Here's the basic story (from the back of the DVD). I loved it when it was on telly in NZ.

Mary Mulvane, an 18 year old Irish girl, is transported to New South Wales for seven years for doing little else than protecting her own property. She must endure the horror of transport to Australia, and years of misery as a convict.
Mary, her friends and her family fight out their battle against a lively historical backdrop - Ireland's 1798 Rebellion, Australia's Castle Hill Rebellion of 1804, and the 1808 Rum Rebellion.
With characters and historical settings all based in fact, Against The Wind is a sweeping drama spanning 15 years of Australia's most brutal and violent past, and was one of the greatest television successes of it's era.

All that and a good song as well!
Robyn