History tells us in no uncertain terms that English criminals were shipped off to Australia in gay abandon; anything from stealing a loaf of bread just in order to keep your family alive to the heinous crime of murder, ships sailed from England to Australia packed to the crow’s nest with unwilling passengers. From small children to pensioners, age was no barrier and, regrettably, before reaching their destination, many of those poor souls had succumbed to disease, abuse or just plain old malnutrition

Has your family history research turned up any black sheep, or, on the other side of the coin, any blue bloods? Or perhaps a connection to a famous person of our generation?

Black Sheep

In February 1911 people were beginning to question whether sentencing criminals to years of hard labour was the best way to deal with them, as against using more modern techniques with the hope of being able to rehabilitate them into society.