How did the British establish a colony in Australia?

The colony of New South Wales was established with the arrival of the First Fleet of 11
vessels under the command of Captain Arthur Phillip in January 1788. It consisted
of more than a thousand settlers, including 778 convicts (192 women and 586 men).
British colonies were established in Australia after 1800 to consolidate British power,
provide farmland and to accommodate convicts sent from Britain. These colonies
included Western Australia, South Australia, Moreton Bay and Van Diemen’s Land. Life
in the penal colonies tended to be very hard. The convicts were forced by the British
administrators to work extremely hard, and punishments were severe.
Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania used by the
British during the European exploration of Australia in the 19th century. See Map on
page 35.
The convicts lack skills required for the establishment of a colony. Skills to plant, build
and to do trading were not readily available, so they gave incentives for more non-
criminal settlements.

Convicts and Colonial Society

What were some of the troubles that the convicts and non-criminal settlers experienced
initially in Australia?

Help for Women

Macquerie served as the last autocratic Governor of New South Wales, from 1810 to
1821 and had a leading role in the social and economic development of New South
Wales which saw its transition from a penal colony to a budding free society..
Her contemporary Elizabeth Macarthur was noted for her ‘feminine strength’ in assisting
the establishment of Australian merino wool industry.
The Catholic sisters of Charity, Caroline Chisholm, Sydney’s First Catholic Bishop, The
sisters of St Joseph all played a part in helping the Women in the colonies.
Question: What kind of help do you think women ex-convicts and migrant workers
would be needing?

Sheep Farming
Unused land or squatters were cleared beyond the fringes of European settlements for
sheep farms. Indigenous Australians were affected and they lost their land.
Explain in your own words how sheep farming was good for the British settlers
and how it affected the indigenous people.
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