Page 80 - All About History - Issue 11-14

a few years, Norfolk had “ Back-breaking work building roads and
turned from a small cottage
industry settlement to an bridges could last anything from 14 to
intensive labour camp worked
by the worst of the Australian 18 hours a day, seven days a week”
mainland’s criminals and
overseen by military officers convicts under the command of Governor Darling and other servants were required for the free
who proved difficult to manage. became even more brutal. migrants seeking their fortune in a new country.
Ross was sent back to The system that Arthur Phillip set up aimed Regardless of their background, every convict was
Sydney in 1791 and was to extract the best use of every convict. A few assigned a trade: the educated were freed from
promptly deported back cursory details like their place of birth, religion and menial labour and got off lightly with the job of
to Britain after being physical marks like scars or tattoos were noted to helping with the island’s administration, while the
relieved of his command. identify them, before they were asked about their job of some wives and mothers was simply to help
Even after Ross left previous trade and level of literacy to establish their populate the colonies.
though, Norfolk Island vocation. Extra labourers, providing they worked For those tasked with building the houses
was still used primarily well, were always handy but anyone with a trade and infrastructure in the first few decades of the
as a prison island for was valuable. As the penal colonies of Botany Bay colonies, life was a shade tougher. Leg irons were
David Collins was the worst of the worst and Sydney spread into Australia’s rural regions, widely used and the convicts’ overseers wielded
lieutenant governor of from the Australian the trades of a Western civilisation became sought their whips liberally. Back-breaking work building
the island that would
later become Tasmania mainland. The after. Now, not just carpenters, smiths and farmers roads and bridges could last anything from 14 to 18
treatment of its were in demand, but housemaids, nannies, porters hours a day, seven days a week. Though the aim

The treadmill
Another form of punishment, A good flogging
some of the larger treadmills Those convicts who didn’t
needed 25 convicts to operate behave were subjected to
them properly and had 24 different punishments. A
steps. The average punishment common one was lashes with
was to complete 160 the cat o’nine tails, which
revolutions of the windmill. would leave a convict’s back in
a very painful state.

Administrative
duties
Not all of the convicts were
employed in back-breaking
labour. Those who could read
and write would often work
inside helping with the running
and paperwork of the colony.

Working the fields
The convicts that hadn’t
broken the rules and didn’t
Dash for freedom Crops have any other skills would
With brutal conditions Many penal colonies be put to work on the fields,
and some of the convicts attempted to work the land helping provide food for the
hardened criminals its little so they could provide food colonies in an attempt to make
surprise some tried to escape. for themselves. The success them self-sufficient.
If caught they would often be of this varied, as some of the
sent to Norfolk Island, where colonies were placed in parts
life was even more brutal.
of Australia where growing
vegetation was not easy.
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