21. Freedom of religion was not extended to convicts in the early Australian colonies
About one-third of the convicts transported to Australia were from Ireland, some convicted of crimes, and some sent without trial for taking part in seditious activities. Many of them were Catholic. Upon arrival in New South Wales, Irish Catholics were compelled to attend Church of England services. Children of Catholics were raised as Protestants. The first Catholic priests arrived in New South Wales as convicts themselves, found by British authorities as having taken part in the Irish Rebellion of 1798. One of the first three priests to arrive in the colony was Father James Dixon.
Father Dixon arrived in the colony in 1800. In April 1803, Governor King granted Father Dixon partial emancipation and permission for the priest to celebrate Mass. The first Mass said in Australia occurred on May 15, 1803. The permission was rescinded following the uprising of Irish convicts in 1804, though Father Dixon attempted to persuade the convicts to submit during that event. King returned to the practice of compulsory attendance of all convicts at Church of England services, though Dixon and other priests continued to perform Catholic baptisms and administered the Sacraments.