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VK6BE > RUGGER 30.11.03 22:40l 46 Lines 2044 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 800121VK6BE
Read: GUEST
Subj: Re: "Oz Tabloid Press Grovels"
Path: DB0FHN<DB0FOR<DB0SIF<DB0EA<DB0SM<DB0ACC<DB0GOS<ON0AR<ON0AR<VE2PAK<
N1UAN<ZL2TZE<VK6HGR<VK6BBR<VK6RAW<VK6PBV<VK6JY
Sent: 031130/1542Z @:VK6JY.#ALY.#WA.AUS.OC #:23607 [Albany] FBB7 $:800121VK6BE
From: VK6BE@VK6JY.#ALY.#WA.AUS.OC
To : RUGGER@WW
There have been snide allusions made of Australia's "convict past" by our
favourite English humourist(?) :- (that symbol excuses everything if you
know what it means!!!!).
Ian VK5QX is quite correct in what he says. While researching my wife's
family (yes the first on one side of the family was a convict), I got
hold of a list of convicts in early West Australia and their offences. The
list would be laughable if these poor devils had not had their whole life
disrupted by a nasty judge in England and an uncompromising set of laws
and their punishments.
Setting fire to a haystack - life in Australia.
Stealing a loaf - 20 years in Australia; and the list goes on of petty
crime some of which was undoubtedly caused through the person caught
trying to steal to avoid starvation in the very tough times in England at
that time.
My wife's antecedents on her father's side were Irish. Guess why the Irish
were transported? You have guessed it! They criticised the British
Government and were considered to be a security risk so - off they went
and Australia acquired a fairly large Irish population!!! Not criminals -
just politically active! If you get rid of your critics you can forget
them. Long way to OZ and takes a year on a boat! End of story! Problem
solved! Oh yes! Transport some girls too just to keep the men happy, you
and you and you!! You're not behaving as a modest young lady should!! Off
you go!!
Were any serious criminals - murderers, felons, etc.,transported to
Australia? Of course not, since the British hanged all of those. They
never made it here. Crimes committed by transportees were either petty or
political.
Think before you throw mud at our convict past. Your greatgrandfather
probably avoided transportation ONLY because he was NEVER caught at it!!
Cheers,
Bob VK6BE.
>
> However, many (in fact a very large percentage) were transported for
> little or no reason and were probably amongst the best of people ever to
> leave from your fair land.
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