List of Australian penal colonies

The following is a list of Australian penal colonies that existed from the establishment of European presence in the 1780s up until the nineteenth century.[citation needed] The term colony had referred to settlements and larger land areas at that time.

Settlement Colony Year opened Year closed
Cockatoo Island New South Wales 1839 1869
Rose Hill New South Wales 1788
Sydney Cove New South Wales 1788 1840
Moreton Bay Queensland (New South Wales before 1859) 1824
Redcliffe Queensland 1823 1824
Maria Island Van Diemen's Land[note 1] 1825 1851
Port Arthur Van Diemen's Land 1830
Richmond Van Diemen's Land 1830
Risdon Cove Van Diemen's Land 1794
Sarah Island, part of the Macquarie Harbour Penal Station Van Diemen's Land 1822 1833
Saltwater River Van Diemen's Land 1879 1970
Sullivans Cove Van Diemen's Land 1914
King George's Sound Western Australia 1826 1832[note 2]
Swan River Colony Western Australia 1850 1868[note 3]
Norfolk Island Other 1788 1855[note 4]


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