developing rights was a revolutionary idea of the time, and it seems clear that these political insurgents also improved Australian society overall. Open to new ideas,Australia was able to become a relatively equal society by the late 19th century, unlike in Great Britain, which was slow to change its restrictive views of gender equality. All of the evidence clearly suggests that Australia became an economic powerhouse, thanks in large part to convict servitude.Australia’s former convict population built crucial infrastructure, which allowed profitable commodities to be transported across the country and then exported out across the Empire. Perhaps the economic influence exerted by the convicts is their most significant success factor, as it is the sole criteria in which convicts still visibly contribute to the Australian economy today. Historic sites constructed through convict servitude have been granted the status of World Heritage sites by UNESCO and still attract millions of tourists annually, and bring significant income into the country.
Some may argue that if Australia was not economically viable as a country, then the creation of a political machinery would not have been necessary. However, I believe that, as the colony was born as a penal constitution, the idea of a political/governing structure had been ingrained in society since the arrival of convicts in 1787. Convicts had always been fighting against the authoritarian rule, which fuelled their desire to achieve democracy, and, ultimately perhaps, this defined their key aim: to achieve their democratic rights - being more important even than creating a prosperous economy. Overall, Australia is immensely indebted to the presence of its transported convicts, who helped
to build the essential foundations of the powerhouse which is Australia today.
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