Convict Arrivals

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.