Millions of people today descend from men and women transported from Britain and Ireland to Australia. Whether your ancestor served hard labour, lived under assignment, gained a ticket of leave, or built a new life after freedom, the records can reveal a full journey. I help families research convicts sent to Australia between 1787 and 1868.
Transportation records are among the richest sources for family historians. They confirm that a person was among the convicts sent to Australia and uncover details of the crime, sentence, voyage, and life after arrival. Research can include:
• Trial papers, court proceedings, and newspaper reports describing the conviction.
• Prison registers and hulk records showing where a person was held before transportation.
• Convict ship transportation registers and indents linking Britain and Ireland to Australia.
• Colonial records in Australia, including tickets of leave, pardons, musters, and conduct registers.
• Physical descriptions and behaviour notes that bring the person into focus.
Transportation registers connect a named person to a ship and year. They often list place of trial, sentence, native place, trade, physical description, behaviour notes, and sometimes family details. I use these registers with indents, musters, and conduct records to confirm identity and avoid false matches where names are common.
For many transported people, the voyage was only the beginning. Some gained freedom, work, and families. Others faced hardship and isolation. Research can also reveal the stories of relatives left in Britain and Ireland, whose lives were shaped by the absence of a transported family member.
By tracing records on both sides of the world, I piece together how a transported convict lived after arrival and how the family at home carried on. This includes mapping movement between colonies, identifying marriages and children, and explaining changes of name that often appear in later records.
Researching transported convicts means piecing together fragments from courtrooms, prisons, and colonial archives across two continents. With experience in both British and Australian records, I can help you:
• Identify the right person in trial and sentencing records and link them to the correct ship and year.
• Track life in Australia through assignments, tickets of leave, pardons, marriages, children, and conduct records.
• Reconstruct the family in Britain or Ireland using parish, census, and poor law sources.
• Set your ancestor’s experience in the wider history of crime, punishment, and migration.
• Provide a documented account you can keep and share.
Q: How do you confirm that someone with a common name is the right person?
A: I correlate court details, age, native place, trade, and physical description across registers and indents, then test against later Australian records and the family in Britain or Ireland. I document negative searches so you can see what was ruled out.
Q: What if I do not know the ship?
A: I work from the conviction and sentencing record first, then use transportation registers and indents to identify the correct voyage. Ship passenger material and colonial records are used to verify the match.
Q: What will I receive?
A: A clear report with citations, a timeline, images or references for the main records, and guidance for next steps. If relatives stayed in Britain or Ireland, I can outline their story as well.
Do you have a convict ancestor in your family tree? I can help trace transported convicts and uncover the stories behind their records in Britain, Ireland, and Australia. Contact me to start your research.