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Whilst the Dutch are credited with the discovery of Australia, they did not choose to colonise it. Seventeen years after English seaman James Cook named the eastern half of Australia "New South Wales" and claimed for England, the First Fleet of convicts departed from England.

So, no, Australia did not start from prisoners from Australia, it started with convicts from England, along with the officers and marines sent to guard the convicts and direct the new colony.

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What did the first fleet prisoners do at Australia?

Scavenge for food and water.


When did the first fleet arrive in Australia from Britain carrying prisoners?

The First Fleet arrived in Australia on 26 January 1788.


How was the problem of England's overflowing prisoners addressed?

I assume the question relates to the deportation of prisoners from England to our penal colonies being established in Australia (and elsewhere)? The problem was simply to remove the prisoners somewhere else. In 1787, the 'First Fleet' departed from England, to establish the first British penal colony settlement in Australia.


Great Britain could no longer send its prisoners to Australia in 1788 to serve out their sentences because?

The question is incorrect. Great Britain began to send its prisoners to Australia in 1788.However, Britain could no longer send its prisoners to America because of the American War of Independence, in which America essentially severed its ties with Britain.


What were the death ships which sailed to Australia?

Before the American Revolutionary War, British prisoners were sold as indentured servants to work on American farms. While an individual could indenture himself for 7 years in exchange for passage across the ocean, a prisoner's indenture could last 30 years. During the Revolutionary War, prisoners made up the bulk of the British army. After that war, England needed a place to send prisoners. Australia was available. Prisoners were sent from jails in England to prisons in Australia. After the prisoners served their sentences, they were released from prison in Australia. They would never return to England. Their relatives in England would never hear from them again. It was as if once they walked on board the boat they went to their deaths. It was possible for a person in England to write to a person in Australia and get an answer. However, it required an address. Without knowing where they were, it was impossible to contact them. They were dead to their relatives back in England.