Australia Convict Colonies Reading Answers

Dec 19, 2022

Australia Convict Colonies Reading Answers is a topic discussing the colonies of Australia that are facing poverty and getting convicted of crimes. There are 13 questions in total in the topic Australia Convict Colonies Reading Answers, which should be attempted by the candidates within 20 minutes. This IELTS topic has been taken from the book called “Cambridge Vocabulary for IELTS Advanced Band 6.5+ with Answers and Audio CD”. Three types of questions are included in this topic, that is, choose the correct statement, choose the correct heading, and no more than three words. The candidates should read thoroughly the IELTS reading passage in order to recognize the synonyms and identify the keywords and for answering the questions below. Similar kinds of topics like Australia Convict Colonies Reading Answers, are included in the IELTS reading practice papers, which the candidates can take into their consideration for performing a good score in this section.

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Section 1

Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions

Australia Convict Colonies Reading Answers

The 1700s in Britain saw widespread poverty and rising crime, and those convicted of crimes faced harsh penalties, including transportation to one of Britain’s overseas colonies. Since 1615, convicts had been transported to Britain’s American colonies, both as punishment and a source of labour, but this practice was halted by the Revolutionary War in America (1775-1783). The British government decided to establish a new prison colony, and Botany Bay in New South Wales was chosen as the site. (Captain Cook, exploring the southeast coast of Australia in 1770, had named the land New South Wales and claimed it for Britain.) Between 1787 and 1868, almost 160,000 convicts, of whom about 25,000 were women, were sent to Australia to serve sentences ranging from 7 years to live.
Eleven ships set sail from England in 1787 to take the first group of about 750 British convicts to Australia. The fleet reached Botany Bay in January 1788, but nearby Sydney Cove was selected as a more suitable site for the new settlement, which later became the city of Sydney. The first few years were difficult, with severe food shortages; by 1792, however, there were government farms and private gardens. Convicts worked on these farms, or on construction projects such as building roads and bridges. Although the settlement was a prison colony, few convicts served their sentences in jail. They lived in houses they had built themselves, and established families, businesses and farms. A settlement was also established on Norfolk Island, where some convicts were sent for crimes committed after arrival in the colony. Two more settlements were established on Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania), in 1803 and 1804.
Convicts not involved in public work were assigned to free settlers, providing labour in exchange for food, clothing and shelter. Some masters treated the convicts cruelly, and the punishment of convicts, particularly in the early days, could be arbitrary and savage. Lachlan Macquarie, governor of New South Wales from 1809 to 1819, adopted a more humane approach. He encouraged convicts to reform by rewarding good behaviour, even granting pardons to convicts before their sentence was completed. These emancipists, as they were called, were given land and government assistance to help them start farming. His policies were unpopular both with British authorities and wealthy free settlers, however, and the next governors were under orders to ensure that life for convicts became much stricter and more controlled. There were harsher punishments for second offenders, such as working in the Iron gangs’, where men were chained together to carry out exhausting work on the roads, or being sent to penal settlements where punishment was deliberately brutal so that it would act as a deterrent
In the early years of settlement, the convicts greatly outnumbered free immigrants and settlers. In 1810, convicts made up almost 60 per cent of the population, and over 20,000 new convicts arrived between 1821 and 1830. Even in 1831, convicts still comprised 45 per cent of the population, with ex-convicts and emancipists making up another 30 per cent. 25 per cent of the population now consisted of people born in the colonies, and free people outnumbered convicts.
The first group of free settlers had arrived in Australia in 1793 to seek their fortune in the new land. Their numbers grew, with about 8,000 free settlers arriving in the 1820s to take advantage of free land grants and cheap convict labour. In 1831, the British government offered money to support new settlers, hoping to attract skilled workers and single women as immigrants. Between 1831 and 1840, more than 40,000 immigrants arrived in Australia.
During the 1820s there was a lengthy campaign to win certain rights for emancipists, which was opposed by wealthy free settlers. In the 1830s, free immigrants to New South Wales and Van Diemen’s Land, unhappy about living in a prison colony where civil liberties were restricted and convict labour resulted in low wages, increasingly voiced their opposition to transportation. Again, wealthy landowners disagreed, but a growing number of reformers in England were also opposed to convicting transportation. In 1838, a committee set up by the British Parliament recommended that the government end transportation to New South Wales and Van Diemen’s Land, and abolish assignment. The British duly abolished assignment, and transportation – at least to New South Wales – was halted in 1840.
Transportation continued, however, to other colonies and settlements. In the 1840s, most British convicts were sent to Van Diemen’s Land, where the British government introduced a convict system based on stages of reform, with the convicts gaining increasing levels of freedom for continued good behaviour. Transportation to the eastern colonies was abolished in 1852. In contrast, the convict system in Western Australia began in 1850, at the request of the Western Australian government, and continued until 1868. Convicts served part of their sentences in Britain before being transported to the colony, where they worked on badly- needed public construction projects under a system similar to that tried in Van Diemen’s Land.

Section 2

Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions

Solution With Explanation

Question: 1 – 3:
Which Three of the following statements are true or free settlers in the Australian prison colonies, according to the text? Choose Three letters A-H. NB, your answer may be given in any order.

A – They were mainly skilled workers and single women.
B – They all welcomed Governor Macquarie’s policies.
C – 25 percent of them were born in the Colonies.
D – 16,000 of them went to Australia between 1787 and 1868.
E – 8,000 of them arrived in Australia in the 1820s.
F – They established families, businesses, and farms.
G – Convicts who were assigned to them provide them with labor.
H – They Campaigned in favor of emancipist rights.

(Guide: Candidates need to identify the three statements that are true and select the letters A to H)

Question 1:

Answer: A: They were mainly skilled workers and single women.
Supporting Sentence: Around 25,000 women have been sent to Australia for punishment and also as labor.
Keyword: Women, Convicts.
Keyword Location: Paragraph A, line 9 – 10.
Explanation: Lines 9-10 of paragraph A implies that for punishment and work, some 25,000 women have been dispatched to Australia.

Question 2:

Answer: E: 8,000 of them arrived in Australia in the 1820s.
Supporting Sentence: In the 1820s about 8,000 free settlers arrive at the new lands to take advantage of free lands and cheap convict labor.
Keyword: Arrived, Australia.
Keyword Location: Paragraph E, Line 2.
Explanation: The second line implies that in an effort to find success in the new nation, the colonists came to Australia in 1973. Then, in the 1920s, 8,000 more free settlers moved there to take advantage of available lands, which led to an increase in their population.

Question 3:

Answer: Convicts who were assigned to them provided with labor]
Supporting Sentence: Convicts served part of their sentences in Britain before being transported to the colony, where they worked on badly- needed public construction projects under a system similar to that tried in Van Diemen’s Land.
Keyword: Convicts, Worked
Keyword Location: Paragraph G, Line 8 – 9.
Explanation: Lines 8-9 of paragraph G explains that before being deported to the colony, convicts spent part of their sentences in Britain. There, they laboured on urgently required public construction projects using a system identical to that used in Van Diemen's Land.

Question 4 – 9:
Reading Passage has seven paragraphs, A-G. Choose the correct heading for the paragraphs B-G from the list given below-

1- Free Settlers
2- Transportation Of Convicts
3- The end of Transportation
4- Convict Life
5- The colonial Population
6- The treatment of convicts
7- Opponents of transportation
8- The first Settlements

Example paragraph – A – 2(Answer)

(Guide: Candidates need to match the headings 1 to 8with the paragraphs B to G)

Question 4: Paragraph B _________

Answer: The First Settlement
Supporting Sentence: It is said as the First settlement because Eleven ships set sail from England to take the first group of about 750 British convicts to Australia.
Keyword: British, Australia, Sydney.
Keyword Location: Paragraph B, line 3 -4.
Explanation: The third and fourth line of paragraph B implies that the first party of roughly 750 British convicts to travel to Australia left England in 1787 on eleven ships. In January 1788, the fleet arrived in Botany Bay. They chose Sydney Cove as the location of their town.

Question 5: Paragraph C _________

Answer: The treatments of Convicts
Supporting Sentence: Convicts are treated cruelly by some masters while some convicts not involved in public work were assigned to free settlers, providing labor in exchange for food, clothing, and shelter.
Keyword: Convicts, treatment, labor.
Keyword Location: Paragraph C, line 2.
Explanation: The second line of paragraph C explains that some prison guards abuse their prisoners, while others who are not engaged in public service are given to free settlers to work for in exchange for food, clothing, and shelter.

Question 6: Paragraph D _________

Answer: The colonial Population
Supporting Sentence: Convicts made up almost 60npercent of the population, and over 20,000 new convicts arrive. Hence people start living in Colony.
Keyword: Convicts, immigrants
Keyword Location: Paragraph D, line 3 – 5.
Explanation: Lines 3-5 of paragraph D states that early on, criminals significantly outnumbered free immigrants; by 1810, they made up about 60% of the population, and another 20,000 prisoners arrived between 1821 and 1830. The colonial population then grows as additional prisoners arrive.

Question 7: Paragraph E ______ ___

Answer: Free Settlers
Supporting Sentence: The title because numerous convicts arrive in Australia in 1793 to live in new lands.
Keyword: Settlers, immigrants
Keyword Location: Paragraph E, line 5 – 6.
Explanation: The fifth and sixth line of paragraph E explains that the first colonists entered Australia's new territory in 1793. As free immigrants began to arrive in the 1820s to settle on their new territories, their population rose to 80,000. More than 40,000 immigrants landed in Australia between 1831 and 1840.

Question 8: Paragraph F _________

Answer: Opponents of Transportation
Supporting Sentence: During the 1820s there was a long campaign to win rights against emancipists, that was opposed by wealthy free settlers.
Keyword: Emancipists, Immigrants, liberties.
Keyword Location: Paragraph F, line 2 – 5.
Explanation: Line 2-5 of paragraph F states that free immigrants to New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land are disgruntled and raising their voices against the opposition to transportation as a result of the protracted Campaign to win rights. A British Parliament-appointed committee made the suggestion that the government stop transporting people in 1838.

Question 9: Paragraph G _________

Answer: The end of Transportation
Supporting Sentence: Transportation was abolished in eastern colonies in 1852.
Keyword: Australian Government, Convicts, Van Diemen’s Land
Keyword Location: Paragraph G, line 3 – 6.
Explanation: Lines 3-6 of paragraph G explains that in 1852, transportation was prohibited in the eastern colonies. The Western Australian government requested the establishment of the convict system in 1850, and it lasted until 1868.

Questions 10 – 13:
Completes the Notes below. Write No More than Three words for each Answer.
Question 10: 1615 – Convicts First transported to 10 __AMERICAN COLONIES __ Controlled by Britain.

Answer: American Colonies
Supporting Sentence: The convicts were sent to American Colonies for both punishment and labor.
Keyword: British Colonies, American Colonies.
Keyword Location: Paragraph A, line 3 – 5.
Explanation: The third and fifth line of paragraph A explains that the convicts were once transferred to the American colonies for punishment and labour, but this practise was discontinued due to the American Revolutionary War.

Question 11: 1770 - Cook claims SE Australians coast for Britain, calling it 11 __New South Wales_ 1775 – 1783 – Revolution war in America halts transportation there.

Answer: New South Wales
Supporting Sentence: Captain Cook, explore the Southeast Coast of Australia in 17770, had named the land New South Wales and claimed it for Britain.
Keyword: Captain Cook, British Government.
Keyword Location: Paragraph A, Line 4-6.
Explanation: Lines 4-6 of paragraph A states that the Botany Bay in New South Wales was chosen as the location for the British government's new prison colony. Cook, however, asserts that the SE Australian coast belongs to Britain and is known as New South Wales.

Question 12: 1787 – Botany Bay was chosen as the site for the new _Prison Colony_

Answer: Prison Colony
Supporting Sentence: Although the settlement was a prison colony, few convicts served their sentences in jail.
Keyword: settlement, prison colony
Keyword Location: Paragraph B, line 2
Explanation: Line 2 of paragraph B enhances that during the year of 1787, eleven ships from England carry 750 convicts when they arrive in Botany Bay, Australia, to become the first group to do so.

Question 13: 1788 – Fleet reaches Botany Bay but _nearby Sydney Cove_ chosen instead.

Answer: Nearby Sydney Cove
Supporting Sentence: The fleet reached Botany Bay in January 1788, but nearby Sydney Cove was selected as a more suitable site for the new settlement, which later became the city of Sydney.
Keyword: flee, Sydney Cove
Keyword Location: Paragraph B, line 3.
Explanation: The third line of paragraph B suggests that the fleet arrived at Botany Bay in January 1788, but Sydney Cove, close by, was decided to be a more ideal location for the new settlement, which would subsequently become the city of Sydney.