Convicts: Life in the colony

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander visitors are kindly advised that this website includes images, sounds and names of people who have passed.

All users should be aware that some topics or historical content may be culturally sensitive, offensive or distressing, and that some images may contain nudity or are of people not yet identified. Certain words, terms or descriptions may reflect the author's/creator's attitude or that of the period in which they were written, but are now considered inappropriate in today's context.

Key to library resources

Access anywhere with a library card In the Library (or anywhere with a Library card for NSW residents)
Available to access in the library Only in the Library
Publicly available online Publicly available

Ancestry Library Edition

How to use Ancestry Library Edition

Only in the Library You can use Ancestry Library Edition when you are in the Library. Can't come to the Library? Contact us.

How to limit your search to a specific collection

STEP 1

Place your cursor over 'Search' in the top menu and select 'Card Catalog' from the drop-down menu.

STEP 2

Enter the name of the collection as it is appears in the resource list in the guide (for example, 1828 New South Wales, Australia Census) in the 'Title' field.

The name of the collection in Ancestry will most likely be different to the name of the collection in the Library or at other institutions such as State Archives & Record NSW.

For example, one of the collections on Ancestry is called 'Australia Convict Ship Muster Rolls and Related Records, 1790-1849' while at the Library and State Archives & Records NSW it is called 'Musters and other papers relating to convict ships, 1790-1849'.

STEP 3

Select the relevant collection in the search results. You will now be directed to a new search page where you can search within the selected collection.

Go to the resource

Image of the record

Make sure you view the image of the original record. Most of the time the image contains further information.