Australia's Convict Heritage Trivia Quiz

Answer: Cockatoo Island

During the 20th century, Cockatoo Island was a major shipyard, but it closed in 1992. The first dry dock for the construction and repair of ships was built by convicts in 1857. Cockatoo Island was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2010.

Answer: Francis Greenway

From 1819 until 1848, this building in Hyde Park was the largest 'home' for male convicts in the colony of New South Wales. After several other incarnations, in 1981 it was renovated and turned into a museum tracing the convict history of the colony, and was listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as a site of value in noting the impact of convicts and their work on the development of the Australian colonies.

Answer: Parramatta

Old Government House was built as a country residence for the Governor of New South Wales, on land occupied by the Burramatta tribe. Construction started in 1799, by Governor John Hunter, and the building was subsequently expanded by later governors. The final form, a very English mansion, was basically reached during the time of Governor Lachlan Macquarie.

Answer: Hunter Valley

The 260 km (160 mi) of this winding road was intended to aid agricultural development in the fertile Hunter Valley, north of Sydney. It was an amazing feat of construction through the hostile terrain, but was not a great success because parts of it were very steep, and there was little in the way of food and water for horses along its path. Nowadays it is mostly incorporated into suburban streets, but there are some visible remnants, such as bypassed bridges, for the dedicated sightseer.

Answer: Norfolk Island

The First Fleet arrived in Sydney in late January, 1788; Lieutenant Philip Gidley King was sent with fifteen convicts and seven free man to set up a second settlement on Norfolk Island, arriving in early March. Many more settlers followed during the rest of the year.

It was always difficult to organise provision of materials to Norfolk Island, and suggestions that it should be closed started to be made in 1794. People started leaving in 1805, and the island was totally abandoned, after destroying as many buildings as possible, in 1813.

It was settled again in 1825, as a place to send hard-core convicts who were not found suitable to be kept in Sydney.

Answer: Cascades Female Factory

Cascades Female Factory was the size of a city block, with residential and work buildings, as well as exercise yards. It housed female convicts between 1828 and 1856, but was abandoned because its location in swampy land led to poor sanitation; combined with overcrowding and poor food supplies, this led to an unacceptable rate of illness among the convicts.

Answer: Brickendon Estate and Woolmers Estate

Since 1817, Brickendon Estate and Woolmers Estate near Longford, Tasmania, have been owned by the Archer family. In their early days, they were established using convict labour - the men worked the fields and the women maintained the household in exchange for their food and clothing, a common practice in colonial days.

Answer: Darlington Probation Station

The first convict settlement was set up by Lieutenant Governor Arthur as a place for convicts who did not need to be so severely monitored as was the case at the Macquarie Harbour settlement in the west coast of Tasmania. Two buildings from this first phase of convict settlement can still be seen - the Commissariat Store is now used as a visitor centre, and the penitentiary has been turned into a hotel for tourists.

Answer: Port Arthur Massacre

The former convict settlement of Port Arthur is a large open-air museum, and has been popular as a tourist site virtually ever since the day it stopped holding prisoners. On 28 April 1996, 35 visitors and workers were killed and 21 others wounded by Martin Bryant, who is currently incarcerated in the psychiatric wing of Risdon Prison in Hobart, where he is serving 35 consecutive life sentences (plus a further 1035 years without parole).

Answer: Fremantle Prison

The Swan River colony was established by free settlers, who soon requested that skilled convict labour be supplied to assist them. The first shipload of convicts arrived in 1850, before the town had adequately prepared to receive the 75 prisoners. Fremantle Prison was constructed using convicts, who both quarried the limestone and built the prison. Construction started in 1851, and was completed in 1859; prisoners lived in the gaol as they were building it starting in 1855.