How did the criminals sent to Australia survive?

Answer 1

English criminals were sent to Australia because there was an overcrowding of prisons in England. This was due to the fact that people were sent to jail for stealing a handkerchief or some ridiculously petty reason.

Answer 2

The convicts who were transported from England to Australia were fully cared for. They were not left to fend for themselves. They were sheltered and fed, but made to work hard. If they shirked their duties, they could be flogged or have their rations reduced.

Answer 3

The criminals, or convicts, who were sent to Australia during the colonial years were not left to their own devices. The first group that came out on the First Fleet were accompanied by officers and marines, who not only kept Law and Order in the colony, but also distributed the provisions brought out on the Fleet. Subsequent fleets of convicts also had provisions, and within five years of the arrival of the First Fleet, the colony was successfully producing its own crops.