Convict Transportation to Australia: ~160,000 People, 1788–1868
Between 1788 and 1868, Britain transported approximately 160,000–165,000 convicts to Australian penal colonies. The exact number is uncertain — records are incomplete, definitions vary, and some voyages are poorly documented.
The Numbers
| Colony / Period | Estimated Convicts | Notes |
|---|
| New South Wales (1788–1840) | ~80,000 | First Fleet (1788): 736 convicts; peak 1820s–30s |
| Van Diemen's Land / Tasmania (1803–1853) | ~75,000 | Separate colony 1825; harshest reputation |
| Western Australia (1850–1868) | ~9,700 | Last colony; "Exiles" with conditional pardons |
| Moreton Bay / Queensland (1824–1839) | ~2,500 | Penal settlement only; later free colony |
| Victoria (Port Phillip, 1803–1804, 1844–1849) | ~1,500 | Short-lived; mostly exiles from NSW/VDL |
Demographics
- Gender: ~85% male, ~15% female
- Age: Most 20–35; children transported with mothers (rare)
- Crimes: 70% property (theft, burglary, receiving); 10% violence; 5% political (Irish rebels, Swing rioters, Chartists, Tolpuddle Martyrs); rest: forgery, vagrancy, military offenses
- Literacy: ~50% could read (higher than UK working class)
- Origins: England/Wales (70%), Ireland (25%), Scotland (5%)
Sentence Types
- 7 years: Most common (theft >1 shilling)
- 14 years: Repeat offenders, higher-value theft
- Life: Violent crimes, repeat 14-year sentences
- Death commuted: Many "capital" crimes → transportation
Outcomes
- Ticket of Leave: After 4–6 years (good behavior) — work for wages, restricted district
- Conditional Pardon: Free in colony, cannot return to UK
- Absolute Pardon: Full rights, can return (rare)
- Certificate of Freedom: Sentence expired
- Re-offending: ~20% reconvicted in colony
- Stayed: ~80% remained in Australia after freedom — founders of white Australia
Sources & Gaps
- British Convict Transportation Registers (HO 11, HO 10) — National Archives, Kew
- Australian Joint Copying Project (AJCP) — microfilm at NLA/state libraries
- Founders & Survivors Project (UTas) — linked life-course data for VDL
- Digital Panopticon — London Lives + Australian records
160,000 is the consensus estimate. Each number represents a life uprooted — and a continent remade.
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