Find your ancestors in New South Wales and Tasmania: Settlers and Convicts 1787-1859

New South Wales and Tasmania: Settlers and Convicts 1787-1859

This database is one of the most useful for researchers trying to track down their ancestors in the early colonies, whether they were convicts or settlers.

The New South Wales and Tasmania: Settlers and Convicts 1787-1859 database comprises both indexes and images of the original handwritten records themselves. It contains records relating to male and female convicts and former convicts in these two colonies.

It is not only relevant to people whose ancestors lived in New South Wales or Tasmania during this period, however; even if your ancestor resided in another colony, it is worth searching for them among this database as New South Wales or Tasmania may have been their first stop or port of disembarkation after their voyage from the British Isles or elsewhere.

What information can I find on this database?

On the New South Wales and Tasmania: Settlers and Convicts 1787-1859 database, you may find a range of information about your ancestor such as:

  • Their name
  • Their year of birth
  • Their year of arrival in the colony
  • The ship they arrived on
  • Where they were convicted (if they were a convict)
  • When they were convicted (if they were a convict)
  • Their sentence or term of transportation (if they were a convict)
  • Their occupation or employment
  • Where they resided in the colony
It should be noted that not all of this information may be listed on every record, and in some cases fields may be blank or missing. The amount of information varies depending on the level of detail recorded in the original source document from which it was derived.