Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930

In 1849, the Swan River Settlement in Western Australia took the unusual step of voting to become a British penal settlement. By 1850, the British government had eagerly begun transporting convicts to the colony, to serve out their sentences as labour for the colony. Shortly after transportation began, Fremantle Prison was built as a convict establishment to manage the arriving convicts. Over eighteen years, nearly ten thousand convicts were transported in just forty-three shipments to Western Australia. The practice of convict transportation ended after a reassessment of British home policy in 1868, though the practice of convict labour continued, relying more on local prisoners as remaining transported ones finished out their sentences. The Establishment was transferred to colonial control in 1878, and later became part of the State’s prison system. This collection includes a variety of records related to convicts in Western Australia, including the following: Convict Registers and Character Books; Convict Store and Private Cash Account Books; Correspondence, Letterbooks, and Stamp Books; Finance Board Account and Minute Books; Medical Registers and Journals; Prisoner Personal Property Books; Receipts and Discharges; Records of Court Cases; Records of Misconduct; Staff Salaries and Appointment Books; Superintendent Orders; Tickets of Leave and Transportation Records.