Australia was not a gift from the Lord or the Pope to us. Without
seeking permission from either heaven or earth, we stole it for our own
gain. A continent and its neighboring islands were mostly deserted, with
only the kangaroo and a few primitive black people living there. Since
they could not demonstrate a legitimate claim to either life or
property, we seized both. The hungry sailors used to gather around the
galley every morning to steal some of the oatmeal porridge that the
prisoners ate for breakfast. Live biscuit, salt horse, Yankee pork, and
Scotch coffee made up the meager and unhealthy meals served to the crew
members on board these transports. These prisoners were allowed to craft
cabbage-tree hats during their free time, and these were the nicest hats
ever worn in the Sunny South. On the transport's deck, sentinels were
stationed with orders to kill any passengers trying to flee. Jack was,
however, much tempted to follow the guys earning a shilling a month
after all the prisoners had left. He snuck onto the beach in silence and
retired there until his ship left Port Jackson. The early settlers in
New Zealand were shilling-a-month laborers, fugitive convicts, runaway
sailors, and whalers. They became family men and constructed their own
reed and rush-covered, wooden-framed homes. They also picked up the
local language.
