Between 1788 and 1868, over 160,000 convicted criminals (male and female) were transported to Australia from England, Scotland, Walesand Ireland to ease prison overcrowding. About half were sent to Sydney, with the others going to Norfolk Island, Van Dieman's Land (Tasmania),
Port Phillip (Victoria), Moreton Bay (Queensland) or the Swan River (Western Australia).
Many of these convicts were transported for petty crimes, while a significant number were political prisoners. If a convict was well-behaved,
he/she could apply for a Ticket of Leave, which gave limited freedom while still serving out the imposed sentence.
A Certificate of Freedom would generally be issued once the sentence had been served and the convict had not committed further crimes.
Most were unable to return to their homeland once granted freedom because of the cost of a passage, and stayed in the colony as settlers, farmers
or opened businesses. In Australia today it is almost considered a status symbol to have a convict ancestor, especially one from the First Fleet (1788).
This page records the names and details of family members known to have been Convicts, but because of common names, the use of aliases and
spelling errors in shipping lists, it is a "work in progress". Please contact Bruce if you know of another person whose name should be included here.
Click on a person's name to view his/her personal details as recorded.
NAME | BORN | PLACE | DIED | PLACE |
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Allen, Robert | about 1811 | | 24 Apr 1851 | New South Wales |
Asher, Samuel | 1817 | Nottingham, Nottinghamshire | 27 Jul 1855 | Newcastle, New South Wales |
Brown, Anthony J. | 22 Feb 1805 | Fishburn Village, Sedgefield, County Durham | before 1885 | |
Byrne, Patrick | 1771 | | 1848 | Windsor, New South Wales |
Byrne, William | Mar 1813 | Cork, Co. Cork | 10 Jun 1861 | Sutton Forest, New South Wales |
Byrnes, Patrick W. | 1806 | Tipperary, Co. Tipperary | about 28 Nov 1900 | Sydney, New South Wales |
Cannon, William | 1810 | Co. Donegal | 1858 | Newcastle, New South Wales |
Chambers, Joseph | about 1808 | | Apr 1852 | Maitland, New South Wales |
Clements, James W. | 4 Jan 1820 | Cambridge Heath, Haggerstone, Greater London | 9 Jan 1907 | Webbers Creek, Paterson, New South Wales |
Compton, Stephen | 15 Jan 1795 | Tarrant Monkton, Dorset | 3 Sep 1878 | West Maitland, New South Wales |
Cook, William T. | about 1794 | St James, Bristol, Gloucestershire | 11 Sep 1881 | Morpeth, New South Wales |
Cridland, Charles | 1803 | London | 27 Sep 1879 | Lower Fort Street, Sydney, New South Wales |
Duddell, Mary A. | about 1805 | | | |
Dwyer, Jeremiah | about 1808 | | 1866 | Maitland, New South Wales |
Eldridge, Jeremiah | 1812 | | 1893 | Cooma, New South Wales |
Ellem, Richard | 1 Jun 1800 | Warrington, Cheshire | 14 Nov 1857 | Gosford, New South Wales |
Foord, James | 1785 | East Sussex | 15 Feb 1830 | Sydney, New South Wales |
Garland, Thomas | 1812 | London | 1884 | Paterson, New South Wales |
Garred, Daniel | about 1810 | Little Waldingfield, Ipswich, Suffolk | 7 Sep 1881 | Raymond Terrace, New South Wales |
Glue, Joseph | | | 8 Jan 1848 | Camden; The Oaks; Picton; Stonequarry, New South Wales |
Graham, John | 1800 | Glasgow, Lanarkshire | 7 Jun 1861 | Woodville, New South Wales |
Hanlon, Lancelot | about 1815 | | before 1854 | |
Hanson, Maria | about 1821 | | | |
Harrop, Mary A. | about 1808 | Stockport, Cheshire | 24 Mar 1854 | Maitland, New South Wales |
Herbert, Thomas | 1798 | London | 9 Sep 1858 | the District Hospital, Liverpool, New South Wales |
Holgate, James | 28 Mar 1807 | Stanford Rivers, Essex | 9 Jul 1886 | Gunning, New South Wales |
Holmes, Susannah | 1764 | Surlingham, Norfolk | 1825 | New South Wales |
Holmes, Thomas | about 1803 | Gloucestershire | 2 May 1860 | Sydney, New South Wales |
Hyde, George | 1810 | Hertfordshire | 8 Jun 1888 | Port Macquarie, New South Wales |
Jones, Ann | 9 Jul 1777 | Westminster, London | 20 Dec 1863 | McDonald River, New South Wales |
Kable, Henry | 1763 | Laxfield, Suffolk | 1846 | New South Wales |
Kearns, Bridget | about 1804 | Kildare, Co. Kildare | 1 Oct 1849 | Liverpool, New South Wales |
Kelly, Patrick | about 1803 | Co. Sligo | 21 Dec 1876 | Wallalong, New South Wales |
King, Samuel | about 1820 | | 1867 | Picton, New South Wales |
Larden, Robert | about 1809 | | 1855 | Maitland District, New South Wales |
Lee, Ann | 11 Dec 1808 | the Parish Church of St Giles, Cripplegate, Surrey | 8 Dec 1863 | the home of her daughter Elizabeth, Emu Plains, New South Wales |
Lonsdale, George | 1810 | Leatherhead, Surrey | 9 Nov 1863 | High Street, Maitrland, New South Wales |
Lovett, Charles E. | 8 Nov 1810 | Holborn, London | 6 Jul 1894 | Vacy, New South Wales |
Maher, Matthew | 1814 | Bristol | 25 Nov 1904 | Singleton, New South Wales |
Martinere, Henry H. | 24 Jan 1803 | London | 13 Dec 1857 | Church Street, Parramatta, New South Wales |
McKnight, William | about 1805 | Dumfries | 9 Nov 1885 | Warkworth, New South Wales |
McWilson, Mary A. | about 1813 | Reading, Berkshire | 16 Mar 1886 | Morpeth, New South Wales |
Moore, Ann | about 1809 | | 23 Apr 1857 | Maitland, New South Wales |
Orchard, James | about 1800 | | 1856 | Chippendale, New South Wales |
Palmer, Richard | about 1807 | | 1862 | Patricks Plain, New South Wales |
Pascoe, James S. | 7 Dec 1805 | London | 25 Jul 1865 | Paterson, New South Wales |
Pugh, Samuel | about 1778 | Stepney, Greater London | about 1827 | Sydney, New South Wales |
Shoesmith, Edward | 20 Feb 1804 | Hastings, East Sussex | 27 Aug 1889 | High Street, Morpeth, New South Wales |
Smith, John | 1808 | Cripplegate, London | 1849 | Parramatta, New South Wales |
Spinks, Thomas | about 1798 | Fritton, Norfolk | 21 Feb 1877 | his Residence, No. 2 Lane, Morpeth, New South Wales |
Syron, Patrick | about 1825 | Co. Mayo | 1905 | Port Macquarie, New South Wales |
Wakely, John | 1790 | Barnes, Wiltshire | 6 Dec 1852 | Pitt Street, Sydney, New South Wales |
Walker, John | about 1773 | | 20 Mar 1853 | Wilberforce, New South Wales |
Whelan, Judith | about 1817 | Dublin | about 18 Aug 1849 | Cooley Camp, Woodville, New South Wales |
Willis, William | 1816 | Trowbridge, Wiltshire | 23 Jun 1897 | Picton, New South Wales |
Yardy, Richard | 1815 | Walpole St Peter, Norfolk | 3 Oct 1892 | Fern Hill, Dungog, New South Wales |