This project may take several years to complete. The team will endeavour to log their progress on this page. Most information will be loaded sequentially by ship, though of course updates and corrections at the convict level will happen as the information becomes available. The team will endeavour to source or link to as many convict stories as possible but they are likely to be added as they become available so may not all get logged here.

Progress Update (30.11.2023)

Each ship will go through a number of stages until it is complete with currently known information. If we receive information on a particular convict or we learn of more online sources then we will add any new information that we can get our hands on.

Stage 1: Ship Level Links - a lot of data is available online in data sets there are sequential by convict number. We have added all of the data that we have found so far at the ship level. This stage is complete for all ships. If we find more sources we will add them.

Stage 2: Convict Load - we are loading convicts into our database one ship at at time using a spreadsheet load. This process is complete for the first 32 ships i.e. up to and including the York.

Stage 3: Std WA Links - we have recorded links to a number of websites and other data ready to add as soon as a ship load of convicts is added to our database. This data includes:-

  • details of reconvictions where convicts end up being assigned more than one convict number
  • links to stories on Harvey History Online
  • East Perth Cemetery death and burial information
  • Convicts Who Left the Colony via Albany Register on Ancestry and data from Police Gazettes
  • convict deaths from Police Gazettes
  • convict deaths, punishment, permission to marry and permisison to bring families to WA from the Half Year Returns
  • convict deaths in Fremantle prison hospital
  • known escaped convicts posters on SLWA
  • stories and references to convicts in published books (obviously we will add more as we find them)
  • links to the Australian Convict Register where it has additional information
  • links to digitalpanopticon where it has additional information
  • links to the Mid West Convict Register
  • links to the 1859 York Census
  • links to TOL and Reconviction Registers on Ancestry
  • links for WA convict reconvctions in WA

     The Stage 3 process is complete for all ships up to and including the York.

Stage 4: UK Prison Register Links - we are adding links to the registers of all the prisons (that are online) that each convict spent time in. All ships up to the York are done. Wherever possible we are using the registers on AJCP Trove which are free to access but many of them stop in 1852 so we will have to use findmypast for a number of prisons after that date.

Stage 5: UK Newspaper Articles Links - where we can find them we are linking to newspaper articles for each convict. All ships up to the Pyrenees I are complete. Articles for the William Jardine, Dudbrook and the Minden are also complete. The Pyrenees II and the Sea Park are progressing.

State 6: Aust Trove and other Links - we are adding as many extra links as we can find. The Scindian, Hashemy, Mermaid & Marion are done. 

 Additions or Significant Changes

  • 03/02/2022 Added Plans for Convict Establishment, Pensioner Guard Cottages to "Maps & Diagrams"
  • 03/02/2022 Added links to Half Year Returns to "Links"
  • 05/02/2022 Found Transport Registers for Phoebe Dunbar and Robert Small on AJCP Trove. Added to their ship level links
  • 10/02/2022 Added an Index for Convict Stories
  • 27/03/2022 Links to all known petitions that we could find were added to convict links files.
  • 02/04/2022 99 stories for Hashemy convicts written by Marcia Watson were added.
  • 16/07/2022 Ship No. 9 Pyrenees II loaded. Percentage of total convicts loaded = 20.9%
  • 22/07/2022 "Sneak Peak" Convict Resources page added to FHWA website for convicts whose links files have been prepared early!
  • 28/07/2022 Ship No. 10 Robert Small loaded. Percentage of total convicts loaded = 24.2%
  • 05/08/2022 Added a Link to the Register of Applications for Passage of Wives & Family to WA (CO 386/154)
  • 10/08/2022 Added links to the Medical Board Reports into the Robert Small and Phoebe Dunbar voyages which had 8 and 9 deaths.
  • 10/10/2022 Added details of Godfrey Woolnough's (#271) second trip on the Clyde (#7301).
  • 23/11/2022 Added an index for WA convicts who had previously been sentenced to transportation. Details of earlier transportation convictions have been added where we have been able to find them.
  • 27/11/2022 Phoebe Dunbar spreadsheet loaded.
  • 28/11/2022 General Godwin spreadsheet loaded.
  • 30/11/2022 Sea Park spreadsheet loaded.
  • 08/12/2022 Ramillies spreadsheet loaded.
  • 10/12/2022 Guide spreadsheet loaded.
  • 13/12/2022 Stag spreadsheet loaded.
  • 23/12/2002 Adelaide spreadsheet loaded. Pct of total convicts loaded 36.9%
  • 30.01.2023 William Hammond load finalised. Pct of total convicts loaded 39.6%
  • 09.02.2023 Runnymede spreadsheet loaded. Pct of total convicts loaded 42.2%
  • 20.02.2023 Court Martial Index and Executed Index added
  • 23.03.2023 Clara I spreadsheet loaded. Pct of total convicts loaded 44.9%  
  • 23.03.2023 Additional Character Book links added for Clara I and City of Palaces
  • 23.03.2023 Links to SA Police Gazette descriptions of expiree arrivals have been added where we could find them  
  • 29.03.2003 City of Palaces spreadsheet loaded
  • 08.04.2023 AJCP Trove Register links added for Gibraltar in addition to FMP links. 
  • 18.04.2023 Began adding links to Scottish Indexes where we had missed them from earlier ships. Complete up to Dudbook. Pyrenees II in progress.
  • 18.04.2023 Nile spreadsheet has been loaded but about a week's work still required on the Nile
  • 18.04.2023 Caduceus spreadsheet has been loaded. Pct of total convicts loaded 47.8%
  • 23.04.2023 Nile prison register, licences and reconvictions complete.
  • 23.04.2023 Scottish Indexes complete for Pyrenees II & Sea Park
  • 24.04.2023 Scottish Indexes all checked
  • 14.05.2023 Lord Raglan spreadsheet has been loaded. Pct of total convicts = 50.6%. Prison registers, licences and reconvictions complete.
  • 14.05.2023 Albuera spreadsheet has been loaded but there is still ongoing work on this ship.
  • 14.05.2023 York 1859 Census missing premises are being corrected 75% complete.
  • 14.05.2023 Adding in WA BDM reg details a a source for all known deaths where we can find an entry - 65% complete.
  • 14.05.2023 From Lord Raglan onwards convicts who have been previously transported are being flagged only. Up to the Nile we have added in prison register details for these prior convictions where we could find them but we will now wait until after the Hougomount.
  • 15.05.2023 Albuera is effectively complete barring the addition of a few trove links & other (hopefully) military links
  • 15.05.2023 Corrections to the York 1859 Census are complete
  • 20.05.2023 Four new military related indexes have been added. The information on military & ex military personnel convicted in civil courts has been added with much assistance from Margaret Baddeley. We have Diane Oldham to thank for identifying Crimean War Veterans.
  • 22.05.2023 An Albany related index has been added
  • 22.05.2023 An index of convicts known to have returned to England before their sentence expired and were subsequently reconvicted has been add. We will add more to this index as we find them.
  • 01.06.2023 Adding WA BDM source citations where we could find them has been completed for known deaths.
  • 01.06.2023 Edwin Fox spreadsheet has been added.
  • 11.06.2023 British Newpaper links updated for the Minden (finished) & Pyrenees II
  • 20.06.2023 We have started checking Find a Grave against known deaths and we will add links where there is extra information (Complete 10.7.2023)
  • 22.06.2023 We have begun a process of checking where we have used "The Genealogist" for links to make sure that there is always an alternative link (usually FMP). Now complete 02.07.2023.
  • 30.06.2023 Albany Census 1876 & 1881 records have been added
  • 30.06.2023 We have started adding images from the Toodyay TOL Registers 731/30 & 721/31. This is a background activity which will take some time.
  • 02.07.2023 Sultana & Frances have been added (spreadsheet and all std links). Pct of total convicts loaded 56.1%
  • 15.07.2023 Links to the CO 386 Register of application for passages to the colonies for convict's families have been added (to Family Status tags) and any passenger list entries we could find (added to links files)
  • 25.07.2023 We have checked all convicts known to have gone to SA against the SA Prison Registers in Ancestry. We found some photos! Check out Hack #1973 & Sheehan #2306
  • 22.08.2023 Palmerston has been added (spreadsheet and all std links). Pct of total convicts loaded 58.8.%
  • 30.08.2023 British Newspaper links for the Dudbrook have been added.
  • 10.09.2023 Lincelles has been added (spreadsheet and all std links). Pct of total convicts loaded 62.0%
  • 30.10.2023 Norwood I has been added (spreadsheet and all std links). Pct of total convicts loaded 65.4%
  • 22.11.2023 York has beenadded (spreadsheet and std links except some Prison Register links). Pct of total convicts loaded 68.2%
  • 30.11.2023 Prison REgister links for the York have been completed.