Australiaís convict history shaped the Australian identity. It is hard to imagine how the transportation system was viewed by government and the general population let alone the wretched souls condemned to be shipped to what was generally held to be the ëend of the earthí. For the authorities it was a system devised to reduce the number of people incarcerated in its asylums, jails and prison hulks. Reports show that the prison system was literally bursting at the seams from an over-zealous legal system, mostly protecting property, be it a piece of cloth or a squireís holding. As a young lad growing up in the 1950s I regularly heard stories about ëyoung boysí, usually around nine or ten yearís of age, being transported to Australia for ëstealing a loaf of breadí. Although the majority of convicts were considerably older there were certainly some young boys and girls condemned to life in the Australian colonies.

The following section, gleaned from many sources, offers an insight into the whyís, howís and whereís of the transportation system. Most are first-hand accounts. Grammar and spelling has been retained as per the original document.