Hiking a Lonely Mountain Road Built by Convicts (200 Years Ago) | Convict Trail, Australia

I walked the Convict Trail, a historic trail located 90 minutes north of Sydney. In its entirety, the Convict Trail is a 240km road built by convicts (in iron chains) in the early 19th century, from Sydney to the Hunter Valley. The convicts, who were sentenced to work on this road for re-offending after being transported to Australia as punishment, lived in rough conditions with steep terrain, limited rations, tattered clothing, hot Australian summers and physical punishment, trying to build a road that would signal to the world how great the colony was (and to rival similar roads in the UK), with no skills or experience.

Transportation as a punishment to Australia stopped in 1868, but the legacy of the convicts remains today. Whilst the convicts lived crime-riddled lives in poverty back in the British Isles, many convicts would go on to live respectable lives in the colony, without the constraints of 19th century Europe. It is estimated 4 million current Australians have convict ancestry.

This road is a symbol of their hard work - we don't know the names of all of them. This trail is less of a hike and more of an open-air museum.

Music: MusicBed

Much of my research was from here: https://convictroad.weebly.com/

#australia #hike #hiking