Port Phillip Districts The Myth of a Convict-free Society The Myth of a Convict-free Society

2 That Victoria was settled and developed with little, if no, input from convict labour

3 There was no direct transportation of convicts to the Port Phillip districts Modern authors have downplayed the involvement, and numbers, of convicts in the development of Victoria Insufficient emphasis is given to teaching Australian, and in particular, Victorian history in schools

4 Between 1844 and 1849 – 9 ships carried a total of 1727 Exiles to Victoria 11 November 1842 – Royal George (21 landed at Melbourne) 20 March 1845 – Sir George Seymour (175 landed at Geelong) 27 January 1846 – Stratheden (51 Landed at Melbourne) 9 November 1846 – Maitland (291 Landed at Melbourne) 4 May 1847 – Thomas Arbuthnot (288 Landed at Melbourne) 24 Sept 1847 – Joseph Somes (248 Landed at Geelong) 25 January 1848 – Marion (292 Landed at Melbourne) 22 June 1848 – Anna Maria (163 Landed at Geelong) 4 February 1849 – Eden (133 Landed at Portland & 65 at Geelong)

5 A majority of modern history authors downplay the involvement of convicts in the settlement of the Victorian districts. Works such as the multi-volume “The Victorians” either don’t mention or only include brief paragraphs relating to convicts in Victoria. Authors such as Tony Dingle (no mention of convicts in his book “The Victorians – Settling”), Richard Broome (gives some brief statistics relating to convicts). Don Garden does mention some convict statistics in his work “Victoria – A History”

6 The 1841 Census (taken just six years after initial settlement in Victoria) shows that the population included: 124 Ticket of Leave Holders 155 Convicts, still under sentence, in Government Service 239 convicts assigned to settlers 1034 time expired convict settlers By 1851 these figures had grown to approximately These constituted about 15% of the male population of Port Phillip and 30% of the rural male population.

7 A series of events in the 1840’s and 1850’s could be contributors to the “convict free Victoria” mythology. When Port Phillip was first opened for settlement Lord Glenelg instructed Governor Bourke that convicts were not to be assigned to masters in the district. This proved to be unrealistic as free settlers travelling from Van Diemens Land and New South Wales tended to bring their assigned servants with them. In 1843 Melbourne Town council, supported by Gov. LaTrobe requested that all convicts be withdrawn from Port Phillip.

8 Throughout 1847 and 1848 there was considerable public agitation through the press, and through petition writing and public meetings, condemning the introduction of the “convict taint” into the Port Phillip District. This was mainly in protest to the continuing arrival of the Exile ships, one of the few visible aspects of convict society to the average Melburnian. called the Exile scheme and any other attempt to introduce convicts as “an act of wanton injustice perpetrated upon three fourths of the colonies residents”. One letter writer to the Melbourne Argus called the Exile scheme and any other attempt to introduce convicts as “an act of wanton injustice perpetrated upon three fourths of the colonies residents”.

9 The discovery of gold in Victoria saw a rapid increase in the number of ex-convicts migrating to Victoria, there was also a rapid increase in crime. In July 1852 a private members bill was passed in the Legislative Council preventing the entry of ex-convicts into the State. The Convict Prevention Act allowed for ship’s captains to be fined for attempting to bring them in. The British Government tried to pressure the Council to revoke the Act and, in Nov. 1854, 15,000 people protested against the British Authorities for trying to taint the colony with convicts.

10 Public Record Office Victoria has numerous original records that can be used for researching convicts in Victoria. One of these which is of particular interest to convict researchers is the Register of Convicts ( ) – VPRS 110 Consignment P0 Unit 1. This register contains six monthly census of convicts within the Port Phillip and other Victorian districts. Details shown for each convict include Name, Sentence, Ship and year of arrival, occupation, who they are working for and their town or region of residence. This Register contains details of over 900 convicts.

11 Convict – Transportee still under sentence Government Servant – Convict assigned to Government Assignee – Convict assigned to a private individual Ticket of Leave – Allowed to work for themselves. Restrictions placed on movement. May be revoked. Conditional Pardon – A pardon granted with set conditions. e.g. must request permission before moving residence to a different locality. Full Pardon – Complete remission of sentence. No restrictions. Expiree – Completed term of sentence Exile – Arrived with Royal Pardon (Conditional)