Mary Ann and I got married and with her wealth i was able to quit my job as a teacher. We desicded to set out on a trip to Singapore. Together we bought a boat and set of leaveing the convicts, firends, and are past lives behind us and heading out. We travled for many days through storms and rough sea but we made it to Singapore.

After starting my jog as the teacher at at Dumbarton in 1872 I was able to get over the social stigma, they say that the ex-convicts helped break down the social stigma by getting jobs. Working hard i was able to afford a good home, good food and other things. While I was working i met Mary Ann a wealthy widow who owned a hotel and a farm.

For years now they have worked us like slaves, making us build roads, building and bridges. They make us work long days with no breaks and giving us little food. Many of my fellow convicts have died either of starvation, being over worked or killed for being resistant. The governor has made a deal with us convicts; if we are good and we work for about 6-7 years we can get a ticket of leaving. This ticket allows us to start a new live free from the work, I have been working towards mine for many years now and I think I might be allegeable for it. Many years later I was appointed my ticket able to start a new live. I have taken the job as a teacher Wicklow Hills School teaching children. Two years later I was dismissed for gross misconduct, but years later I was appointed teacher at Dumbarton.

The days are long and unbearable, being stuck in the hold for many days, surviving on what little food they give us. Being stuck with so many people who I don’t know is hard, but some of them are nice most of us tell stories about our lives and the reasons why we’re here. Most of the reasons are the same, people stealing things to survive such as money or livestock. It has many months at sea and many of the convicts have died of sickness and it is spreading rapidly, but the worst of it is the parasites, many rats and bugs fester on the boat torment us, spreading rashes and driving us mad. We stopped and went ashore one day I heard from the gaurds that its August 5, we stayed here for a month while the crewmen restocked ourn suppiles. Just for the women, they gave them new clothes and burned the old ones, suppling them with rice sacks to wear. We reached our destination on January 18, our ship was the first to arrive. The next day the other ships arrived and they began to investagate the area, finding nothing that Captin James Cook had promised. After sevearal days of searching some of the crew went to the other islands to see if the were anything we could use. They reported back that they found the Bay that Captin James Cook had talked about, later that day we moved over there and established a base.

The people on the ships that were aside the shore had made contact with us in the early sun of the day. They want to share the land with us. I had run over to Marca’ s hut and called her name at the entrance. She crawled out, she wasn’t smiling though. We were sitting at the old river red gum tree in the middle of the camp. Some people say it grows so big because it gets filled with more and more spirits everyday.

We had climbed halfway to the top and sat there looking out at the ocean and the ships that were anchored close the shore and the small boats on the shore. I had asked her what did she think they wanted. She sat there for moment thinking; then she had said that her grandfather said that they have been here before. She also said that they didn’t have as many people aboard. And they didn’t want to stay; they just wanted to explore the land. Marca’ s grandfather is very wise and finds things out very quickly then he shares the information with his family.

As we sat there for a while Marca looked at me and then back at the shore. We saw them walking around the shore and it looked as though people were making orders and others were doing the orders. I started singing a song in our language and Marca had asked what I was doing. I told her I was singing a song to the spirits and maybe they would answer my question. Then she asked me what my question was. I answered with is this going to be a good thing or is it going to be a bad thing. She looked back at me and said that her grandfather said that they were prisoners. I asked her what prisoners were. She answered with, “people who have done bad things.” I looked out at the men and women and my stomach knotted. “Marca?” I said.

“Yeah?”

“I don’t think this is good news.”

I had never seen anything like it. They were, they were huge, all 11 of them. They were floating on the ocean water.  They were watercrafts but much larger then the ones we use to cross the rivers and to go up stream. These could hold whole villages. A flag flew from one of them, it must have stood for there country. Then I realized Marca had started to dodge behind a large pile of rocks.

            I called her name and ran over to her. “What are they and what are our mamas going to say when we have told them we have came this far from the village and put our selves in danger”. She says in a cry, I had said I know but we have to tell them and fast.

Marca had asked if I thought that’s what the news is in the camp that we don’t know about? I didn’t answer I just started heading home with her right behind me.

           

When we arrived at the camp I asked my mother what the new is. She didn’t answer. So I told her what the news is. First she scolded me for disobeying her then we sat there silent. I looked up at her and asked is this good news or is this bad news? She shook her head and answered with a don’ t know.

Today mama said to stay close to the camps; I am not sure why she would ask me because I always go for a walk a distance away from the camp. I had other plans in mind then staying close to the camp anyways,I thought to myself I could take care of myself, after all I am almost 14 years old.

 

Marca’ s mother had started to show her were to find food and gather nuts and berries. Mama still hasn’t got the chance to she is repairing out hut, so Marca said she would show me. She asked me what I wanted to learn first. I told her I wanted to spear fish because Arvo always brags about it being so much fun. I could tell she really liked the thought of getting to teach me so I had turned around and gave her a smile to let her know I was excited.

 About an hour later we could hear the ocean water crashing against the rocks. Marca lead me to a calm circle in-between the rocks and handed me a spear. She had handed me the spear and with a smile pointed at a small school of fish that just swam into the area to feed. Then she was showing me how to hold the spear, she was telling me that we could go berry hunting after…then she stopped talking instantly. she had looked at me and fear had swept across her face. I looked in the direction she was staring at and then I gasped.

My father passed away two years ago, I remember him well. He used to do almost all the hunting but mother would get food such as roots, plants, nuts, berries, leaves and fruit. The men in our camps usually carry around spears, spear throwers and any weapons to hunt the animals to feed their families. My mother’s mother had shown mama how to do it when she was my age so mother said she would show me the ways to gather food when there is drought or if there is flood. She said if I learned properly and I increased skills I would never go hungry.

My father used to spend a lot of time with us. Family is important and it is important to help your family learn to live and survive. Families in our camps fish, and food gather together when the sons get older they help the fathers hunt. Arvo got to start hunting earlier then the rest of the other sons. When our father died there was no one to look after me if mama went of to hunt so my fathers brother started bringing us food but he had to feed his family so he showed Arvo how to kill animals from birds and snaked to crocodiles and kangaroos.

There was there was bad news through the camp. I hate when there is bad news. The reason I hate bad news is it usually means someone dies. I remember knowing the bad news before the rest of the camp has, they were very sad times. The first time I had heard the bad news before those in the camp was when my father died my family grieved for a few weeks and then they celebrated his life and spirit and they danced. I had thought to myself why aren’t they sad and instead they are smiling. I had asked Arvo what I was thinking. He had replied with they are sad inside but people die and people move on, it is the cycle of life and spirits live on and then I understood why people hunt and they say its fro survival and it’s the way of life. I asked Arvo is that why we do the dances to celebrate the spirits. He nodded.

The news in the camp spread quicker then any other news before. I wasn’t sure if it was good news or if it was bad news. I had asked mama what the news was, she never told me. She did say I would find out soon. I had asked my friend Marca if her mama told her what the news was she just shook her head and answered with a sad no. I told her about the kangaroo at the watering whole she told me she wouldn’t tell her mother if she was me to. I guess sometimes people just don’t say anything at all because it is best not to or is it?

I am a John warren, at age 24 I was convicted of forging a bill of exchange and was proven guilty and sentenced to a lifetime of penal servitude. I going be sent to Western Australia to live the rest of my live as a convict working on roads and bridges. As the marines load us up onto one of the six boats I realize that there are so many people, convicted of different crimes wondering what they did and what was their motivation. We convicts are stowed at the bottom of the ship forced and crammed together with no room while the marines, captain, and the passengers are to walk around as they please. Living on what little food they gave us and trying to make it through the long days as we travel to are new home.   

The sun it beating down, it is a very hot day like almost everyday. I am an Australian aboriginal, my name is Arana. I was sent out to look if the kangaroos were down at the Billabong (the watering hole.) You ask why I was sent to seek the kangaroos at the watering hole is that kangaroos have lean red meat, which is really quite good and high in protein, the people in our village enjoy it. We can survive of anything that nature has provided for us.

I sit here on this rock looking over the watering hole and beyond. I felt a tingle on my hand as I go look down at it I jumped of the rock with shrill. The Hunt man Spider crawled away in enough time to stare at it for to long. One time I had been sleeping to wake up to one on my chest, although they are harmless they are really creepy from their amazing speed for a spider and there long width about 15 small pebbles.

            I looked up across the watering hole to see a kangaroo and her Joey. I picked up the little rock rat I had found I thought I would show my brother Arvo. I arrived to our village minutes later. Our camp changes often, we move were the food moves it is how we survive. I have seen camps that held up to 400 people. And some camps only have 10 people. Our camp though has about 200 people.

            I see my mother outside of our hut starting a fire getting ready for supper. She will be hoping that the kangaroos were at the watering hole, but I am not going to tell her about the kangaroo. After all she had a baby and I didn’t want to hurt her or her Joey. A smile grew across her face when I saw her. She asked me what I had, I showed her the rat and told her there were no kangaroos in sight I think she noticed that I was lying but she didn’t say anything.

             I walked past her and into our small hut. Our hut is made out of bark, mud and other things laying around the ground. Some people in our camp lay right out under the stars at night and don’t make huts; others live in caves near by. My brother sits in the corner of the huts carving a piece of wood with a knife. He lifts up to show me, it is a crocodile he says his friend and he saw 10 at the swamp. I replied by saying no way what did Mama say. He told me he didn’t tell her because she would lose her mind and go on how we have to be careful around the swamp. Then I told him about the Joey and his mother, we made a deal not to mention either. Then he noticed the rock rat I was holding and a smile spread across his face and he jumped up to get a better look at it.