About two hours drive north of Sydney, Olde Sydney Towne has been built to recreate what the original settlement was like. Until the American Revolution the British used Georgia as a prison for the overflow of the jails in England. After the Revolution, England turned to Australia to fulfill its need for a prison. The jails were emptied and prisoners were transported to Botany Bay and Olde Sydney Towne for a specified time. Shortly after arrival, prisoners were distributed among the settlers there to work as bondsmen until their prison terms were finished. After completing their sentence prisoners were allowed to start working to pay for their transportation back to England. The majority of the freed prisoners never returned and made a life in Australia becoming free settlers. They in turn went to meet the prisoner ships to find workers to help them with their farms. As you tour Australia, various buildings are pointed out as "convict construction" even today. The recreated Sydney of the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th is meant as a tool so that Australian children can experience their history. We spent a day there and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. They have also recreated the kind of ships that were used to transport the criminals and when one is on board one of those ships it's impossible to imagine what they were like when they were filled with people.
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