Discovering Australia
On May 13，1787，a fleet of English ships set sail for Australia with about 750 people.These men and women were not ordinary passengers.They were convicts being sent to Australia as punishment for their crimes.
Laws in England during that period were very harsh(苛刻的)，and people were punished severely for even the smallest crimes.A man could be sentenced to death for hunting on another man’s property or he could be put to death for chopping down someone else’s tree.For many other crimes，the punishment was “transportation”．The guilty person was shipped to a distant land where he was forced to work without pay.Often women and children were shipped to other land，too.
In 1770，Captain Cook had discovered the continent of Australia and claimed it for England.At first，England found no use for this vast land on the other side of the world，but then the American Revolution took place.England could no longer ship their convicts(囚犯) to the American colonies.So she turned to Australia as a good place for her prisoners.
A former naval captain was picked to accompany the convicts to the new colony.His job was to help them build a settlement which he would govern.The captain was glad to go.He believed the convicts could learn to live in peace.He felt they would obey the laws in a new country.
In January 1788，the English fleet and its strange cargo(船货) landed in Australia.After days of searching，the captain found a fine harbor.The land nearby had trees and streams.The convict colony made a new beginning here.Australia’s history had begun.
