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James Wilson, a convict transported to Western Australia in 1867. The convict era of Western Australia was the period during which Western Australia was a penal colony of the British Empire. Although it received small numbers of juvenile offenders from 1842, it was not formally constituted as a penal colony until 1849.
Western Australia's convict era came to an end with the cessation of penal transportation by Britain. In May 1865, the colony was advised of the change in British policy, and told that Britain would send one convict ship in each of the years 1865, 1866, and 1867, after which transportation would cease.
South Australia was founded as a "free province"—it was never a penal colony. [33] Victoria and Western Australia were also founded "free", but later accepted transported convicts. [34] [35] A campaign by the settlers of New South Wales led to the end of convict transportation to that colony; the last convict ship arrived in 1848. [36]
Animated map of the territorial evolution of Australia. The first colonies of the British Empire on the continent of Australia were the penal colony of New South Wales, founded in 1788, and the Swan River Colony (later renamed Western Australia), founded in 1829.
When Australia's first inhabitants arrived on the northwest coast 50,000 to 70,000 years ago the sea levels were much lower. The Kimberley coast at one time was only about 90 kilometres (56 mi) from Timor, which itself was the last in a line of closely spaced islands for humans to travel across. [5]
Between 1788 and 1868, approximately 161,700 convicts (of whom 25,000 were women) were transported to the Australian colonies of New South Wales, Van Diemen's Land and Western Australia. [70] Historian Lloyd Robson has estimated that perhaps two-thirds were thieves from working class towns, particularly from the Midlands and north of England.
Comptroller General of Convicts (Western Australia) Convict era of Western Australia; Cumberland (1826 ship) D. Thomas Hill Dixon; E.
Staff and prisoners of Fremantle Prison occupied the former prison on The Terrace, Fremantle, in Western Australia, between 1855 [1]: 7 and 1991. [2] Fremantle Prison was administered by a comptroller general, sheriff, or director, responsible for the entire convict or prison system, and a superintendent in charge of the prison itself.