Two periods in Australian history that most remembered are the 'Convict Era' and the 'Gold era. During these times another event took place which was also critical in shaping Australian society and way of life. This was Irish immigration and the transportation of convicts from England. I will try and analyse some of the facts that caused these events.

At the time that Sydney was first settled in New South Wales (NSW), the penal laws being forced onto the Irish population by the English protestants, were designed to trample and flatten the population into the dirt. Under what was known as 'The Popery Laws', no Catholic could sit in parliament, sit on the bench or in a jury in court, could not vote, teach or hold a commission in any army. Property laws were written to break up Catholic estates and strengthen Protestant ones. Protestant estates could be left intact to an eldest son, where a Catholic estate had to be split up, so weakening the Catholic ownership of land. The Catholic farmers were reduced to sharecropping in a generation or so! At this time the Catholics owned about 5% of the land.

The system in Ireland was split into two distinct bodies which were totally alienated from each other. One the English protestants was to possess all property, all franchises, have all the education, while the Catholics were reduced to being their water carriers and turf cutters, merely at their beck and call as a work force. The Catholics were basically reduced to a mob. With time, even a mob can rise up and retaliate. Is it any wonder, that the Irish have despised the English for so long?

In Australia a kind of pecking order took shape, the general establishment was that English and Anglican and the Scottish Presbyterians were in the top position, followed by the Irish, below them came the Australian Indigenous people and the Chinese. The pecking order exclude those who were definitely not Catholic, like the Northern Irish of Scottish descent, the 'Orangemen' and those English who had always been Catholic.

There were almost 30,000 men and 9,000 women transported from England, directly to the Australian colonies. These Irish convicts fell into three different categories:

                             * those convicted in England for crimes committed in England

                             * those convicted in Ireland for crimes committed there

                             * those committed of political crimes.

The first group were made up of uneducated, poor city dwellers who were repeat offenders for theft. The second group could be split into two groups of city and country dwellers. The third group probably had less than 600 Irish who were specifically political prisoners. Another 5,000 whose motivation to commit crimes could have made them political prisoners, most of these came from a rural background and included many women who had long memories of oppression.

Captain David Collins the Judge Advocate for the new colony, he himself from Irish/Anglo background, supported a political system based on the ascendancy pecking order, and who openly despised the Irish and stated "That they do not deserve the respect of fellow men!" This racist statement was common at that time and certainly did not assist in unbiased dispensing of the laws of the colony.

Another outspoken representative was the Reverend Samuel Marsden, the head of the Established Church. He held great authority in the colony of NSW and was known as the 'Flogging Parson', he reacted violently to any Irishmen who were sent here for crimes of a political nature. Marsden hatred for the Catholics knew no bounds, his sermons were full of hatred for them. He was also scathing in his attitude towards Irish women, he described any women living with a man out of wedlock as a 'Concubine'. He wrote in 1812, that we have to rid the colony of all the Catholic priests, so then how could the Irish marry? They certainly would not be married by a protestant minister, which was what the establishment wanted. Schools were were established in almost every district so that the next generation would be brought up in the  principles of the Protestant religion. Rather than do this, the Irish formed what was called 'Hedgerow' schools like had operated in Ireland, and provided alternative learning for the kids or just kept their kids at home rather than becoming Protestants.

The Irish were oppressed twice, oppressed as the defeated indigenous people of Ireland and oppressed as the convicts in the new colonies. While the male members of the system dished out the floggings and executions at will, to try and maintain discipline, an interesting event occurred which provided an eye-opening alternative to continual cruelty. It involved Elizabeth, the wife of the Governor Macquarie, he being away visiting Parramatta, found herself confronted by the overseer of a working party of Irish Catholics. They insisted that they usually celebrated St. Patrick's Day, hence Mrs Macquarie found herself with a decision to make. If she refused permission the 50 or so men might turn nasty and it could turn into a drunken orgy or worse. So, with consummate skill she averted a confrontation by treating the men with tact and kindness, like human beings. She gave them time off work in the morning and told them to use the time reverently in their quarters, then return to Government House in the afternoon. To their amazement, when they returned, they were treated to a feast of Irish Stew and pudding. After the excellent meal, they quietly went back to their barracks to sleep. Macquarie's approach to governing the colony was through promoting family life and dignity through work. Tickets of leave were issued to all those who walked the line. Land grants followed and the south west area of Sydney was developed on land around Liverpool, Campbelltown mostly by the Irish who today retain strong Labour ties.

However, prior to all this happening, life was not without its problems. Several uprisings occurred, the most famous being the "The Castle Hill Rebellion" and the 'Battle of Vinegar Hill'. The rebellion was severely suppressed in the early 1800's to discourage other daring challenges to British rule. This was the reason that the revolt was not as well known as the miners revolt at 'The Eureka Stockade' which happened nearly 50 years later.

 In March 1804, when one third of the 6,000 non indigenous population of Sydney was Irish political prisoners, a plan was made to form an army of 1,000 Irishmen to march on Sydney, take ships and sail for freedom. These were the men who had been sent to Australia  for revolt against the British at the original Battle of Vinegar Hill in Wexford County, Ireland in 1798.

Governor King tried to keep the Irish apart from each other by sending some to Norfolk Island and some to the Government farms in West Sydney but all to no avail. The password of 'St. Peter' was to be sent on a certain night to all of the groups after which they were to overpower their guards and march on Sydney. One thousand men from a population of 6,000 would be hard to stop, even for the well armed British 'Redcoats'. The Irish catchcry was "Death or Liberty".

Below is original Elizabeth House (Government House) on Elizabeth Farm Parramatta. It still stands there today. 

On the night of March 4th 1804 a lot happened, a free settler rode alone through the night in thick bush to raise the alarm. The British Redcoats were forced marched 41 miles through the night to Parramatta. But, whatever happened that night, the password was not passed on and the rebels were left to stand alone. The rebels had marched from Castle Hill to Constitution Hill where they waited for the signal that the Irish had rebelled at Parramatta, Elizabeth Farm was to be burned both as a signal and to draw the Redcoats out of Parramatta. It just didn't happen! When they realised this fact, they turned north west and marched along Windsor Road. Major George Johnston and his Redcoats caught up with them at 11.00am and although heavily outnumbered, they were heavily armed. They had no problem in claiming victory and scattered the convicts during the confusion.

Official records show that 15 rebels died on the field and over 300 were captured. None of the Government forces were killed or wounded. The name "Vinegar Hill" was also used as the password for entry into the 'Eureka Stockade'. 50 years later.

As one who was born in England but has been a naturalised Australian Citizen for nearly 55 years, I must say that I am ashamed  that the British conducted themselves in such a manner, imposing what they considered their right, to assert themselves in such a  way. For the record, I think the Irish with their indomitable spirit and their great sense of humour have won the right of way in Australia. They are deeply set in the Australian character and way of life.