Australia's Convict Past - Robert Coupe

$19.95

On 26 January 1788, a fleet of eleven ships sailed into Port Jackson. Among the 1500 people on board were about 750 British and Irish convicts - men and women who were being punished for their crimes by being sent as away from their homes as it was possible to go.

Australia's Convict Past charts the development of the convict era, from its beginnings in the British Parliament, which was desperate to relieve its overcrowded jails, through the establishment of settlements and penal colonies to the arrival of the last convict ship 80 years after the first settlement. In clear and simple terms, the hardships and burdens the convicts endured, are vividly brought to life.

The book features;

*informative text, explaining the origins of transportation and the role of convicts in the development of the Australian colonies;    
*fascinating background information on individual convicts and their colonial governors; 
 *over 50 maps, historical drawings, paintings and photographs.

Australia's Convict Past is an ideal resource for school projects.