Settlers’ Muster Book, 1800

Inscribed on the UNESCO Australian Memory of the World Register, the Settlers’ Muster Book 1800 provides a snapshot of life during this pivotal period of early European settlement, approximately a decade after the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788.

This webinar led by Dr Carol Liston AO, Adjunct Associate Professor in History at Western Sydney University, explores the contents of the Settlers’ Muster Book 1800 and how it can provide some wonderful insights into the residents and the early administrative and economic workings of the colony. Learn how to use our indexes and guides to search and explore the Settlers’ Muster Book yourself.

Chapters

0:00 Introduction

1:37 Settlers' Muster Book, 1800

1:53 What is a muster?

3:26 Governor King and the Settlers' Muster Book, 1800

6:05 What is the "muster book"?

9:41 What is in the Settlers' Muster Book?

17:11 Tasks performed for government

19:45 What work did the convicts do?

23:26 What more can we learn?

25:19 Land and stock

31:39 Invisible free women

33:00 Mary Hide

40:00 How to search and view the Settlers' Muster Book 1800 online

Indexed and digitised

Museums of History NSW, in partnership with NSW Parliamentary Library, has recently launched the newly indexed and digitised version of the Settlers’ Muster Book 1800.