HAVE you ever wondered how those distant relatives Down Under, who you only ever hear from at Christmas, got to settle in Australia? writes Pete Lammas.

You have? Then it's possible your ancestors arrived there not of the own free will but were among thousands of criminals shipped out to Australia in the late 18th and early 19th centuries when deportation was common for often very petty crimes.

This was a time when to be poor was a crime and when most of the population lived in dire poverty.

It was also the days before pre-sentence reports, probation and community service and when judges made example of criminals to deter others from a life of crime. Many crimes involved the theft of food and clothing, which nonetheless frequently saw the accused hauled before a court and given a deportation sentence ranging from a seven year minimum to life.

The sentence was only the first stage, the voyage itself would also be scary.

One can only imagine the horrors experienced on board wooden sailing ships as they crossed the rough seas bound for an almost unheard of and unexplored land on the far side of the world.

Now Stourbridge local historian Don Cochrane has written a book called Black Country Criminal Ancestors 1787 to 1868 in which he lists hundreds of cases, many involving people from Bromsgrove and Droitwich Spa.

Much of the information has been gleaned from Assize reports which appeared in our sister paper the Berrows Worcester Journal.

Typical are the Bromsgrove nailors Hulton, Pugh and Harbidge who were indicted for stealing a half sovereign and other cash from Thomas Morgan. All were sent to Australia for 15 years. John Trotter, aged 20, who came before the Assize judge at Worcester in March 1827, got just seven years transportation for stealing flour and bread from his employer James Hammond, of Stoke Prior. Not so lucky was Samuel Walker, 31, another nailor who was sentenced to death at the Worcester Assizes in 1829 for stealing nine sheep.

William Wythers, a 38-year-old labourer, was given ten years at the July 1843 Assizes for stealing two sheep, the property of Thomas Wilson, of Droitwich. Don, from Pedmore, Stourbridge, a retired lecturer, said his interest in convict history arose from family research.

It revealed that his great, great grandfather, a nailor, was transported for 15 years in 1845 to Van Diemen's Land, now Tasmania, never to return leaving behind a wife and four youngsters.

His research revealed many more local men, women and children were sent to "Parts Beyond the Seas," as Australia was then described.

Don says he hopes his book will be a means of encouraging more people to research their past. "Many people today are unaware members of their family were forced to become involuntary settlers. My book tells who these "criminals" were, their crimes, how they were punished and how to go about research."

The book, priced at £5, is on sale at various bookshops including Ottakar's in the High Street, Bromsgrove, and at Hagley Library.