Convicts & convict administration guide
A unique collection of records, created by both the British Government and the Colonial administration, dating from 1788 to 1842
About the guide
From 1788 to the 1840s, about 80,000 convicts were transported to the Colony of New South Wales. This guide provides an entry into a unique collection of records, created by both the British Government and the Colonial administration, covering the period 1788-1842 (plus the 'convict exiles' from the later 1840s and 1850s) that documents the 'convict careers' of these men and women.
The great significance of these records has been recognised with their inscription into the UNESCO Australian Memory of the World Register on 20 February 2006.
This guide makes these records more accessible for all researchers whether they are family historians or students of the larger questions of the economic, social, legal and political history of New South Wales and Australia.
Related
- Download the list of Convict Ships to NSW (PDF)
Convicts
Convict penal settlements
Penal settlements were places of incarceration and punishment for convicts who committed serious offences after reaching New South Wales
Convict Certificates of Freedom
A certificate of freedom was a document stating that a convict's sentence had been served
Moreton Bay Penal Settlement
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
Convict assignment records
On arrival to the Colony of New South Wales, a convict was either retained by the Government or assigned to an individual