Guide to Convicts and Convict Administration
The Guide to NSW
State Archives relating to Convicts and Convict Administration (the
Convict 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, including the 'convict exiles' of the
1840s and 1850s.
It is divided into eighteen chapters that follow the course of the convicts' 'careers' - starting with their trial and transportation and 'ending' with freedom, later punishments or death.
Each chapter provides: a brief historical overview, to set the scene; a list of indexes to relevant records; details of the government agencies and the records they created and maintained. An extensive index also provides a useful entry point to the guide.
To purchase a copy
The price of the guide is $59.95 over the counter or $71.95 by mail.
Extracts from the Convict Guide
Convict records on microfiche
The Convict Guide wins award
The Convict Guide received a Mander Jones Award in the category of 'Best finding aid to an archival collection (1) held by an Australian institution, or (2) about Australia; produced by an organisation deemed eligible for Category 4 (5) (a) institutional membership' at the 2007 Australian Society of Archivists (ASA) Conference. The Awards for outstanding publications in the field of archives honour Phyllis Mander Jones, who, amongst other contributions to the profession, authored Manuscripts in the British Isles relating to Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific, in 1972.
Extremely detailed finding aid. Complete and does not recoil from the complexity of the records.'
A magnificent work of scholarship and years of assembling and collating data about the birth of a nation.'
Extract from the Judges' Report
