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Joseph Banks had declared Bottany Bay suitable for a penal colony after he returned from a journey there in 1770. Captain Arthur Phillip was the first governor of the colony of New South Wales.
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The day after the First Fleet arrived in Botany Bay, Lieutenant Philip Gidley King began selecting the handful of men and women to colonise Norfolk Island.
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Commissioner John Bigge, who was appointed by the Colonial office in London, made a report into the treatment of convicts in New South Wales, reccomending more serverity.
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Sarah Island was a penal settlement set up in 1822 as the last resort for some convicts. It is located in the remote wilderness of Macqurie Harbour and was known for its cruel punishments and gruesome history.
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Port Arthur which had previously been used as a timber mill, was now used as a prison for the repeat offennders and the most hardened criminals.
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Sir William Moleworth was appointed by the British House of Commons to investigate whether transportation was a sufficient detterent or too harsh as a penalty, concluding transportation should be discontinued.
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Transportation of British convicts to Sydney was abolished. However, it continued in Tasmania and in Western Australia for many years, enabling the colonies to grow quickly.
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Flogging starts to slowly die out in the Australian colonies,
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After 161,700 convicts had previously arrived, transportation was finally banned. Australia was no longer used as a prison, but as a home.
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Two years after hanging was abolished in England, the last hanging in Australia took place at Pentridge Prison in Melbourne.