| Subject | Convict Transportation |
|---|---|
| Speaker/Organiser | Ian Waller |
| Date | November 19, 2014 |
Details
Confinement in a local prison was not the normal sentence given to criminals in the early part of the C19th. For a repeat offence or a serious offence , the criminal was often sentenced to transportation and this initially meant the USA but later to Australia. The talk described how the convicted could be held in prisons and then going to Hulk ship prisons before ever making the tortuous journey to Australia. The nature of the prisons in van Deimenland etc showed the hardships endured.
The experiences of several convicts was used to illustrate the nature of their life after being released from their incarceration.
There are today many online resources for tracing one’s ancestors who were unfortunate to be transported e.g court records, prisoner lists, ships ‘passenger’ lists, ship’s doctor reports, immigration records, discharge records, census data.