CONVICTS & COLONIES
Dealing with a glut of convicts was the primary reason for the initial settlement, being seen as a way to ease prison pressures and replace previous transportation to other places such as the United States. Life for convicts was not easy before, during or after their transportation to one of the Australian colonies. In the end it did provide opportunities for those prepared to take them. Note that not all colonies began life as convict settlements. Some were based on commercial ventures. Details are listed below.
While convict ancestry was once considered something to be hidden, it is now often regarded as something about which to be proud.
This page looks at convict life both before coming to Australia and once they arrived. It includes a section on Irish convicts. There is also information on the establishment of the main colonies, the majority of which had convicts at some point during their early years.
CONVICTS
CONVICT LIFE BEFORE HERE
Prison hulks, gaols, trial information, records held in the British Isles.
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A Day in the Life :
Convicts on board Prison Hulks
A reasonably short article covering introduction, then sections of the day - morning, afternoon, evening - then a conclusion. - New !
‘Colleges of Villainy’
– Life Onboard the Prison Hulks
‘As part of our history of law and crime month here on The Archive, we will take a look at what life was like on board the prison hulks of Britain and Australia, examining the conditions prisoners faced and how they were treated, all using pages from our newspaper Archive. You can try this for free’. -
Crime, Justice & Punishment
‘Historical Background to the Proceedings of the Old Bailey’. [See below] Includes information on policing, types of crime, trial procedures, verdicts, punishments, glossary and bibliography. -
Criminal
Transportation
National Archives, UK. Why use this guide ?, Before you start, What can I see online ?, Where to start, Using the records, More about criminal transportation and Further reading. Fee-based [Check this as it may not apply to some aspects]. - New !
Prison Hulks : A Floating Hell
Naval Historia, UK. ‘Prison hulks were decommissioned warships, such as ships of the line or frigates, that were re-purposed as floating prisons. They were used by the British government to house convicts, debtors and other prisoners in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The use of prison hulks eventually declined in the mid-19th century. This was because the government began to invest in new prison construction on land, while transportation of convicts to Australia became more common’. -
Prison Hulks - The National Archives
‘A talk on English prison hulks from the 18th and 19th centuries and their related records’. -
Sources
for Convicts and Prisoners
National Archives, UK. ‘The following document series are those which are most likely to prove useful in the study or tracing of individual convicts and prisoners’. Vast information. Fee-based [£]. -
The Proceedings of the Old Bailey [London 1674 to 1834]
‘A Fully searchable online edition of the largest body of texts detailing the lives of non-elite people ever published, containing 197 745 criminal trials held at London’s central criminal court’.
GENERAL SITES
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1855 Convict Jacket
Images, information, bibliography, links. This website has been archived and is no longer being updated. -
Anti-Transportation
Movement, The
Article reproduced in The Maitland Mercury & Hunter River General Advertiser [NSW : 1843 - 1893]. This was only one of the parts of this movement in the middle of the 19th century. Includes a clear copy as well as the facsimile. For links to other newspaper articles from around the colonies on the same topic, see the Updated ! Search results for ‘Anti-transportation movement’ at Trove [NLA]. -
A Short History
of Convict Australia
Pilot Guide. Who they were, transportation, convict life, pardon & punishment, escapes. Text with a short video. -
Australia
Bound : Convict Voyaging, 1788-1868
‘Strikingly little scholarly attention has been paid either to the organisation of the ships prior to departure or to convict and other experiences of the voyages. This research project seeks to begin to fill that gap : its aim is to write an experiential history of convict voyaging’. Download a PDF copy of the information here. - New !
Australian convict life : the brutal reality
History Skills. Year 9. ‘Australia has a rich and varied history, but one of the most brutal aspects of its past is the treatment of convicts who were sent to the continent from Britain in the late 18th and early 19th centuries’. Click on the New ! Learn more about Colonial Australia with History Skills to access specific activities for both this and other topics [includes videos and other extension activities]. - Updated !
Australian Convict Sites
‘The 11 places that make up the Australian Convict Sites World Heritage serial listing tell a story of exile from one side of the world to the other and how a new nation was formed from hardship, inequality and adversity’. Well annotated information and links to sites from most states in Australia. - Updated !
Before Transportation
‘From 1788 to 1868 over 160 000 men, women and children from a range of social and ethnic backgrounds were punished with transportation to Australia. On this page you will find links to information on the life of convicts before their arrival in Australia and their journey to Australia’. -
British Convicts to Australia [Historic UK]
Article including images from Historic UK. - Updated !
Convict and Colonial Australia
Splash ABC. Select specific topics from the wide range, each of which is linked to specific school levels. Examples include the following :
- Updated !
Convict life in The Rocks, Sydney
[Years 5-9]
‘Discover in this audio file what life was like for the convicts who first arrived in Sydney’ - New !
Child Convicts of Australia
‘Australia was a British penal colony between 1788 and 1868 and over 160 000 convicts were transported here to serve their sentence. Did you know that some of these convicts were children, punished for crimes like theft ? Learn about these child convicts, why they were transported, how they lived in the colony and what became of them’ - Life as a Convict in Fremantle Prison : The Convict era in Western Australia
- Updated !
Convict Records - Crimes
A collected listing of crimes for which people were sent to Australia, e.g. Arson, Burglary, Coining, Desertion, Fraud, Perjury, . . . . A huge listing of crimes committed. Each entry has the person, the ship they were sent on, the state[s] they were sent to and the date they arrived. -
Convictism in Australia
Reasons for transportation, history - transport to various states, Women, Political prisoners, Cessation of transportation, Legacy of the convict era, Notable convicts transported to Australia, references, links. Wikipedia. -
Convict Life In Australia
Covers aspects of convict life especially discipline and punishment. -
Convict Records
‘ConvictRecords.com.au allows you to search the British Convict transportation register for convicts transported to Australia between 1787-1867. Information available includes name of convict, known aliases, place convicted, port of departure, date of departure, port of arrival, and the source of the data’. -
Convict Transportation Registers
Database
[State Library of Queensland]. ‘The British Convict transportation registers 1787-1867 database has been compiled from the British Home Office [HO] records which are available on microfilm. You can find details for approximately 123 000 of the estimated 160 000 convicts transported to Australia in the 18th and 19th centuries - names, term of years, transport ships and more’. Convict research : finding out even more will help you to find further information. -
CoraWeb
Primarily developed as Websites for Genealogists. While it still fulfils that function, it has a number of sections that will provide information about Convicts, Criminal and Court Records, Directories, Newspapers, Shipping and migration as well as other topics which are equally valuable in finding information related not only colonies but also convicts, transportation, gaols and more. Several individual sections and pages have been included in this listing. One specific page, New ! Convicts [CoraWeb] contains annotated links to 64 related sites. Well worth checking. - New !
Flash Jim : The astonishing story of the convict fraudster who wrote Australia’s first dictionary
‘The astonishing story of James Hardy Vaux, writer of Australia’s first dictionary and first true-crime memoir. If you wear ‘togs’, tell a ‘yarn’, call someone ‘sly’, or refuse to ‘snitch’ on a friend then you are talking like a convict. These words, and hundreds of others, once left colonial magistrates baffled and police confused’. Also available in book format as a text or an ebook. - New !
Humanities : Year Nine History - Making a Nation - Early Settlement
There is a mix of resources for various historical learning, amongst which you will find Convicts/Penal Settlements. Annotated links provide good guidance to topics in this area. [There is also a bonus with resources for several other year levels on different topics that are part of the Humanities.] - Updated !
Indexes - Convict Records NSW
Covers Certificates of Freedom, Exiles, Pardons, Tickets of Leave, more. Also has links to collections of Guides, Articles and Webinars related to convict information.
IRISH CONVICTS
Information, especially from the Irish Archives concerning convicts, allied free settlers and the transportation system.
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Convicts : Life in the colony
State Library of NSW. ‘Use this guide to research your convict’s life after they arrived in the colony. Find out more about a convict’s working life, family life and freedom’. [Previously listed under a different title.] -
Free Settlers’ Papers
‘This small series, spanning the years 1828 to 1848, contains information on relatives of transported convicts who emigrated to join their convict relative at the expense of government’. PDF available. -
Ireland-Australia Transportation Database
Introductory page, multiple links, more. -
Irish Convicts to NSW 1791-1834
‘Details of Irish convicts transported to New South Wales’ during this period. Links to multiple related sites and information. -
Sources in the National Archives
Covers research into the transportation of Irish convicts to Australia [1791-1853] by Rena Lohan. Information, links to further material, PDF version of the article.
- Updated !
Convict Lives - Margaret Catchpole
Margaret Catchpole [1762-1819], horse thief. ‘Only the most basic details are known about the lives and crimes of many of the convicts sent to Australia’. This is the story of one female convict, Margaret Catchpole. - New !
The Convict Era [ANU]
‘Many writers make comments about the early language of the convict class. Most of the recorded terminology has to do with the organisation and administration of the convict system and disappeared with the demise of that system. Many of these, however, are included in the Australian Oxford Dictionary because of their importance to Australian history. They include words such as bolter, Parramatta, swag and sevener’ among others. Some are listed as sense * as many words can have multiple meanings/usages and you need to look at that specific meaning. -
The Convict Experience
State Library of NSW. ‘In nineteenth century England, the sentence for a variety of crimes was transportation to Australia, a harsh punishment with many convicts never seeing their homeland again’. Data and images included. -
The Digital Panopticon
‘This website allows you to search millions of records from around fifty datasets, relating to the lives of 90 000 convicts from the Old Bailey. Use our site to search individual convict life archives, explore and visualise data and learn more about crime and criminal justice in the past’. -
The End of Transportation
Short article on the anti-transportation push, with embedded links, from The Dictionary of Sydney. The Dictionary of Sydney was archived in 2021. - New !
The Horrors of Convict Life
British Radical Visions of the Australian Penal Colonies. Effects of penal colonies on convicts. Includes information from John Frost, who had spent time in Van Diemen’s Land as a convict. You need to make a request from the author for a PDF copy. A link is provided. -
The Parliamentary Report on Transportation 1838
Also known as the Molesworth Report. This presentation provides ‘Extracts from the Molesworth Report of 1838 describing conditions for the convicts’. A second brief statement can be found in Updated ! a summary of the Molesworth Report. -
The Rule of Law in A Penal Colony
Law and Power in Early New South Wales. Selections from the book of this title, by David Neal [Cambridge University Press, 1991]. Google books. -
The Vocabulary of Convictism and Flash in New South Wales
1788 to 1850
Robert Langker. ‘Describes the evolution of convict terminology, as revealed through this thesis now in the [National] Library’s Collection’. Archived but still available with some limitations. - Updated !
Transportation versus Imprisonment . . .
In Eighteenth and Nineteenth-Century Britain : Penal Power, Liberty, and the State. Article originally in Law & Society Review. Get a PDF copy [206K] here. Not free but several options are provided. - New !
What was ‘flash’ language ?
[MHNSW]
‘Convicts transported to NSW brought a lot of different things with them. In some cases this included their own slang language, called ‘flash’. In 1812 a convict named James Hardy Vaux [see above] recorded a long list of ‘flash’ words that were being used in NSW around that time’. -
Why were convicts transported to
Australia ?
Sydney Living Museums. ‘Until 1782, English convicts were transported to America. However, in 1783 the American War of Independence ended. America refused to accept any more convicts so England had to find somewhere else to send their prisoners. Transportation to New South Wales was the solution’.
CONVICTS & COLONIES
Covering the early years of each of the colony settlements. Includes documentation and information on influential people.
NEW SOUTH WALES
- Updated !
An Account of the English Colony in New South Wales
Volume 1, David Collins and Philip Gidley King. Download in several formats. Updated ! The Second Volume is found here [George Bass et al.]. Multiple formats available e.g. ePub, Kindle, Online, . . . .
Captain Arthur Phillip
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Arthur Phillip
First Fleet Commander, First Governor. A biography and detail of his time as Governor. Australian Dictionary of Biography. - Updated !
Governor Phillip’s Instructions 25 April 1787
Extensive information covering his life and especially his role in the colony. The transcript is available in PDF and RTF formats. - Updated !
The Voyage of Governor Phillip to Botany Bay
Arthur Phillip. Free ebook of 23 chapters, several appendices. Extends beyond the voyage, to the land they arrived at. ‘Includes the Journals of Lieutenants Shortland, Watts, Ball and Captain Marshall, with an account of their new discoveries’.
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Castle Hill Convict Rebellion
The uprising, Initial government response, Rebels prepare, Battle of Vinegar Hill, aftermath, references, more Wikipedia. - Updated !
Cobb & Co
‘A brief history of Cobb & Co.. Establishment, Under James Rutherford, Expansion into NSW and Queensland, Beyond Eastern Australia, Cobb & Co in folklore, Demise, Preserved coaches, Other remembrances, See also References and External links’. - New !
Convicts : Life in the Colony [Research Guides at State Library
of New South Wales]
‘We’ve put together some tips, strategies and resources to help you start researching your convict ancestry. You can access most eresources from anywhere, anytime if you’re a New South Wales resident. You need to have a Library card or a registered NSW public library card’. -
First Fleet Online
‘Information about the convicts who were transported to Australia in 1787’. Database of all convicts, source information, diary extracts, stories, letters, investigation suggestions, references, links to specific topics. Their Stories and Rations Timeline are examples of the content. - New !
How Botany Bay was chosen over Africa as a new British penal colony
‘Britain had an urgent problem after it lost its American colonies : where to send its convicts. It settled on NSW after rejecting other options, but the new spot didn’t exactly live up to its billing’. - Updated !
Hyde Park Barracks
A World Heritage listed site in Sydney, The Barracks site is also home to information on the following pages - New ! Finding resources about Convict History, New ! Convict penal settlements, New ! Convicts Guide as well as New ! The convict impact on Aboriginal people. - New !
Indexes Online
State Archives Collection. Censuses, New ! Convicts, Colonial Secretary Papers, Court & Police Records, shipping records, land records, more. Printed copies are Fee-based. -
John Thomas Bigge
English judge, Royal Commissioner. The Bigge Inquiry, his death, links, references. Wikipedia. There is also a lengthy biography in the Australian Dictionary of Biography Online. -
Lachlan Macquarie
A pivotal Governor. Biography, his time in the colony, what he did, links to people such as Marsden, Simeon Lord, Dr Redfern and others including Bigge, who reported on the affairs of the colony. Australian Dictionary of Biography. -
Norfolk Island - The First Settlement
Establishment of a colony on Norfolk Island. The following settlement is covered through an entry titled The Second Settlement [Hell of the Pacific]. Norfolk Island became a Secondary Punishment Colony along with Newcastle, Port Macquarie, Moreton Bay and Van Diemen’s Land [Tasmania]. - Updated !
Religion, church and missions in Australia
State Library of NSW. The Early Years. Men of the cloth, individuals such as Johnson, Marsden and Macquarie, places of worship, more, using text and images over several linked pages. - New !
The Convicts’ Colony [MHNSW]
‘Part one starts in 1788 with Sydney established as a British convict colony on the clan lands of the Gadigal people’ and moves on from there. Information, plus images and videos. The bottom of the page has links to related areas including New ! .1801 - Day in the life of a convict, New ! A day in the life of a convict - 1844, New ! A world of pain and even one about a New ! Leg Iron Guard. -
The Rum Rebellion
Bligh, arrival in Sydney, enmity with Macarthur, overthrow, aftermath, causes, references. Wikipedia.
QUEENSLAND
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British
Convict Registers
‘Contains details of convicts transported to Australia in the 18th and 19th centuries including name of convict [and any known aliases], place of trial, term of years, name of ship and date of departure and place of arrival’. Covers other areas as well as those for Queensland. -
Captain Patrick Logan
‘Regarded by many historians as the true founder of Queensland’, by others as the brutal Commandant of the Penal Colony until his death in 1830. Australian Dictionary of Biography. - New !
Convict Register [chronological] 1824 to
1839
‘This open data file lists the names of convicts [Crown prisoners] at Moreton Bay penal settlement from 1824 to 1839. Information also includes height, complexion, eye and hair colour, age, religion and native place and Queensland State Archives’ catalogue details’. Links to related material as well. A second source for this information can be found using this link. -
Convict Brisbane
Queensland Historical Atlas. Information and several images. Includes the words of a song from the era. -
Convicts and early settlers
‘Records of early settlers pre and post separation from the colony of New South Wales in 1859, as well as convict records from Moreton Bay, St Helena and Toowoomba’. -
Convict Queenslanders
State Library Of Queensland. ‘Queensland’s history contains many well-respected settlers from all walks of life. Discover some of Queensland’s pioneers who first came to Australia as convicts’. -
Establishing
Queensland’s Borders
Queensland Government. Covers the period from 1838 on. -
History of Queensland
Queensland Government. Several sections including Creation of a State and a Historical Timeline, plus more. -
History of Brisbane
Early sections cover Pre-European contact history, Exploration, The Penal Colony, Free settlement, development in the early years. Wikipedia. -
Letters Patent Erecting Colony of Queensland
6 June 1859, [UK]. Full transcript [PDF or RTF], why it is important, how it happened, what it looks like. -
Moreton Bay Penal Settlement
1824 to 1842
Information and links from the Queensland State Archives. A related site can be found at Moreton Bay Penal Settlement. -
Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane
NSW Governor after whom the city and the river were named and who arranged the establishment of the colony. Australian Dictionary of Biography.
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
- New !
Australian Convict records : Home
Covers other states as well as discussing South Australia. ‘South Australia was an experimental British colony and the only Australian colony which did not officially take convicts. But naturally some former convicts made their way to South Australia’ - New !
Colonel William Light
Surveyor-General and soldier in the early colony. - New !
Convicts in South Australia sentenced to transportation 1836–1852
‘This is a complete listing of South Australian prisoners sentenced to transportation 1836–52 and recaptured runaways’. -
Edward Gibbon Wakefield
Immigration promoter and the man behind the push to settle South Australia as a free settlement. Australian Dictionary of Biography. - New !
Events and
Statistics in South Australian History 1834-1857
‘The period from settlement of the Colony to the commencement of responsible Government’. Year/Information format. - New !
German Settlement in South Australia in the 19th Century - Overview
The German settlers first arrived in 1836. They then spread across the state but are found in larger groups in areas such as the Barossa Valley and Hahndorf. Other sources include New ! German Settlers in South Australia - Miscellaneous Papers 1776-1964 The University of Adelaide] and New ! German settlement in Australia [not restricted to South Australia]. -
History of Adelaide
Aboriginal Settlement, early European interest, settlement, the first years, later developments. Wikipedia. - New !
Foundation of South Australia 1800-1851 - Key events and issues
‘Settlement of the Colony of South Australia in 1836 was the result of a vision for a self-supporting free colony’. -
Sir John Hindmarsh
First Governor. Australian Dictionary of Biography. -
South Australian History Timeline
An extensive listing with links to relevant items included. - New !
Transported convicts from South Australia
‘The following database will allow you to access details on persons convicted in South Australian courts to transportation. Many people have expressed surprise that South Australian courts were involved in the transportation of convicted criminals but every court in every jurisdiction throughout the British Empire operated with the same statutes. An examination of the offences which resulted in conviction revealed that the South Australian courts were closely aligned to the sentencing strategies of their British counterparts’
TASMANIA
- Updated !
Black War
‘A period of conflict between the British colonists and Tasmanian Aborigines in Van Diemen’s Land [now Tasmania] in the early years of the 19th century’. Background, Early conflict, Crisis years - 1825-1831, Black Line [1830], Surrender and removal, Death toll, Genocide controversy, Historical dispute, See also . . . , References, Bibliography, Further reading, External links. Wikipedia. -
Constitution Act 1855 [Tas]
Full transcript [PDF or RTF], why it is important, how it happened, what it looks like. - New !
Convict Absconders
‘Including [Name], Ship, Place and date of conviction’. -
Convicts on the West Coast of Tasmania
‘The use of the West Coast as an outpost to house convicts in isolated penal settlements occurred in the era 1822-1833 and 1846-1847’. Macquarie Harbour. Wikipedia. Further information on the Macquarie Harbour Penal Station can be found here. Wikipedia. - Updated !
David Collins
Deputy Judge Advocate NSW and Lieutenant-Governor Tasmania. Biography, information about his role in NSW and the setting up of the colony in Van Diemen’s Land. Australian Dictionary of Biography. -
George Augustus Robinson
Protector of Aboriginals. Biography, information on his role, actions, relationship with Arthur. Australian Dictionary of Biography. - Updated !
History of Tasmania
Timeline in sections, links. Sections for Indigenous people, pre 1800, 1800-1809, 1810-1819, 1820-1829, 1830-1839, 1840-1849, 1850-1859 and 1860-1869. Now also extended in decades to 1980-1990. Wikipedia. -
Order in Council
Detailed information about the Separation of Van Diemen’s Land From New South Wales. Downloadable file [PDF format]. -
Records of the Tasmanian Convict
Department 1803-1893
Australian Memory of the World. ‘Tasmania was the second primary site for the reception of convicts transported from the British Isles to the Australian continent in the nineteenth century. Convicts formed the first major group of European descent to settle in Tasmania and formed the bulk of the community throughout the period of transportation. The records held in the Archives Office of Tasmania meticulously document every aspect of the life of each convict in the system’. -
Sir George Arthur
Lieutenant-Governor. Biography, information on his time in Tasmania. Australian Dictionary of Biography. -
Tasmanian Convicts - Main Index
‘In 1812 the convict ship Indefatigable was the first ship to bring convicts direct from England to the shores of Van Diemen’s Land. This continued until 1853 when transportation ceased. Over a period of some 41 years more than 74 000 convicts were transported to our Island State’. Links to major sources. This is currently being renewed and should be available shortly. You might also check New ! Tasmanian CONVICTS. Note the reminder at the top of this page. Stated to cover 11 253 convicts listed. -
The Black Line
Article section, links. The attempt to corral all Aborigines in Tasmania. Wikipedia. - Updated !
Truganini
Early life, Relocations, Death, Legacy, Cultural depictions, other references, Notes, Sources, External links. Wikipedia. You should also check the entry for Trugernanner [Truganini], Australian Dictionary of Biography. -
VDL
Founders and Survivors Convicts 1802-1853
The Digital Panopticon. ‘It provides a mass of information on the Old Bailey convicts who were ultimately transported to Van Diemen’s Land [along with those convicted at other courts throughout the British Empire]’. -
VDL
Founders and Survivors Convict Biographies 1812-1853
‘Provides extensive biographical details, from a wide variety of surviving sources, on some 30 000 convicts transported to Van Diemen’s Land [now called Tasmania], covering the years 1812-1853’.
VICTORIA
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Australian Constitutions Act 1850 [UK]
Original document. Significance, history, why it happened. The effect on several states including Victoria. Transcripts in PDF and RTF formats. View the actual document online. -
Convicts [Ergo]
‘Although Victoria’s first settlers may have thought of Port Phillip as a free colony, convicts worked for land-owners and later prison ‘hulk’ ships housed a growing criminal population. Read on to discover why Victoria’s convict heritage is a secret history, . . . ’. -
Convicts - Victoria’s early history, 1803-1851
Research Guides at State Library of Victoria. ‘A guide to researching the history of Victoria’s foundation and early settlement based on published and digitised sources’. Links to a wide range of resources. -
CoraWeb - Victoria
Links to information about Convicts in Victoria. Selections from a larger collection listed under the Coraweb title in a section above. -
Edward Henty
Farmer, grazier, politician, settler. The settlement at Portland. Australian Dictionary of Biography. -
Foundation of Melbourne
Exploration, settlement, Batman’s Treaty, Tasmanian settlement, Establishment of Melbourne, the true founder, Notes, Further reading, External links. Wikipedia. -
Highlight : Convicts in
Victoria, Australia 1803-1851
‘Although there was no direct transportation of convicts to Port Phillip, convicts were brought into the colony by various means at various times. Migrants from Tasmania were many of Melbourne’s earliest settlers and they brought their assigned convicts with them. And much of Melbourne’s early beginnings – buildings, roads, water cartage and general municipal work – was a direct result of the efforts of convict labour imported from Sydney’. Linked to the book Convicts of the Port Phillip District by Keith M. Clarke. - Updated !
History of Melbourne
Extends beyond the colonial period. There is a substantial section on the Early Years, with embedded links [Includes Pre-European settlement, Arrival of the penal colony, Foundation of town, Early colonisation and displacement and the 1850s gold rush, plus later periods. Wikipedia. -
History of Melbourne [2]
Early years as well as later developments. -
John Batman
Grazier, squatter, purchaser, pioneer of Melbourne. Australian Dictionary of Biography. -
John Helder Wedge
Explorer, grazier, public servant, politician, surveyor during the early years of Melbourne. Australian Dictionary of Biography. -
John Pascoe Fawkner
Landowner, politician, prisoner, publican, newspaper owner. Early Port Phillip settler. Australian Dictionary of Biography. -
Melbourne’s Heritage
Information collected by the City of Melbourne and grouped under a variety of topics. -
Port Phillip, Victoria
Summary of the early establishment, links to related information, maps, images. -
Victoria, Convict Register
1842-1854
‘Find your convict ancestor from the early colony of Victoria and uncover details of their sentence and transportation. Trace their progression from criminal to assigned servant, ticket-of-leave holder to free person’. -
William Buckley
Convict, escapee, . . . , “Wild White Man”, indigenous culture recorder, public servant. Lived with the Aborigines in the Port Phillip district after escaping as a convict. Australian Dictionary of Biography. -
William Buckley [Geelong
Visual Diary]
Article with links to further information. -
William Buckley
and the Aborigines [3]
Information about James [sic] Buckley who lived for thirty years among the Wallawarro or Watourong tribes at Geelong, Port Phillip. Also check the links in the menu on the left which lead to related information.
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
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Colonial Office Circular, 5 December 1828
Circular describing the intention to establish a free colony on the west coast of Australia [No convicts]. Wikisource. - Updated !
Convict Era of Western Australia
Convicts at King Georges Sound, Free Settlement period, Agitation for convicts, the Convict era, Convict life, End to transportation, Later years, References, Further Reading, External links. Wikipedia. -
Convict Records
of Western Australia 1838 – 1910
Australian Memory of the World. ‘The Swan River Settlement had been in existence for 20 years when it took the unusual step of electing to become a British penal settlement in 1849. The British authorities accepted the offer and quickly dispatched the barque Scindian, which arrived in Gage Roads on 1 June 1850 with a cargo of 75 male convicts, the first of 43 shipments of convicts to the colony over an 18-year period’. -
Convicts
‘The State Records Office holds comprehensive sets of records relating to convicts transported to Western Australia between 1850 and 1868’. Includes sections such as Convict Establishment Records and Other Convict Related Information. -
Convict Stories [Irwin District, Western Australia]
‘We know that over 750 convicts were assigned to work in the Irwin Districts. Here are three of those men’s stories’. -
Enrolled Pensioner Force – Western Australia
‘The Enrolled Pensioner Force consisted of soldiers who came to the colony of Western Australia between 1850 and 1874, most arriving during the years of convict transportation as guards on the convict ship’. -
History of Perth, Western Australia
Aboriginal history, early European exploration, Swan River Colony, the early years, Convict era [1850 - 1868], sections on the later nineteenth century and the twentieth century. Wikipedia. -
List of Convict Ship voyages to Western Australia
‘Between 1842 and 1849, 234 juvenile offenders were transported to the Colony of Western Australia on seven convict ships. From 1850 to 1868, over 9 000 convicts were transported to the colony on 43 convict ship voyages. Western Australia was classed as a full-fledged penal colony in 1850’. Wikipedia. -
Ordinance enabling
transportation of convicts to Western Australia
The document by which convicts were first considered for acceptance in Western Australia. This came about following a meeting in 1849. Details of this meeting and the resolutions coming from it are found on the page titled Resolutions of a Meeting held to determine whether Western Australia should apply to become a Penal Settlement. Wikisource. -
Sir James Stirling
Founder of Western Australia. Australian Dictionary of Biography. -
The Centre for
Western Australia History
Linked to the University of Western Australia. They produce the Studies in Western Australian Journal. Volumes include Volume 24, Building a Colony : The Convict Legacy [2006], Volume 17, Historical Traces [1997] and Volume 4, Convictism in Western Australia [1981] [most relevant]. Procedures for accessing these are found on the Studies in Western Australian History site. -
The Colonial
Secretary’s Office Records
‘The records of the Colonial Secretary’s Office held at the State Records Office forms a major historical resource for research into Western Australia in the 1800s. Get started with our guides to popular topics’, including Convicts [menu on the right hand side of the page] and also the topic links in the main section. -
The Convict Era
Part of the history of the Fremantle Prison. Sections include Characters, Convict Profile, Crime and Punishment and Escape Stories. Check the link to Heritage and Research in the menu on the left. The Convict Database [in RESEARCH, bottom of the menu] allows you to find extensive information about individuals by clicking on the name of the convict. -
Western Australia Documents
Access multiple documents. Each has a transcript in PDF or RTF formats. Range from “Instructions to the Admiralty to take formal possession of the western portion of the continent 5 November 1828 [UK]” to a 1978 document. The majority are from the early colonial period.