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Convict Transportation to New South Wales, 1787–1849: Mortality Rates Reconsidered
In: Australian economic history review: an Asia-Pacific journal of economic, business & social history, Volume 58, Issue 1, p. 62-86
ISSN: 1467-8446
Previous research into Australian convict transportation has concluded that a significant downturn in mortality rates occurred with the appointment of naval surgeons as superintendents in 1815. Statistical analysis of convict ships sent to New South Wales between 1787 and 1849 shows a more significant downturn occurred in 1800, following the introduction of closer supervision of ships' surgeons. The contracting system established by the Navy Board in 1786 for the transportation of convicts to New South Wales could be made to work as long as government maintained an effective system of inspection and supervision.
Commissioning Human Services: Lessons from Australian Convict Contracting
In: Australian journal of public administration, Volume 76, Issue 4, p. 457-469
ISSN: 1467-8500
AbstractThe transportation of convicts to the British penal colony at New South Wales in the late 18th and early 19th centuries was largely undertaken by private merchants under contract to government. In the early years, the outcomes of this system, as measured by mortality rates, were mixed, but by the turn of the century, public officials had refined its operation, resulting in a significant decline in convict deaths. Close study of the evolution of this system reveals that government officials were grappling with many of the same issues encountered by public service commissioners today – trade‐offs between price and quality, the use of transactional versus relational contracting forms, and heavy reliance on financial incentives as opposed to intrinsic motivation. Government's success in reducing mortality on the convict ships highlights the importance of system design, effective monitoring and management when public services are delivered under contract.
Commissioning Human Services: Lessons from Australian Convict Contracting
In: Australian journal of public administration: the journal of the Royal Institute of Public Administration Australia
ISSN: 0313-6647