Convicts in Tasmania

Search for a convict

Using convict records

• Help using convict records

• What information is in a convict record?

The records are often difficult to interpret and understand, and they include many abbreviations. The following may help you:

• Brief guide: explanation of format and frequently used abbreviations
• Tasmanian Convict Record Abbreviations by Maree Ring
  
• Transcribing convict records by Susan Hood

Convict Marriage Search

Search the Register of Convict Applications for Permission to Marry to find out if a convict applied to marry while under sentence

History of the Convict System in Tasmania

More than 70,000 convicts were transported to Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) between 1804 and 1853, and more again were convicted locally. Most (but not all) of the records of these convicts are held by the Tasmanian Archive and Heritage Office.

For a thorough explanation of the administration of the convict system in Tasmania, see the Guide to the public records of Tasmania: The Convict Department. Also includes information about records of the department which are held at the State Library of New South Wales

UNESCO Memory of the World

Our convict records (along with those of New South Wales and Western Australia) have been added to the UNESCO Memory of the World International Register. The register is the equivalent for documents of the World Heritage List for built and natural sites.

Convict resources in other states

• New South Wales

• Queensland

• Victoria

• West Australia