CONVICT RECORDS VAN DIEMEN'S LAND This is a quick guide to convict records for Van Diemen's Land: what's available and how to get them. Quick, rough and in desperate need of an update. I'm sure you can find better elsehwere, for example the state archives. The records available, and the information that should be on them, varies depending on the decade * . Gov Arthur in the late 1820s set up a more structured system than had been in use previously. Then in the 1840s the probation system was used. I've done a quick guide to the different systems on another page. Each of these periods had slightly different records and information recorded There's three types of records that are most commonly seen. Occasionally, there'll be others available but those are a bonus. Expect to find a conduct record , indent & description (depending on the year of course). I've included this information on a separate page . Now, the big question, how to find these . You need to know the name of the ship. The records are ordered by journey (hence the need to know the ship's name) and then by the first letter ** of their name and then by the prisoner's number (so knowing their number makes it quicker to look up but it's not necessary unless there's two people with the same name on the same ship). The new CD index makes this a bit easier. When you look up the name it gives you the ship, dates and reel & volume numbers at the same time. (Note - the number given on the CD index doesn't appear to have any meaning other than the order the index was done in) Otherwise, you look up the ship in a table (available where ever the records are kept) that is organised by dates (so if the ship made more than one voyage, make sure you have some idea of the date so you don't end up with the wrong one). This will give you the reel numbers and volume for any records available (e.g. Con 31/4). Make sure you get the volume number (after the slash) as well. This is often on another page. Now, armed with the reel number and volume, the ship name and the prisoner's name then you can... Go into a library (or the State Archives) that has a copy of the records and look up the relevant reels. Sounds simple. And it is, once you work out how to do it. Find a nice person who'll do it for you, either for the cost of the copying (about $1 per page) or a fee. Tell them the name & ship name & any other information you have Contact the Tasmanian Archives Email: Archives.Tasmania@Central.tased.edu.au Any comments, corrections, additions etc. please *I don't know what the early records are like, having never had to use them and I don't know off hand what year the changes to records occurred in. Back **They're in alphabetical order by first letter only. So Smith will always come between Rogers & Thompson (because S is between R & T) but Smith could come before or after Sampson because only the first letter determines the order. Records the same surname are not necessarily next to each other either. There are some records esp. the smaller ones such as appropriation list, where alphabetical order doesn't apply either. Back Return to the index page