William Pitt. OB. 1806

Scarce c.19th engraved portrait of British Prime Minister William Pitt who was instrumental in instigation transportation of convicts to Botany Bay.

William Pitt (1759-1806) entered Parliament in 1781 and rose rapidly in public life. In December 1783 he became Prime Minister, a position he held for most of the period until his death in 1806, with a brief interruption between 1801 and 1804.  A significant aspect of Pitt’s administration concerned the reorganisation of Britain’s penal policy following the loss of the American colonies after the American War of Independence. Prior to this, transported convicts had been sent to North America; the end of that practice created the need for an alternative destination. Under Pitt’s government, attention turned to the establishment of a penal settlement at New South Wales.

The decision to found a colony in New South Wales was formalised in 1786. The expedition, known as the First Fleet, sailed in 1787 under the command of Arthur Phillip. It carried convicts, marines, and officials to establish a settlement at Botany Bay, later moved to Port Jackson. Although Pitt did not personally devise all operational details, the policy was implemented during his premiership and formed part of broader administrative responses to overcrowded prisons and hulks in Britain.  Transportation to Australia continued as an established system throughout Pitt’s tenure. Convicts sentenced in Britain and Ireland were transported across a voyage of several months to the colony, where they were assigned to government labour or private service. The administration in London, including the Home Office and Treasury, supervised the contracting of ships, provisioning, and the regulatory framework governing transportation. The colony at New South Wales developed as both a penal settlement and a site of imperial expansion.

Pitt’s government also oversaw legislative measures affecting colonial administration and trade. The establishment of New South Wales contributed to Britain’s strategic presence in the Pacific and provided a destination for convicts during a period of domestic penal reform. Transportation remained integral to British policy until after Pitt’s lifetime, continuing into the c.19th.  In 1801 Pitt resigned over disagreements with George III concerning Catholic emancipation, returning to office in 1804 during the wars with Napoleonic France.  One of Sydney’s main streets is named after him as well as Pitt Town.

Collections:
National Library Australia: Bib ID: 1684707
Royal Collection Trust UK: RCIN 1000637
State Library Victoria: S 914.2A M36BR
State Library South Australia: 994.02 M382
State Library New South Wales: Record Identifier 74VKPGbdyQ4b

State Library Queensland: Record number 99183415416002061753