It was surprising to see my Australian friend Kylie Duggan send a message wishing “Happy Australia Day” on her Facebook page Jan. 26. With a little research online, it became apparent that their ...

In 1804 Australia had its first uprising – the Castle Hill Rebellion. It was a convict uprising put down by New South Wales Corps.

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Fate dealt Honorah Sullivan a bad hand when she was found guilty of arson in the mid-19th century and put on a British convict ship bound for modern-day Tasmania. But more than 160 ...

Eleven months after the First Fleet landed, Christmas was “observed with proper ceremony” according to a report from the time. But not all the convicts were prepared to make do with their extra ration ...

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Australia was, for many decades, the open-air prison of Britain's criminals. Most were convicted of petty offenses. A quick ...