BIRTH OF A NATION

JAMES COOK discovered Australia in 1770. But there was a problem. Nobody knew what to do with these new territories. Meanwhile, in England, people were very poor and they had to steal to survive : they commited small crimes and thefts. Then the English government decided to transport these people to Australia. The first immigrants arrived in Australia on 26th January 1788 in Sydney. They were convicts, they were 776.

MATTHEW EVERINGHAM was transported to Australia on that day. He was approximately 17 or 18 years old. Before being transported to Australia, he was put in prison for three years at the age of 14. Then he was sent to Australia on a convict ship. The trip was terrible because the guards were pitiless and when they arrived, they had to work the lands around the harbour and the lands were rocky and difficult to farm. But the end of his life was much better because at the age of 21- 22 he was freed. He married and he had nine children. He was a farmer and afterwards he was a respected man in his community because he became a policeman.