Botany Bay

Subtitle: The story of the convicts transported from Ireland to Australia 1791-1853. Author is Con Costello.

Two hundred and twelve convict ships sailed from Dublin or Cork to Australia between 1791 and 1853. Forty-five thousand Irish men and women were transported on these ships. One of these convicts was my great (x3) grandfather, John Pendergast (1769-1833) who was transported to Sydney Cove aboard The Minerva arriving in January 1800. John had been involved, possibly on the fringe, of the the Rising of the United Irishmen in May 1798.

Con Costello writes about the transportation of these convicts, social and political conditions at the time leading to imprisonment and eventual transportation to another country plus conditions encountered by Irish Catholics, particularly in the early years of the settlement.

Chapters include: First sailings, 1791-1797; United Irishmen, 1798-1799; Priests and rebels, 1800; A sherrif and a general, 1801-1802; Dr Trevor and Michael Dwyer, 1803-1812; Preparations and passage, 1813-1817; Gaelic speaking Rockchoppers, 1818-1820; Defenders and Whiteboys, 1821-1824; Bushrangers and Balladeers, 1825-1832; Nuns and other females, 1833-1838; The Famine victims, 1839-1848; Young Irelanders, 1849-1850; Fenians, 1851-1876.

The book therefore looks not just at political and social unrest in Ireland but also at the reception of these convicts in Australia. In some chapters the author concentrates on the experiences of one or two transportees while others are more general in nature.

The book does not have an index but there is a bibliography. There are also some illustrations from publications of the time.