Irish Workers Still Needed, Criminals Need Not Apply

The town of Fremantle, Western Australia, features prominently in A Terrible Beauty. Within the pages of Katie Hanrahan's powerful novel, you'll find the Irish playing significant roles in creating and expanding what was little more than a penal colony.

Except that the Irish made to build the roads and raise the roofs and clean the floors were transported out of England's jails, and they were essentially slaves until they served out their term.

Once freed, they were stuck, without the financial means to pay for the journey home. And so, Australia become populated.

They could use some Irish workers now, and under roughly similar terms.

No criminals need apply, of course. The days of transportation to rid the Empire of annoying rebels is long gone. But Western Australia would like some Irish to come and work for a few years and then go back to Ireland, thanks for the help.

Remarkable how history repeats itself.

Just like in 1867, the government of Western Australia is embarking on infrastructure projects. Back then, it was convicts who built the roads. With a projected labor shortfall of 150,000 workers, it's not the simple matter of rounding up the least violent offenders and shipping them off to work construction.

At the same time, Australia doesn't want them settle there for good. At least the convicts had the decency to die off under the harsh conditions. Modern times don't hold with that kind of employee turn-over.

The Australian and Irish governments are cooperating closely so that the emigration process flows seamlessly. Ireland will export her young men, and Australia will put them to work on road crews.

Only this time, the laborers will be allowed to go home at the end of their term. And they won't be making the same sort of trouble that the Fenians made when they broke out of Fremantle's jail and made their way to America.