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Do you ever think about the origin of countries?
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February 19th, 2014
I love interesting factoids, especially about human migration and forcible migration in our earlier histories such as Native American Indians, orphans in Canada, etc..
Do any of you have any interesting ones to share?
Perhaps the most notable early connection in Canada-Australia relations is the story of the Canadian rebels who were sentenced to transportation to Australia for their part in the political uprisings in Upper Canada (now the province of Ontario) and Lower Canada (now the province of Quebec) in 1837–38. A total of 154 Canadian state prisoners were sent to Australian shores.
Those involved in the Upper Canada rebellions, were sent to Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania). There are two monuments in Hobart commemorating the Canadian convict presence in Tasmania. One is at Sandy Bay (unveiled by The Honourable Douglas Harkness, former Minister of National Defence of Canada on September 30, 1970) and the other stands in Prince’s Park, Battery Point (unveiled on December 12, 1995 by High Commissioner Brian Schumacher).
The rebels from Lower Canada were French Canadians known as les patriotes. Like their Upper Canada counterparts, they rebelled against the appointed oligarchy that administered the colony and les patriotes, along with their English-speaking neighbours, clamoured for responsible government. As with the Upper Canada rebellions, the armed insurrections in Lower Canada also failed and 58 French Canadians were sentenced to transportation to New South Wales. Thanks to the intervention of John Bede Polding, Bishop of Sydney, they avoided the horrors of Norfolk Island and were allowed to serve their sentences in Sydney. They were eventually assigned as labourers to free settlers, contributing to the development of the colony, including the building of the Parramatta Road. Place names like Canada Bay and Exile Bay and a monument at Cabarita Park in Concord, Sydney (unveiled in May 1970, by PM Trudeau), attest to their presence in Australia.
All but a few of the Canadian rebels eventually returned to Canada. In the aftermath of the failed rebellions, reforms to the governing of the colonies had been made and responsible government had been established in Canada.
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