Down at the Dump Trivia Quiz

Answer: Victoria

The First Fleet sailed into Botany Bay in New South Wales on the 18th of January 1788 but it was felt that this site did not possess the right ingredients to establish a settlement. The fleet journeyed northward and would wind up setting up camp at Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour) on the 26th of January. Depending on your point of view, this day is now referred to as either Australia Day or Invasion Day.

Sydney (New South Wales), consequently, would become the first major convict site in the country and it would continue to bring in prisoners until 1840. In short course, a satellite colony was established on a nearby island.

Fifteen years later (1803), a second major penal colony was established in Van Diemen's Land (later renamed Tasmania) where prisoners continued to be shipped until 1853. Way out west, the British were attempting to establish a settlement in the area now known as Perth, but the endeavour was a failing one. To bolster its workforce, Western Australia (WA) placed a request for convicts so that labour was available to complete vital infrastructure works. Convict labour was shipped to WA between 1850 and 1868.
[ Photograph ] The state flag of Victoria.

Answer: Fresh water

As a site, Botany Bay did not have the necessary water supply to (a) provide for the settlement and (b) to facilitate future growth. The Port Jackson site provided a stream, later to be named the Tank Stream, that contributed a continuous supply of fresh water. As it ran right through the middle of the settlement it also provided an opportunity to divide the town, placing government buildings and residences on the eastern side while the convicts inhabited the west side, an area that would become known as "The Rocks".

During the 1790s a project was created to build four large tanks (hence the name), each capable of holding 20,000 litres of water. Fences were constructed along the banks to protect the water supply, no washing or bathing was allowed in it and livestock were not supposed to be grazed within its immediate reach. All of these efforts were put in place to keep the water clean, however, despite these restrictions, the growth in the population and its increasing use saw it become steadily polluted until, the 1820s, when it became no better than an open sewer.

Port Jackson did provide some strategic benefits to the British though these were not significant enough to make it the basis for settlement. The soil did not prove to be beneficial for crops. The local indigenous population did camp near the settlement as the stream, which they called Warrane, was a popular fishing spot for them. Whilst they did not provide labour for the British they would eventually trade with the townsfolk.
[ Picture ] Represents a rainwater tank.

Answer: Norfolk Island

Norfolk Island was settled by the British in March of 1788 but the Empire's connection to the island goes back to 1774, when it was visited by Captain James Cook during his second voyage into the South Pacific. Whilst it did provide the settlement in Australia with some strategic value, the island was favoured because of Cook's early reports, which indicated that the local pine trees and flax plants could prove useful for the creation of masts and sails for ships.

These plants, however, did not prove suitable for either task but, the bonus for Port Jackson was that the island was blessed with highly fertile soil and this, coupled with the mild climate in the area was a boon for the growing of crops. With the difficulties of growing food on the mainland and the possibility of future famine being likely, Norfolk Island would soon become known as Sydney's "bread basket".

The British would abandon the island in 1814 because of its isolation and, mainly, because access to it was treacherous. They would return in 1825 and install a secondary convict settlement. This time there was a concerted drive to clear the land for agriculture and some large-scale infrastructure projects were also mooted. These projects were ambitious and pressing to make them happen led to some of the harshest treatment to be meted out to the prisoners. Word of these methods did not take long to spread to other nations and the British were severely condemned for it, creating a blackspot on the island's history.

In 1840 New South Wales stopped taking in prisoners. This, in turn, affected Norfolk Island and its population began to dwindle, dropping to 11 residents by 1855. In 1856, the island was handed to the Pitcairn Islanders, who were, in the main, descendants of the mutineers from the Bounty, and their wives.
[ Photograph ] Shown are the leaves of a Norfolk Island pine tree.

Answer: Queensland and Victoria

Soon after settlement, the British sought to stretch their influence along Australia's eastern seaboard and, by 1800, had established smaller convict settlements at Moreton Bay (present day Brisbane in Queensland) and Port Phillip (Melbourne, Victoria).

Melbourne would boast that it was "convict free" because prisoners were not sent directly to them from Great Britain, instead they were routed through New South Wales. This wasn't entirely true as, between 1846 and 1850, they directly received groups known as "Exiles". This was an experiment conducted by the British government, taking prisoners who had partially served their sentences, were granted a "conditional" pardon and then sent straight to Melbourne. Technically, they were still prisoners but were able to act as "free" men and women.

Moreton Bay was set up as a "secondary" punishment cell. The majority of the convicts sent here had committed offences while "in colony" and still serving their original British sentence. A number of other secondary cells were soon set up after this - Newcastle in 1804, Port Macquarie (1821), Macquarie Harbour (1822) and Norfolk Island and Maria Island in 1825. Macquarie Harbour and Marie Islands would be closed down in 1830 and the prisoners shipped to the (now) iconic Port Arthur settlement in Tasmania.

[ Photograph ] The state of Victoria's nickname is the "cabbage" garden while Queensland is known as "banana" land.

Answer: Non-violent first offenders

There is an old, traditional folk song called "(Bound for) Botany Bay", that was catalogued by the British Library in 1780, and it provides one of the succinct qualifications to the answer above. The final verse includes the following lines;

"Now all my young dookies and duchesses
Take warning of what I have to say
Mind all is your own as you touchesses
Or you'll join us in Botany Bay."

According to Convict Indents, which were the ships and arrivals registers taken between 1788 and 1868, approximately 75% of the convicts shipped to Australia were for non-violent property crimes. The majority of these related to theft and, at least half of these, were first time offenders.

It also makes sound logic that this be the case. British jails were clogged with petty thieves i.e. steal a loaf of bread and you found yourself in a cell. In addition, the penalty for these crimes often amounted to death and public executions were commonplace. This had the effect of placing the government in a poor light, which made transportation to Australia, a win for them. The other side of the equation was that it would be far easier to establish a penal colony made up of non-violent criminals than the alternative.
[ Photograph ] Displays a pickpocket. Usually non-violent in nature.

Answer: True

Great Britain's great deterrent for criminal activities in the 18th century, was not incarceration but the death penalty. Whilst it didn't serve as a massive deterrent, it meant that the methods of the government did not sit well with the general public. Another option was needed, and the solution amounted to transportation to the colonies, with the main one being Australia.

Records from the Old Bailey, at this point in time, indicated that almost 40% of these crimes were committed by women, however, in an article for the Law Society Review in 1991 called "The Vanishing Female", authors Feeley and Little indicated that, with the introduction of transportation, this ratio dropped "precipitously". From this author's personal observation (not researched), it appears that the fear of transportation was far greater than the fear of death. It makes one wonder whether the crimes were perpetuated out of desperation and, if the act wound up in death, then, it was a better option than remaining hungry. Transportation, on the other hand, took away this option.

One of the outcomes of this reduced criminal activity by females meant that it made for a strong male population in Australia. It was estimated that the convict women only made up to 15% of the prisoners that were transported. To compound the situation, "free" immigrants were slow to see the opportunities that a new country such as Australia offered and they remained at home. The majority of those that did make the journey were male, further adding to the "testosterone" fueled population.
[ Photograph ] A set of prison cells.

Answer: Coercion

All convicts, regardless of sex or age, were forced to work. Consequently, they were coerced workers and the biggest issue with a coerced labour force is likely to be resistance. The prisoners could (and did) show this resistance in a number of ways. There were the overt methods such as protests and union style actions or the more subtle approaches such as malingering - either feigning illness or exaggerating issues.

Whilst these were the ways that the convicts could use to get their message across and to campaign for better conditions, it did create another issue for them... punishment. Whereas the abovenamed behaviour among the "free" workers would, most likely, earn a slap on the wrist, for the prisoners, the actions would be deemed to be criminal in nature and led to harsher treatment. The most favoured of these was the lash, which seemed to be a hangover from the punishment that may have been meted out on the long sea voyage across. In time, this reverted to the prisoners enduring spells in solitary confinement or extending their periods of detention.
[ Photograph ] The picture shows the execution of the lash.

Answer: Salted beef, corn and wheat flour

Prisoners would collect their daily ration from the government store. Essentially, this consisted of 450 grams of salted beef or pork, and the same weight in both corn and wheat flour. The flour would be used by the convicts to make their own bread. Whilst these may appear to be meagre rations, it should be remembered that this is what was served to the men. Women and teenaged children, because it was felt that their daily exertions were less, received less. Additionally, the meat received was generally of poor quality or rotten due to its long storage while on board the transport ship.

There were opportunities for the prisoners to supplement these offerings. This could happen if the prisoner was fortunate enough to have been paid a wage of some description or they were able to establish their own vegetable patches. Some would attempt to hunt or fish to add to their diet but these were difficult pursuits. This also created another problem. The convicts were in competition for game with the local aboriginal population who, to this point, had managed the environment with care to ensure that only enough was taken. Convicts tended to overhunt and this placed enormous pressures on the environment and led to significantly reduced stocks.
[ Photograph ] Canned food to illustrate rations.

Answer: Within 1 year

Bearing in mind that most of the convicts that were transported to Australia were non-violent, first offenders, it should come as no surprise that some of the sentences for these prisoners were expiring within a year of landing. In addition, it has been estimated that nearly 85% of those first arrivals had gained their freedom inside five years.

Apart from the expiration of sentences, there were strong incentives for the convicts to be on their best behaviour, which enabled them to qualify for an earlier release. Emancipation for the convicts meant work and work provided an avenue to some good wages. In addition, they could, potentially, qualify for land grants. The core understanding for them was that liberty provided an avenue for a return to normalcy, albeit in a country far, far away.
[ Photograph ] Calendar as a metaphor for time.

Answer: True

On the surface, this may appear to be a superfluous question but it does have a purpose... to illustrate that a convict was not doomed to a life of misery but, more importantly, that there was great opportunity to be had in the new country.

The man in question was Samuel Terry, who came to be dubbed the "Botany Bay Rothschild". Terry was convicted of stealing 400 pairs of stockings and transported to Australia. On becoming a "free" man he was granted a small parcel of land in 1808 to establish a farm. Two years later he married Rosetta Marsh who was the proprietor of a small inn, which he took over the running of. He soon came to realize that the country's population was, predominantly, urbanized and that the best road to wealth in an urbanized area lay in the importing of goods and in pubs, both of which he exploited expertly.

The Bigge Report, an investigation into the colony of New South Wales and one that would provide the blueprint for the further colonization of Australia, was published in 1821 and within its pages was a listing of Terry's wealth. It indicated that the man had amassed some 19,000 acres of land, ran 1,450 head of cattle and some 3,800 sheep. It also indicated that he'd issued more money for mortgages than Australia's first bank, the Bank of New South Wales, of which he was a major shareholder and that he was generating £10,000 a year from rental properties in Sydney. When he'd passed away in 1838, it was estimated that his wealth was the equivalent of 3.39% of Australia's Gross Domestic Product. William Rubenstein, in his publication "The All-Time Australian 200 Rich List" (2004) calculated that Terry's net worth, by 2004 standards, amounted to $24 billion.
[ Photograph ] Cash, to indicate wealth.