Convicts

Janine talks about her book, “No ordinary convict. A Welshman called Rebecca”, which was published in 2021. She describes the journey to publication which began with a smaller writing project undertaken for her five grandchildren. This led to a bigger research project on her great-great grandfather, the leader of a protest movement in South Wales transported to Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania) in 1844. Janine shares her engaging journey turning tales into books.

James tells the story of his convict ancestors and their journey from the West Riding of Yorkshire to Tasmania and then Victoria where they overcame the stigma of the convict shakles.

Dr McCalman’s latest publication examines the lives of former convicts who arrived as early settlers into colonial Victoria.

Information for website: In this presentation Margaret Vines explores convict records and resources available in the UK and in Australia and discusses how best to utilise them to research and write about your convict ancestors.

In this presentation Colleen describes the illnesses and treatments encountered by convicts during their transportation to Australia. She draws on the many surviving journal kept by the Surgeons assigned to the transport ships.

In this presentation Louise Wilson discusses methods of researching people who arrived in NSW well before 1850 and how to find the resources to support that research.

Cheryl Griffin describes her search for her Tasmanian convict ancestors and talks about the resources available to assist with the research.

Michael Considine describes his research searching for his convict ancestors in Tasmania.