What were the advantages of convict settlement in Australia?

Answer 1

It could easily be said that convicts were the ones who built Australia - socially, economically and politically. Much of Australia's emerging national pride in the 1800s came from the sense of coming from a "downtrodden" class, and developing into a rich and vibrant country. Already in the early years, there was a distinction between the "currency lads and lasses", i.e. native-born Australians, and the British free settlers and officers (sometimes colloquially known as the "Sterling interlopers", for obvious reasons). The whole ethos of the "working bushman" (a concept which Australians still take pride in) came, in many respects, from a combination of the radical young currency class, together with the Irish political rebels and the working-class convicts. Had Australia been settled purely upon free British, we may have merely become a British outpost, instead of a young country struggling to throw off those "British bonds". It was upon this that Australia's social and political environment was built. Economically, it was the convicts who did all the foundational work - tilling, planting and harvesting seed; experimenting with their own farms or setting up their own trades once they were free; constructing the roads and bridges of the new colony while on the road gangs; felling the timber, making the bricks, literally constructing so many of the buildings in the early decades. Strategically, it would useful to have a colony which established Britain's claim on Australia as this helped expand the British Empire and provide a physical presence in the south Pacific. This held both strategic and economic/trade advantages for England. The presence of a colony would enable England to lay claim to Australia during a time when France was rapidly expanding its empire as well. The continent had Natural Resources which England wanted, and having convicts work the land was a cheap and easy way to get the resources - or so it was thought. The convicts actually proved to be unwiling workers. Ultimately, the advantages of convict settlement in Australia helped to solve the problem of Britain's overcrowded prisons by establishing a new penal colony in a land which showed promise for eventually becoming self-supporting. There was no way that, even if they escaped, convicts would be able to return to England to cause trouble there.

Answer 2

New South Wales had the following advantages as a convict settlement: * It was far away from England, and convicts could not easily return * If convicts escaped, they only had the untamed Australian bush to escape into * NSW held the promise of being self-sufficient, with timber for building, plentiful fresh water, and fertile soil for crops and farming * Having a British presence in the Pacific would aid in defence and trade