Especially for Stage 2 students

Convict life in the early days of the NSW penal colony

A convict’s life depended on who they worked for. A convict employed by the government had a different life to those assigned to free settlers.

Food

In the first few years of the colony there was not a lot of food available. Crops did not grow and the colony relied heavily on supplies coming from England.

Government employed convicts were given a set ration of 3kg beef, 3kg flour, 1.3kg maize meal and 0.9 kg of sugar per week. They were also given tea. Fresh vegetables were uncommon. Women convicts were given less rations, as their work was often not as physical.

Convicts who worked for free settlers were expected to be fed by their master.

Work

Convicts were expected to work from sunrise to sunset. In hot weather they had an hour off in the middle of the day. The men were given physically harder work than the women. Jobs they might have had include farm labourer, bricklayer, shepherds and working on chain gangs building roads. Women often had jobs as servants.

Clothes

Convicts often looked ragged and untidy. Most arrived in Sydney wearing their own clothes and with no change of clothing. Men wore coarse cotton shirts and trousers, waistcoats and jackets. The supply ships of the First Fleet brought 2 years supply of materials and clothes for the convicts. Each year a male convict was supposed to receive 2 jackets, 1 waistcoat, 1 pair breeches, 2 shirts, 1 hat, a woollen cap, 2 pairs shoes and stockings. Each woman received 1 jacket, 2 petticoats, 2 shifts (plain dresses), 2 pairs shoes and stockings, 2 caps, 1 handkerchief and a hat.

Shoes & socks

Convicts sent to Hyde Park Barracks in Sydney weren't always lucky enough to be issued with socks. And to make matters worse, their shoes weren't even specifically made for the right or left foot. See what they did to ease the pain by watching the video below

Entertainment

Convicts didn’t have very much time or energy to spend on entertainment. Government employed convicts lived in buildings like the Hyde Park Barracks.

At night, before bed, convicts had 1 hour of recreation in the yard. They might play cards (but gambling was illegal), sport or marbles.

Sunday was a day to rest. Religion was very important – more important than music or sport today – so every Sunday the convicts had to go to church. Sunday was also wash day when the convicts washed their clothes and had their weekly bath!

Punishment & rewards

A convict could be flogged with the cat-o-nine tails for crimes like swearing, a poor attitude, being drunk as well as stealing small items. Convicts who ran way from their work were often sentenced to work in leg irons for at least 6 months and up to 3 years. These leg irons could only be put on or taken off by a blacksmith. If the crime was really serious, they might be sent to harsh penal colonies in Port Macquarie, Newcastle or Norfolk Island.

Of course, there were many well-behaved convicts and they could be rewarded by being given responsible jobs or allowed time away from the Barracks. A convict who was well-behaved may be given a ticket-of-leave that allowed him or her to work for money and own land but they couldn’t leave the area. A convict may also receive a pardon. A conditional pardon allowed them to live anywhere in the colony and an absolute pardon allowed them to go anywhere. Once a sentence had been served a convict received a certificate of freedom.