[tanknetter]

Unlike New Zealanders, it was not their ancestors’ decision to emigrate.

Question: how many of the early New Zealand English settlers were convicts (really just guilty of minor crimes when Mother England decided to clear out her underclass) sentenced to transport, and therefore had no say in their decision to emigrate? I know a good portion of Australian's were (including the branch of my family that ended up there).

[wideawake]

New Zealand was not used for penal transportation as a matter of British policy. Australia was, but 95% of its early settlers were voluntary emigrants. The US state of Georgia also began as a penal colony, but only a tiny percentage of its white inhabitants were prisoners.

[Woodman]

Australia was for the petty criminals, New Zealand and Tasmania were reserved for the hard core criminals. In it's early history, New Zealand was almost exclusively Military or felons.

[DemonDeac]

“
Question: how many of the early New Zealand English settlers were convicts (really just guilty of minor crimes when Mother England decided to clear out her underclass) sentenced to transport, and therefore had no say in their decision to emigrate? I know a good portion of Australian’s were (including the branch of my family that ended up there).”

None. It was settled for very different reasons.