Convict History and Genealogy

By the end of the 18th century, British prisons were seriously overcrowded. The government's solution was to lock convicts in hulks - old ships anchored in river estuaries. When the hulks were full the government decided to get rid of the convicts to the new colony of New South Wales (Australia), where they could be used as cheap labour to build the new colony.

The British system of convict transportation sent sailing ships crowded with convicts, soldiers and settlers to this unknown land. The convicts in chains laboured in quarries, forests, highways, homes and shipyards; the settlers struggled to live off the land; and the military ruled the tiny settlements.

The first British convicts arrived in New South Wales in 1788. By the end of that century Governor King of New South Wales needed somewhere to send incorrigible convicts - those who re-offended.

Britain sent convicts to Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania) as early as 1803.  

As you travel around Tasmania you will see many sites such as Port Arthur, Sarah Island (in Macquarie Harbour), the Ross Female Factory, Cascade Female Factory (South Hobart), Richmond and Maria Island, where convicts laboured in very hard conditions. Be part of live history at the Cascade Female Factory on Louisa’s Walk, a guided historic walk telling the story of convict, Louisa Regan.

Many convicts also worked as assigned convicts for free settlers throughout Van Diemen's Land. While conditions were often harsh, there were opportunities to create a new life for those who earned a ticket-of-leave or a pardon.

Genealogy

Are you searching for information on your forebears? Tasmania has some of the most comprehensive genealogical records in Australia.

Contact the Family History Society of Tasmania Inc. for advice and information. There are branches in Burnie, Devonport, Hobart, Huon Valley and Launceston. You will find contact details on each on the Family History Society of Tasmania site.

Archives Office of Tasmania
77 Murray Street, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia 7000.
Telephone from other Australian states:
03 6233 7488 or 03 6233 7490.
Telephone from overseas:
+ 61 3 6233 7488 or + 61 3 6233 7490.