Convict Lives

From my reading, the convicts, who are so hotly debated by such historians as Manning Clark and G.A. Woods, were not a 'criminal class' as such, but were highly difficult to pin down to a certain 'type'. During the course of Australian colonial history different types of convicts were transported and different deportation criteria were enforced, leaving historians with the impossible job of summarising their nature and character.

Indeed the problem lies with the different phases of immigration that took place. To generalise, the female convicts of Australia were not members of a 'criminal class'. In fact, as Deborah Oxley asserts, they were often shipped out to Australia for their first offence, often simply a crime of petty theft. This eventuality has it's roots in the insignificant female population of the early settlement, which was supplemented by petty female criminals, a large proportion of whom were maids. The convict indents of the Pyramus confirm this interpretation's truth, as almost all of it's occupants were petty criminal maids. This, though, is in contradiction to earlier thought, when women convicts were thought of as whores, and even mid twentieth century historians such as A.G.L. Shaw, who believe they were at least 'singularly unattractive' in their portrayal.

In terms of the male convicts of Australia, they seem more varied in type, and more difficult to either vilify or uphold. Manning Clark suggests that transportees were members of a 'criminal class' and that they were generally not 'casual' criminals more 'sinned against than sinning'. In fact, through his analysis of contemporary observer Patrick Colquhoun, he claims that the convicts were actually 'in pursuit of criminal pleasures'. This seems somewhat heavy-handed in it's appraisal of convicts, and does not really take into account the statistics. In general, from the ship indents he cites, theft is by far the most common of crimes, and implies a similar situation to the female convicts, who were without major crime against their name. 

However, in the indent from the Hougamont, 1868, there seems to be a vast array of skilled workers who were unlikely to 'need' to steal for their own survival. Indeed, by this time there seems to be an increasing amount of career criminals, people who were employed and skilled, but still committed crime. In the table Clark cites this can be seen too, as an increasing amount of middle class crimes and serious crimes can be found in the transportation lists.

In this way, I believe that as time progressed, the male convicts came more and more from the inherent  'criminal class' of Colquhoun's description. However, this is in contrast to the nature of the first convicts, at which time Britain needed skills in Australia, and seemed to send more petty, undeserving criminals to antipodean shores. In conclusion, it is impossible to neatly summarise the nature of the convicts of colonial Australia, as they were constantly changing from decade to decade, to suit the needs of the colony. This can be seen in perfect example in the shipment of female maids to Australia to meet the needs of a male dominated society.

Hyde Park Barracks, Sydney: Constructed by order of Governor Lachlan Macquarie, this was used to house convicts from Britain until it's closure in 1848. It was a key feature of the lives of convicts in New South Wales before they could be allowed to work the land as freeholders, sleeping in the barracks by night and working in labour gangs by day.

Accessed at Historic Houses Trust: http://collection.hht.net.au/images_linked/31427/HPB97_5.jpg