Surviving the colony: The impact of the Western Australian convict system on prisoner health, 1850-1877

This thesis examines the severity of convict experiences in Western Australia, through an analysis of prisoner health records. It explores convict diets, living conditions, sanitation, work regimes and medical care, at Fremantle Prison and at regional outstations and work camps. It also investigates living standards among ticket-of-leave convicts. In doing so, the thesis integrates Western Australia into broader Australian historical debates about convict labour management, the treatment of secondary offenders, the after-effects of the convict voyage, and the health impacts of physical and psychological punishments. This research challenges the long-established view that convict treatment in Western Australia was relatively benign.