Facts About The Australian Convict Sites That Will Surprise You

The British government devised a scheme to transport thousands of inmates from the UK to Australia.

It began in 1788 with the dispatch of the First Fleet towards Sydney and lasted for nearly 80 years. As a result, Sydney, Norfolk Island, Tasmania, and Fremantle are Australian Convict Sites.

As per UNESCO, these sites are the best illustration of 'large-scale prisoner transit' and the growth of European colonial powers throughout the area. Convict labor was also utilized in the construction of these sites.

Before being designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, each of the individual assets listed in the UNESCO World Heritage Site was recognized on the Australian National Heritage List.

It is, in fact, a tale about the evil side of human history: the seclusion, torture, misery, and enslavement of one group of people by another.

However, it is also a story about the more positive sides of humanity, such as experiments in jail reform and unparalleled possibilities for female and male criminals to rebuild their lives. Here are some interesting Australian Convict Sites facts!

Discovery And History

In 1770, James Cook explored the Australian east coast and seized it for Britain. Because the British believed the French would eventually start pushing into Australia, Australia was selected as a penal colony in 1787. 11 ships (dubbed the 'First Fleet') set off to Botany Bay in just a few months, arriving on January 20, 1788.

Many factors led to Britain's judgment to transfer criminals to Australia, including the population increase in Wales and England; social injustice, poverty, and poor living situations all contributed to a rise in violence, and British cities lacked the necessary police forces to track the increase in criminal activity effectively.

Lawmakers realized that the demand for space in prisons exceeded prisoners' capacity; they needed to find an alternative or change the laws.

So, instead of sending prisoners to prisons, they decided to transport them to a penal colony, and Australia was the ideal location for this.

With the Minister for Housing and Works' approval, Fremantle Prison met with delegates from the Commonwealth, Tasmania, New South Wales, and Norfolk Island to prepare a nomination dossier that would include the 11 convict sites by the UNESCO Operational regulations for the application of the World Heritage Convention.

In New South Wales, there is the Cockatoo Island Convict Station, Hyde Park Barracks, Domain (Parramatta), and Old Government House with Old Great North Road. Norfolk Island sites consist of Kingston as well as Arthur's Vale Historic region.

Port Arthur Historic Site, Darlington Probation Station, Coal Mines Historic Site, Brickenden-Woolmers Estates, and Cascades Female Factory are among the sites in Tasmania.

In Western Australia, the site is Fremantle Prison.

The locations were chosen following significant collaboration involving state and territory authorities as well as heritage specialists from around the world. From the governance of the convict system to prison penitentiaries and lodgings, public works, youth and female convicts, secondary punishment systems, and the convict allocation system, each site adds to the overall criminal theme.

The administration of Western Australia determined in 1988 that Fremantle Prison would retain the state's property and be responsible for its continuing care and operation. After that, the prison property was designated as a reserve under the Minister of Works to manage and conserve heritage buildings.

In 1995, the Australian government collaborated with New South Wales, Western Australia, Tasmania, and Norfolk Island to nominate several Australian convict sites for inclusion on the List Of World heritage under forced relocation.

Cultural Representation

In 2010, the Australian Convict Sites were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site under the Cultural categorization. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is in the Australian state of New South Wales.

This estate has 11 remnants of British Empire penal settlements built around Norfolk Island, Fremantle, Tasmania, and Sydney throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. Most of the buildings are in the Old Colonial Georgian architecture and are practical and straightforward, having whitewashed brick walls with minimal adornment.

The sole extant barracks building and the complex of the Macquarie period of convict governance are Hyde Park Barracks, Australia's oldest government-constructed convict barracks. It was a watershed moment in Australia's handling of British transported convicts.

From the 18th to 20th centuries, the transfer of delinquents, criminals, and political dissidents to colonial areas by large national governments was essential to human history, particularly its political, penal, and colonial aspects.

Conservation Of The Site

The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act of 1999 also protects them. As a result, the places that make up the serial property are not directly threatened. In addition, the property's overall security and management are excellent.

The responsibility is to ensure that the property is cared for, maintained, and interpreted to criteria representing the historical and cultural significance of the World Heritage classification.

The state government has pledged to continue to conserve and interpret the jail and has ordered the creation of the latest Conservation Management Strategy to combine its current conservation plans and policies and strategies to manage and safeguard the prison's potential World Heritage qualities. It has also contributed to several important conservation and education initiatives.

Furthermore, the state of the prison will be constantly monitored through a system of regular reporting necessary for World Heritage protected sites from securing their long-term conservation and sustainable usage.

Site Statistics

Cockatoo Island Convict Site is among the most famous of all the penitentiary sites in the region, situated in New South Wales. It's located at the confluence of the Parramatta and Lane Cove rivers. It's also the biggest of the group.

One of the 11 Australian Convict Sites is the Great North Road of New South Wales, Australia. It was one of the sites constructed due to convicts' forced manual labor between 1825 and 1836.

The purpose of this road was to connect Sydney and the Hunter Valley. The brick building and complex of Hyde Park Barracks is situated on the southern side of Macquarie Street in Sydney.

It was built by Francis Greenway, an architect who is also a convicted felon. From the early to mid-19th century, Old Government House served as a country house for the administrators of New South Wales.

This structure can be found in New South Wales' Parramatta Park. Because it is also utilized as an archaeological source to explain how the British Empire grew and its effect on Australian society, it is deemed of international and national significance.

The Kingston region and Arthurs Vale Historic Site is a historic community that has been designated as one of Australia's Convict Sites. This medieval structure is situated on a 255 ha (630 ac) plot in the Kingston coastal region.

It is a cluster of buildings from the British empire's convict era. The Brickendon with Woolmers Estates property in Tasmania is both an Australian Convict Site as well as a National Heritage Site.

This UNESCO site also includes Cascades Female Factory, based in Tasmania. It is an earlier Australian workhouse where female convicts were housed. Coal Mines Historic Site functioned as a probationary convict camp for 15 years and is Australia's oldest coal mine.

Darlington Probation Station is a correctional colony area for convicts on Maria Island, Tasmania. From 1825 until 1832, it was also utilized as a convict parole facility. The Australian Convict Sites include Port Arthur, a historic convict colony and tiny town on the Tasman Peninsula. It is currently an open-air museum and Port Arthur's most popular tourist attraction.

Fremantle Prison is the final part of the UNESCO-designated Australian Convict Sites. Prison cell blocks, surrounding walls, tunnels, huts, and gatehouses are part of this 6 ha (15 ac) property.

Male convicts labored as bricklayers, tanners, blacksmiths, and agricultural laborers, whereas female convicts primarily served as domestic maids, though they occasionally assisted the males. Following transport to Van Diemen's Colony a few years earlier, the prison complex was abandoned in 1855.

It was initially taboo to discuss Australia's convict origins; it was a source of disgrace. It is now seen as a source of pride.

Australians have learned to respect the artifacts and architectural remnants that document and remember their convict past, in addition to the social and cultural heritage. The once-forgotten ruins and treasures have been transformed into must-see destinations.

FAQs

How old are the Australian Convict Sites?

Since 1817, the property has permanently been affiliated with the Archer family. Convict labor built the main mansion, a two-story brick Old Colonial Georgian structure, around 1829-30.

Where are the Australian Convict Sites?

From Fremantle of Western Australia through Kingston, including Arthur's Vale in Norfolk Island (east), and from locations surrounding Sydney in New South Wales (north) to places in Tasmania in the south, the sites are dispersed throughout Australia.

Why are the Australian Convict Sites considered World Heritage?

Each site is linked to worldwide ideas and practices connected to the punishment and reformation of criminal aspects of social life in the modern era and essential components of the story of the forced relocation of criminals.

What happened to convicts when they got to Australia?

Convicts were often hired to labor for free settlers coming to Australia. Convicts were capable and made a living to support themselves through occupations and land rights as their sentences were completed or released. Most offenders were transferred to private employment by the mid-1830s.

When did the Australian Convict Sites become part of the UNESCO Heritage Site?

The Australian Convict Sites became Australia's 18th World Heritage Site on July 31, 2010. The 11 sites that constitute the Australian Convict Monuments World Heritage List depicts the tale of migration from one end of the world to another and how suffering, inequity, and adversity shaped a new nation.