I.Australia as a Penal Colony After European settlement in 1788,Australia was politically organized as a number of separate British colonies,eventually six in all:New South Wales,Tasmania,Queensland,Western Australia, Victoria,and South Australia. The first period of the colonisation of Australia,lasting from 1788 to the 1830s,was based largely on the "unfree"labour of the convicts: NSW,Tasmania,and Queensland were established as convict colonies;Victoria and South Australia,both established in the 1830s, were settled as free',or non-convict,colonies.Western Australia, established in 1828 as a free colony,turned to convict labour in 1850 and became a convict colony for 19 years until 1869. Between 1788 and 1868,approximately 162,000 convicts were transported to the various Australian penal colonies by the British government.I. Australia as a Penal Colony • After European settlement in 1788, Australia was politically organized as a number of separate British colonies, eventually six in all: New South Wales, Tasmania, Queensland, Western Australia, Victoria, and South Australia. • The first period of the colonisation of Australia, lasting from 1788 to the 1830s, was based largely on the “unfree” labour of the convicts: NSW, Tasmania, and Queensland were established as convict colonies; Victoria and South Australia, both established in the 1830s, were settled as ‘free’, or non-convict, colonies. Western Australia, established in 1828 as a free colony, turned to convict labour in 1850 and became a convict colony for 19 years until 1869. • Between 1788 and 1868, approximately 162,000 convicts were transported to the various Australian penal colonies by the British government