Convict Guide - published 2006 - Manual / Resource - Page 3
Foreword
From 1788 to the 1840s, about 80,000 convicts were transported to the Colony of New South
Wales. This guide provides an entry into an 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 Convict Indents, the key records in this collection, give us information about individuals —
their age, where they lived, birthplace, trial dates and sentences. Later Indents often include
annotations which lead to other important records within the 'convict collection' — records of
tickets of leave, pardons, certificates of freedom and the court records for convicts who
committed crimes in the colony.
The records in this guide also document the ways in which the Colony's administration evolved
to manage an ever more complex society that this great experiment in punishment was
creating.
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.
Gail Davis, Senior Archivist, Research and Publications, deserves special mention for her
detailed work in researching and compiling this guide.
David Roberts
Director
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Dr Shirley Fitzgerald
Chairperson of the Board
State Records Authority of New South Wales