Beneath the Southern Cross (1999)
“Heavy labour was assigned to the hardened criminals and, in chains and leg irons, they were mercilessly worked, their daily misery in the stone quarries and brick fields slowly producing the buildings of Sydney Town.
Those convicts considered less of a threat to the community were assigned work, under guard, at the government farm, and they soon learned that the trees of Port Jackson were tough and unyielding. The work was intense, many men labouring for several days to grub out just one swamp ...mahogany or one red gum. And when the land was finally cleared and cultivated, the soil proved too poor and too pest-ridden for the tropical plants acquired in South Africa, and the time unseasonal for the planting of fruit varieties brought from England.
Further delegation of labour was proving a problem. Whilst the navy and military were engaged in the navigation and exploration of rivers and terrain, who was to police the colony? It became evident that prisoners of good conduct who had proved themselves hardworking and reliable should be assigned positions of trust.MoreLess
Those convicts considered less of a threat to the community were assigned work, under guard, at the government farm, and they soon learned that the trees of Port Jackson were tough and unyielding. The work was intense, many men labouring for several days to grub out just one swamp ...mahogany or one red gum. And when the land was finally cleared and cultivated, the soil proved too poor and too pest-ridden for the tropical plants acquired in South Africa, and the time unseasonal for the planting of fruit varieties brought from England.
Further delegation of labour was proving a problem. Whilst the navy and military were engaged in the navigation and exploration of rivers and terrain, who was to police the colony? It became evident that prisoners of good conduct who had proved themselves hardworking and reliable should be assigned positions of trust.MoreLess
Read book Beneath the Southern Cross for free
Write Review:
Guest
Read Also
9 / 10
User Reviews: