How many convicts came to Australia?

Answer 1

As near as can be determined from records, it is believed that a total of around 162,000 convicts came to Australia, from the time of the First Fleet in 1788 until the cessation of transportation with the final shipload of convicts to Western Australia in 1868.

Answer 2

Convicts were sent to Australia to solve the problem of Britain's overcrowded prisons (a consequence of the Industrial Revolution) by establishing a new penal colony in a land which showed promise for eventually becoming self-supporting. Britain had been sending their excess prisoners to North America, but the American War of Independence put a stop to the practice.

The convicts were the ones who would build the new colony, literally from the ground up. They were the ones who would establish the houses and buildings, roads and bridges, farms and industries. This, in turn, would encourage more free settlers to Australia, which it was hoped would help solve the problem of unemployment in England.

Answer 3

It is impossible to know. During the years of convict transportation to Australia, over 165,000 men, women and children were transported to Australia, and it is not known how many of these died enroute.

With regard to the First Fleet, 23 convicts died on the journey.

Answer 4

Only five ships were lost out of the hundreds that transported convicts to Australia between 1788 and 1860. The number of convict lives lost totalled around 600. They included:

• The Amphitrite, which went down on 25 August 1833 near Bolougne. 108 female convicts, 12 children, and 13 crew died.
• The George III, which was lost off the coast of Southport, Tasmania in 1835. 133 lives were lost.
• In the same year, the convict transport Neva sank near King Island in Bass Strait, with the loss of 225.

Answer 5

The First Fleet of convicts arrived in Australia in January 1788.

Answer 6

No. After the Monmouth rebellion, (1685) Judge Jeffereys sentenced several hundred of the guilty to deportation as slaves to the West Indies.

Answer 7

Only the First Fleet brought convicts to Australia in 1788. According to the Australian Government Culture Portal, there were 751 convicts that disembarked from the First Fleet.

Answer 8

Sources vary, but the total number of convicts transported to Australia is estimated to have been around 162,000. Estimates vary from 157,000 to 165,000.