Thread: Australia's convict past

They say Australia was built on convicts.

Here's an interesting story of Australia's last living convict, Samuel Speed.
Australia's last living convict bucked the trend of reoffending - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Speed was born in Birmingham, England in 1841. He had one brother and one sister, but little else about his family or early life is known. He was in his early 20s when he was tried in Oxfordshire in 1863 for setting fire to a haystack. Homeless and begging for food, he had committed arson in order to get arrested and spend some time in a warm cell. He was sentenced to seven years of convict transportation to Australia.

He found work as a general servant in Western Australia and was finally granted his certificate of freedom two years later. He went on to help build bridges across the vast Swan River, and spent the rest of his working life at various companies around the state.

Seems deportation worked out well for him.

Some convicts did very well. At one stage the richest man in Sydney was an ex-convict.
Here's a list of some of the successes. Just click on the names for their details.

Famous or Notable Australian Convicts