place inside prison walls. -
Cascades Female Factory Closes
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The General Assembly of of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
