As a lot of you would know, Australia was originally settled by convicts who were sent over from England, as poor old Englands jails were full and this new land across the water seemed a great place to "dispose" of these poor souls. Did you know that you could be transported to Australia for seven years for stealing just one loaf of bread? Many hungry children suffered this fate. Generally only petty criminals were sent to Australia as more serious crimes were dealt with in England with the death penalty, e.g. for murder or rape.Australia's first police force consisted of a band of 12 of the most well behaved convicts!!!
In 2007, it was estimated that 22 per cent of living Australians had a convict ancestor. I am not aware of any in my family tree, but I am sure if we did have one, it would be for stealing chocolate!!! It's in my genes!!!
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