Transportation of Convicts (1849 - 1868)

From

1 May 1849

To

1868

Location

Western Australia

The Crown Colony of Western Australia was not established as a penal colony. However, juveniles from Parkhurst Prison who were meant to provide a cheap source of agricultural labour came as early as 1842. Farmers and successful merchants lobbied for the wider introduction of convicts, with a similar desire to boost the supply of available, cheap labour. A British Order in Council granted penal colony status on 1 May 1849. By this time, the eastern colonies had either stopped or were refusing to cooperate with transportation. Objections to transportation from the larger colonies meant that the practice stopped entirely in 1868. Western Australia 's convict system differed from the eastern seaboard's schemes. WA refused to take female convicts and there was a lot more institutionalisation and less private assignment of convicts in the west. There was also a requirement to send younger convicts, with some being as young as 15 years and most no older than 24 years on arrival.