Mr Vincent spent hours searching through the archives in Llangefni, Anglesey, to trace the lives of those deported and found that some of the crimes committed, and sentences given, were extremely harsh compared to today. They include:
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John Hughes, stole a handkerchief and glass, given 10 years – deported
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Hugh Hughes, stole five sheep, life sentence – deported
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William Williams, stole 29 shillings from a boy, seven years – deported
There were three reasons for deportation – prisons in the UK and Ireland were overcrowded, it was expensive to keep people in jails, and bodies were needed for manual labour work in Australia.
An estimated 20% of all Australians are descendants of convicts, while in Tasmania that figure is closer to 70%.
Prof Hamish Maxwell-Stewart, an academic specialising in convict life in Australia, said it used to be considered a “badge of shame” that Australia’s origins “as a settler society were based on criminal transportation”.
“But now, increasingly – and I think especially Tasmanians – are proud that they’ve had a convict in the past,” he said.
Prof Maxwell-Stuart’s work has led to the creation of what was recently Tasmania’s number one listed experience on Tripadvisor, the Unshackled memorial of convicts in Hobart, the state capital.