About this Guide
From 1788 to the 1840s, about 80,000 convicts were transported to the Colony of New South Wales. This guide provides an entry into a 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 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.
