Convicts and the Australian Class System

[Admiral Matt]

Could we see the convict system evolving into a semi-permanent class division in Australia?

In OTL there was a deliberate effort to avoid this on the part of one of the colonial governors, but it never really came that close to begin with. Now let's say there's a much more successful attempt at an Irish revolt during the Napoleonic Wars. Ireland is under repressive military rule for decades, and Australia gets a steady flood of dissidents, suspected dissidents, and their families. This is on a much larger scale then the pickpockets and prostitutes from England proper, and adds religious and (to a lesser extent) linguistic support for the continued division of Australia into convicts and free immigrants.

Now obviously convict revolts could put an end to any such thing, but that's rather beside the point. Could such a thing survive into the early 20th century?

[Tielhard]

In OTL the class system in Oz was based on the convict/emapcipist/free settler/squatter divisions at least until the 1880s when the last old crawlers were released. I think it lasted in some areas almost to Confederation. The squatocracy is of course still a large part of the Australian landed classes.

[Mark Ford]

To have any chance of a class system based on a Convict / Free Settler division you would need to have had tens of thousands of women transported to Australia as convicts. Most Australians today who are decended from convicts are decended from female convicts who after serving their time married free settlers, farmers, military personal, doctors and even a colonial Govenor. If you had a large number of natives (Australian born) with both parents who are convicts then the stigma of their ancestry may allow such a class system to develop.

[Admiral Matt]

Hrm... I suppose it's not too much of a stretch to have someone in Ireland decide that nits breed lice, and to send troublemakers' families with them.

Other than that - they did import some labor from the Indies (or was that India?). Mostly in the Northeast, IIRC. They were kept in a state not terribly far from slavery. Maybe they bring in more, and the division of the sexes is more even. White convicts have the advantage in numbers - and probably a privileged position (relatively speaking) - so there's a fair bit of interracial marriages.

Actually, this seems pretty workable with few major divergences.