The first convicts arrived in Tasmania in 1804 aboard the Calcutta. Apart from one direct convict ship arriving in 1812, most arrivals were small irregular shipments from Sydney, mainly of secondary convicted men. This continued until 1818 when a steady stream of convicts began to arrive directly from England.
The Index to Tasmanian Convicts is a comprehensive index of all convicts transported to Tasmania and those who were convicted (through the convict system) in the colony. It was created by indexing original records held by the Archives Office of Tasmania from the beginning of transportation in 1804 until 1853 when transportation ceased. The latest entry in the database for locally convicted convicts is 1893. About 76,000 are indexed in total.
Search the Index to Tasmanian Convicts database now.
Further information about convicts can be found in the Index to Convict Applications For Permissions to Marry 1829-1857 database.
The following guides, published by the Archives Office of Tasmania, are available online:
Guide to the public records of Tasmania. Section 3 - Convict Department
Brief guide 13- records most frequently used for personal information about convicts
Brief guide 20- convict records-explanation of format and frequently used abbreviations
Brief guide 6- records relating to the movement of convict ticket of leave holders
Related links: Recommended websites
Listed here is a selection of further resources.
Tasmania's records of the convict system document the lives of over 75000 individuals while under sentence, from the beginning of transportation in 1804. These records have been added to the UNESCO International Memory of the World Register and many can now be viewed online.
With access to over 4000 databases containing Australian and International census, immigration, military and electoral records. This resource is a treasure trove for family historians.
