What kind of crimes did the British Convicts commit before being transported to Australia?.
It is well known that Australia was home to many convicts that were transported from Britain.
About 162,000 British Convicts were transported to the penal colonies of Australia between 1788 and 1868.
What might not be as well known is the type of crime that these people committed.
Their crimes ranged from ‘Stealing a Handkerchief’ to ‘Murder’. Quite a wide range of crime.
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- 19 Convicts were convicted of Theft of a hankerchief
- 15 Convicts were convicted of Stealing a cap
- 158 Convicts were convicted of Murder
Some judges at the time preferred to transport some younger people that had committed what we now call a minor crime, rather than have them face the normal British penalty.
It was not until 1832 that the death penalty was abolished for theft in the UK.
The following links show the different types of Crimes that resulted in being transported to Australia, and are from convictrecords.com.au
- Abuse
- Accessory to murder
- Arson
- Assault
- Assault and attempted robbery
- Assault and theft
- Assault with intent to rob with ano…
- Assault with intent to rob with another and previous conviction
- Attempted murder
- Bad notes
- Beastiality
- Being in company of felons
- Bigamy
- Breaking and entering and stealing
- Burglary
- Charged with an offence against the crown (smuggling)
- Child stealing
- Coining
- Cow stealing
- Culpable homicide
- Cutting and wounding a policeman
- Deception
- Demanding arms
- Desertion 2nd dragoons
- Desertion and striking an officer
- Desertion from army
- Desertion from the army’
- Embezzlement
- Escaping from transportation
- Faculige (felony/false pretences)
- Felony
- Firing a haystack
- Forgery
- Fraud
- Grand larceny
- Hamesucken/assault
- Handling stolen goods
- Heifer stealing
- High treason
- Highway robbery
- Horse theft
- House breaking
- House robbery
- Housebreaking
- Indecent behaviour
- Insubordination
- Irish rebel
- Killing a deer?
- Killing a horse
- Larceny
- Larceny from a person
- Larceny on a navigable river
- Larceny, before convicted of felony
- Machine breaking
- Maker of base coin
- Malicious wounding
- Man robbery
- Manslaughter
- Murder
- Mutiny
- No details
- Obstructing officers of the revenue
- Obtaining money under false pretenses
- Offence against the game laws
- Passing forged notes
- Perjury
- Petty larceny
- Pickpocket
- Pig stealing
- Poaching
- Poaching & violence
- Pocket picking
- Political prisoner
- Possessing a forged note
- Possession of forged bank note
- Rape
- Receiving
- Receiving stolen property
- Returning from transportation
- Rioting
- Rioting/unlawful oaths
- Riotous conduct & felony
- Riotous conduct and felony
- Robbery
- Robbery with violence
- Robbing a person
- Sacrilege
- Sedition
- Set fire to a haystack
- Sheep stealing & larceny
- Sheep-stealing
- Shoemaker
- Shop lifting
- Shopbreaking & theft
- Shopbreaking & theft
- Simple grand larceny
- Simple larceny
- Smuggling
- Snapping a loaded pistol
- Stealing
- Stealing ‘porter’
- Stealing 2 pistols
- Stealing 6 fowls
- Stealing a cap
- Stealing a case of tea
- Stealing a case of tea.
- Stealing a gown etc.
- Stealing a gun
- Stealing a hair brush
- Stealing a handkerchief
- Stealing a horse
- Stealing a horse & saddle
- Stealing a memo book and two candlesticks
- Stealing a pig
- Stealing a sheep
- Stealing a silk cloak
- Stealing a snuff box
- Stealing a watch
- Stealing barbers tools
- Stealing beans
- Stealing calico
- Stealing cheese
- Stealing chickens
- Stealing clothes
- Stealing copper
- Stealing corn.
- Stealing feathers
- Stealing flannel
- Stealing fowls
- Stealing from the person
- Stealing gingham at halifax
- Stealing gunpowder
- Stealing his own toolbox
- Stealing in the street
- Stealing lead
- Stealing letters
- Stealing linen
- Stealing money
- Stealing potatoes
- Stealing rabbits
- Stealing seven sheep
- Stealing sheep skins
- Stealing silk gown
- Stealing sugar and wool
- Stealing trousers
- Steeling oranges
- Stole 8 guns and 15 penknives
- Stole a fine tissue of silk
- Stole clothing
- Street robbery
- Stricking a superior officer in the army.
- Theft
- Theft of a shovel
- Theft of bacon
- Theft of boots
- Theft of carpets from master
- Theft of garments off her master
- Theft of hankerchief
- Theft of household goods
- Theft of jewlery
- Theft of linen
- Theft of napkins from shop
- Theft of silver watch, gold chain and 2 seals
- Theft of woolen and linen drapery
- Theft~grand larceny
- Theft~housebreaking
- Theft~simple larceny
- Tyrone
- Unknown
- Ununnatural offence
- Uttering forged notes
- Vagrancy
- Violence to a surperior officer
- Violent theft
- Warehouse breaking
- Wounding with intent
