State Archives Collection

On arrival to the Colony of New South Wales, a convict was either retained by the Government or assigned to an individual

The index records the convict’s name, ship, date of assignment, to whom assigned, residence and remarks

A certificate of freedom was a document stating that a convict's sentence had been served

Between 1846-1850 exiles were transported to NSW. Exiles had served part of their sentence in a penitentiary in Britain and were granted a conditional pardon or ticket of leave on arrival in the Colony. This index covers 1849-50 only.

Convict Indents list the convicts transported to New South Wales. Early indents provide name, date and place of trial and sentence while the later indents usually contain more information such as a physical description, native place, age and crime. This index covers the period 1788-1801

Convicts with a life sentence could receive a pardon but not a Certificate of Freedom. The two main types of pardons were conditional pardon and absolute pardon

Penal settlements were places of incarceration and punishment for convicts who committed serious offences after reaching New South Wales

Convict discipline depended not only on punishment but also on incentives and rewards. Governor King introduced the ticket of leave system in 1801

A history of convict transportation to New South Wales and related records such as trial records and records of the voyage and arrival

A unique collection of records, created by both the British Government and the Colonial administration, dating from 1788 to 1842

Key details about the parties applying for permission to marry including: names; ages; the date of permission or refusal; ship of arrival; sentence (for the party who was the convict); whether free or bond and name of the clergy

Between 1788 and 1842 about 80,000 convicts were transported to New South Wales

A list of convict records in our Collection relating to Van Diemen's Land

140,000+ entries of certificates of freedom, bank accounts, deaths, exemptions from Government Labor, pardons, tickets of leave & tickets of leave passports

Indents list convicts transported to NSW

Families of convicts sometimes accompanied their convict relations or came out later

This session presents some essential resources for researching convict history

A brief overview of the Hyde Park Barracks and a list of convict-related record series

The Moreton Bay penal colony, on traditional Turrbal and Yuggera land, operated from 1824 to 1842 as a place of secondary punishment for convicts who committed serious offences

An update of one of our most popular webinars, an introduction to our convict records and how you can find and use them

Indents list the convicts transported to New South Wales