That's a gratuitous slap in the face to Australians. A study a few years ago showed that most widely respected Aussies of the late 20th century had one or more convicts in their family tree. Today it's a point of pride to many.

While North America may not have been a penal colony, quite a few "immigrants" got out of their country of origin one step ahead of the sheriff. Considering some of the trivial things one could be sent to Australia for around 1800, I'm not sure we Yanks can point to any ancestral superiority - except perhaps in evading the cops long enough to get on a boat.

It's a slap born of typical seppo ignorance, hence my suggestion for the poster to read "The Fatal Shore". The state of Georgia was founded as a penal colony (which they could no longer use after the revolution, hence the birth of transport to Australia). The fiscal and social success of Australia alone should be enough to show the wrongheadness of the "criminal strain" theory, but a quick glance at the crime rates in England pre and post transport would confirm it as well.

From the Dictionary of Australian Slang at www.australiatravelsearch.com.au/trc/slang.html:

Hmmm.... talk about slaps in the face! :eek:

This thread has gone "Omni", and is no longer polite.

If further friendly discussion is necessary, please click on the link Efrem offered.