MyAncestors.com.au

Australian convicts are some of the most well documented people in history. Follow their journeys here with this growing list of resources dedicated to our colonial convict history.  There are also links to prison records for "non-convicts" (people who were not here by means of convict transportation from England.) Also, here you will find many links to databases of court records including both criminal and civil cases.

Jump to:

• Australian Capital Territory
• Queensland
• New South Wales
• Victoria
• Western Australia
• South Australia
• Tasmania
• Northern Territory
• National

Australian Capital Territory

• Obituaries, Inquests, Indictments, Accidents, Sudden Deaths etc (old link: http://www.canberrahistoryweb.com/obituaries.htm)
• Convicts (old link: http://www.canberrahistoryweb.com/convicts.htm)

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Queensland

• Book of Manifests of Cargo and Passengers, 1833-1837 No online search, view at Queensland State Archives
• Book of Public Labour Performed by Crown Prisoners, 1828-1829 No online search, view at Queensland State Archives
• Book of Monthly Returns of Prisoners Maintained, 1829-1837 No online search, view at Queensland State Archives
• Book of Trials, 1835-1842 No online search, view at Queensland State Archives
• Convict transportation registers database (1787-1867)
• Appointments and removals of Queensland railway employees (1890 - 1901)
• Appointments and removals of employees of the Southern and Western Railway, Traffic Branch, Queensland(1866 - 1876)
• Miners involved in Queensland mining accidents (1882 - 1900)
• Persons called before Queensland Government Committees - Part 1  (1860 - 1901)
• Persons called before Queensland Government Committees - Part 2  (1902 - 1920)
• Letters received re Moreton Bay 1822-1860
• Queensland Courts - search civil files (e-courts)
• Supreme Court of Queensland Library - includes North Queensland Legal Practitioners 1861-1964
• Supreme Court of Queensland Library - Queensland Judiciary Profiles

Queensland Archives has compiled indexes of their archival records. Use these links to get to the page and search the index database by name.

• Chronological register of convicts 1824-1839
• List of prisoners 1839
• Alphabetical list of prisoners
• Monthly and half yearly returns for Moreton Bay 1829-1837
• St Helena prisoners 1863-1936
• Prisoners discharged, Toowoomba 1869-1879
• Prisoners tried, Toowoomba 1864 to 1903
• Prisoners admitted, Toowoomba 1895 to 1906
• Female prisoners admitted, Toowoomba 1887 to 1891
• Criminal depositions 1861-1885

 Once you get to the Queensland Archives page, here's how to use it:

1. Scroll down to "Index Categories"
2. Click on the appropriate radio button for the type of records you are looking for - this will then expand to show what record sets are available.
3. Click on the appropriate radio button for the records you are looking for - this will then expand (below the list) to show a search area where you can input names etc.

You may also be able to download the full index using a link that will appear on the top right of the page or below the search box (depending on what device you are using, eg: desktop, iPad etc).

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New South Wales

• Convict Index

Includes:

• Certificates of Freedom, 1823-69
• Convict Bank Accounts, 1837-70
• Convict Death Register, 1828-79
• Recommendations for Convict Pardons, 1826-56
• Tickets of Exemption from Government Labor, 1827-32
• Tickets of Leave, Certificates of Emancipation and Pardons, 1810-19
• Tickets of Leave, 1810-75
• Ticket of Leave Passports, 1835-69

• Early Convict Index
• Colonial Secretay's papers 1788 - 1825
• Irish Convicts to NSW 1788 - 1849 - - This database contains details of Irish convicts who were transported to New South Wales in the period 1788 - 1849.
• Sentenced beyond the Seas Australia's early convict records - 1788-1801
• Convict exiles, 1846-50
• Convict Pardons
• Convict applications to Marry
• Bench of Magistrates cases, 1788-1820
• Braidwood Gaol Entrance Book 1856 - 1899
• Court records - Court of Civil Jurisdiction, 1799-1814 Includes judgements on legal and equity matters, especially promissory notes and recovery of small debts
• Court records - Criminal, 1788-1833
• Court records - Criminal Depositions Received, 1849-1949
• Governor’s Court Case Papers, 1815-1824
• Court records - Quarter Sessions cases, 1824-37  This index includes case papers for both criminal and civil cases registered by the Clerk of the Peace.
• Bankruptcy records, 1888-1928
• Gaol Photographs, c. 1870-1930
• Great Northern Road Convict Trail - Between 1804 and 1822 convicts who committed another crime after arriving in the Colony had been banished to the penal settlement at Newcastle, then only accessible by sea. In 1826 re-offending convicts were put to work on one of 19th century Australia's greatest engineering feats - the Great North Road.
• Insolvency records, 1842-87
• New South Wales Capital Convictions Database, 1788-1954

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Victoria

• Central Register of Male Prisoners (search for your prisoner surname within series 515)
• Register, Police Magistrate, Portland, 1840-1853
• Alphabetical Index to Central Register of Male Prisoners, 1868-1947
• Alphabetical Index to Central Register of Female Prisoners, 1857-1948
• Register of Convicts, 1842 – 1854
• Register of Prisoners under Sentence of Hard Labour, 1847-1853
• Day Book of the Native Police, 1845-1853
• Notification of Exiles, 1844 – 1849
• Court of Insolvency Records, Geelong (1855-57 portion only)
• Certificate of Discharge, Court of Insolvency, Melbourne, 1848-1875
• Court of Petty Sessions Register of Applications for the Victorian Old-age Pension, North Melbourne, 1902 – c.1908
• Companies and Miscellaneous Applications Files, 1884 – 1922

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Western Australia

• Fremantle Prison – Convict Database - nearly 10,000 convicts who were transported to the Swan River Colony from 1850 to 1868
• Fremantle Prison - general site
• Convict Central
• Convict Gangs in 1821
• Convicts and Convict Ships Sent to NSW (& Tasmania & Norfolk Island) 1801-1849 - lists ships and then click through to find details on individual passengers
• Convicts and Convict Ships Sent to Port Jackson NSW 1787-1800 - lists ships and then click through to find details on individual passengers
• Western Australian Convicts 1850-1868 - select ship in top right for names list

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South Australia

• Convicts transported FROM South Australia - searchable surname database and info
• The Manning Index of South Australian History The Index contains many thousands of references to South Australian newspaper and magazine stories for the years 1837 to 1937. It also includes extensive selected text from the indexed publications, other primary and secondary sources and numerous extracts from Mr Manning's own writings.

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Tasmania

Tasmanain government records are accesible vis the LINC names index: https://linctas.ent.sirsidynix.net.au/client/en_AU/names/

• Tasmanian Convicts 1804-1853
• Arrivals (19th Century). Passengers and ships arriving, mainly in Hobart. Contains surnames A-N, O-Z to be added.
• Bankruptcy (1821-1928). Documents from cases of bankruptcy and insolvency.
• Births (1803-1933). People born in Tasmania including some baptisms collected by the Registrar General (1900-1933 baptisms only).
• Census (1837-1857). Householders in the 1840s and 1850s, not complete for all districts.
• Convict permissions to marry (1829-1857). Convicts applying to marry free people or other convicts.
• Convicts (1803-1893). Convicts transported to Tasmania and those convicted locally through the convict system.
• Court (1830-1845). Supreme Court. Minutes of proceedings in criminal cases
• Deaths (1803-1933). People who died in Tasmania including some burial records collected by the Registrar General (1900-1933 burials only).
• Departures (1817-1867). People leaving Tasmanian ports, mainly Launceston.
• Divorces (1861-1920). Petitions for divorce in the Tasmanian Supreme Court.
• Health & Welfare (1830-1873). Patients and attendants at the New Norfolk Colonial Hospital and applications to the Queens Orphan School.
• Hotels & Properties (1818-1958). Hotel licensees, inquests into fires, Launceston buildings and demolished hotels.
• Immigration (1912-1943). Nominations and arrivals of migrants under immigration schemes.
• Inquests (1828-1930). Inquests into people’s deaths.
• Marriages (1803-1899). People who married in Tasmania.
• Miscellaneous (1838-1873). General correspondence of the Comptroller general of convicts and North Fleet shipwreck survivors.
• Naturalisations (1835-1905). People applying to become citizens.
• Prisoners (1895-1902). Prisoners in the Hobart gaol.
• Wills (1824-1989). Wills and letters of administration of estates registered for probate.
• WW1 photographs and articles from the Tasmanian Mail and Weekly Courier illustrated newspaper (1914-1919) and applications for Crown and leased land under the Soldier Settlement Act 1916.

Other datasets and sites

A number of useful Tasmanian datasets that were once freeely available on the Rootsweb website were lost in early 2016 due to technical issues experienced by the site owner, Ancestry.com. A significant number of pages are now inaccessible including those listed below. While disappointing for many genealogists - the hard work of dedicated researchers may be gone forever as Ancestry appears to have acknowledged that the information will never be retrieved. You may like to try Google to find related records to the following:

• Port Arthur Convict Database
• Tasmanian Convict Index
• Tasman GenWeb convicts index
• Asia 2 Convict List
• Asia 8 Convict Assignment List
• Convict Absconders
• Prince of Orange Convict List
• Harmony Female Convict List
• Friendship Female Convict List
• Kangaroo Female Convict shipping list 1814
• Mermaid Female Convict shipping list 1828
• Persian Female Convict list 1827
• Woodford male Convict shipping list 1826
• Convict Pardons 1851
• Convict ticket of Leave February 1837
• Convict Ticket of Leave Deprived February 1837
• Archived Convicts Index A to K
• Archived Convicts Index L to Z

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Northern Territory

The Nothern Territory Department of Arts and Museums is responsible for the Northern Territory Archives. A list of collections in the archive is available for download in PDF format (warning: 250+ pages) which can then be searched offline.  The archives can also be searced online using the "Archives Navigator" service although it is not straight forward and no indexes are available. 

• List of Holdings PDF (250+ pages) see link at the bottom of the page

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National

• Claim a convict (new site at Hawkesbury on the net)
• Devon Convicts Transported to Australia 1782 - 1821
• Inveraray Jail in Argyll, Scotland transported list - Search the prison database for former prisoners who were transported to Australia
• Ireland-Australia transportation database - the National Archives of Ireland
• Kent Quarter Sessions Index - Name, year, place and type. Includes transportees.
• Lancaster Castle Convict Database - The people mentioned were tried at the castle and sentenced to various punishments, including fines, imprisonment, Transportation to Australia as well as those who were sentenced to death.
• Lincolnshire Convicts Transported - Nearly 2000 convicts are known to have been transported from Lincolnshire between 1788 and 1868 to to Australia, Gibraltar and Bermuda.
• The Proceedings of the Old Bailey - London's Central Criminal Court
• Transportation of Convicts from Nottingham
• York Assizes - an index to records held in York Reference library of prisoners brought to trial at York Assizes in the period 1785 – 1851. Search the database for prisoners who were transported to Australia

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Last update October 2017