Contemporary abolitionists characterised the practice as virtual slavery, and some, but by no means all, latter-day historians have agreed with this assessment.
Convicts in Western Australia were never assigned,[1] with the debatable exception of the Parkhurst apprentices.
The system was abolished in New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land on 1 July 1841 and replaced with the probation gang system.
After working for two years in a labour gang, if they were well-behaved, convicts received 'probation passages' which meant they could work for wages.
This article related to the history of Australia is a stub.