New South Wales Convict Arrivals
Almost 100,000 prisoners were transported to Australia between 1788 and 1842. Discover you convict ancestors in the records of New South Wales Convict Arrivals.
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Almost 100,000 prisoners were transported to Australia between 1788 and 1842. Discover you convict ancestors in the records of New South Wales Convict Arrivals.
Learn about these records
Each record contains a transcript from the index of government indent records for men and women arriving on the convict ships from Britain and Ireland.
The information contained varies but you can find the following about your ancestor
- Name
- Date of arrival
- Name of ship
The first ships bearing prisoners from Britain arrived in Botany Bay in New South Wales on January 18th 1788. By the time the last convict ship arrived in Western Australia in 1868 162 000 men and women had been sent there on 806 ships.
These records, which hold the details of 97 797 men and women who arrived in New South Wales between 1788 and 1842, is built from government indent records.
Upon arrival the disembarking convicts would be checked against the indent list. They would then be handed over to the New South Wales authorities.
Most convicts remained in New South Wales but a small number were sent elsewhere. 20% of these early convicts were women.