Obviously the stories of the first fleet and the convicts settling Australia are well publicised, however often the female stories are not as well known. The women that came across on the first fleet and settled in Australia have traditionally been viewed in a negative light. At the time of transportation, the women were viewed poorly and treated even worse. Many within the female population were forced into prostitution, even if they were married with a family, just so that they could survive the harsh conditions of the colony. They were viewed as cheap and common whores and treated as such by the men. It could also be seen from information taken from the Pyramus and Hougoumont that women were being sent to the colonies for crimes far less severe than the equivalent males. Furthermore, these women were generally of a much younger age than the men. It can be argued that this was occurring because there was a desperate need to increase the female population in Australia, as the male to female ratio was very unequal in favour of the men. As time has gone on, and in recent years, the women of the colonies have gone from being seen as cheap prostitutes to brave soldiers. Upon reflection it becomes apparent that these women were fighting a battle of survival for not only themselves but often also children, and as such was willing to take drastic measures to do so. The penal colonies would have been a very terrifying place for a woman, fighting not only the natural elements, but a whole new world and system so unlike anything they would have experienced in Great Britain, however they fought on and were pioneers of the Australia of today and helped forge the fighting spirit so commonly associated with Australians.
The depiction above represents how the women of the colonies were, at the time, viewed as cheap prostitutes.
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