Find your place in history

The Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has a family tree that leads all the way back to the convicts transported on the Second Fleet in 1790 and the very foundations of Australia. Yet he isn’t the only Australian with a rich family history.

More than 160,000 convicts came to these shores between 1787 and 1857, and today many Australians can trace their family back to those who were brought here as punishment for crimes that appear trivial by modern day standards. Of course, not everyone came here as a convict. Many arrived as free settlers, or as soldiers or businessmen hoping to start anew — no boundaries, no barriers. Some of the most ambitious came from successful and often well-connected English families wanting to create dynasties of their own, while others wanted to escape the poverty they were born to. Either way, it was to Australia that they turned for a fresh start.

Kevin Rudd’s family background is woven into the fabric of this country’s history. Yet all Australians contribute to the variety and richness of that tapestry. All families have stories, ordinary and extraordinary people caught up in adventures, mysteries, famous names, places and deeds that resonate through the centuries.

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