transportation

     Transportation, historically , meant being sent to Australia or New Zealand instead of to jail. Both Australia and New Zealand were prison colonies--colonies of England, or Great Britain. When someone was convicted of a crime, the sentence might be transportation, for a number of years or for life. The convicts, who might be British or Irish,  worked on farms owned by British people. Many convicts stayed in Australia after serving their sentences. The trip back to England would have been expensive--they would have needed to work for years just to get home.