Convict assignment

Upon arrival, a convict was usually assigned to a master, the Female Factory or to Public Works. Who and where a convict was assigned to was recorded in an assignment register.

Not all assignment registers have survived to present. Convicts were not assigned to a master in Western Australia.

Earle, Augustus (1793-1838), Female penitentiary or factory, Parramata [i.e. Parramatta], N.S. Wales [1826?], nla.obj-134500491

Digitised online

Tasmanian Names Index - Tasmania

For assignment of convicts in Tasmania, search the assignment records in Libraries Tasmania's Tasmanian Names Index. As an alternative to searching the index, you can browse these digitised records on their website.

Register of convicts 1842-1854 - Victoria

Browsable (not indexed) records of convict assignment. Some records indicate the date an assigned convict received a Ticket of leave, Conditional/Absolute Pardon, or Certificate of Freedom.

Convict Assignments 1821-1825 - New South Wales

Index of convict assignments covering December 1821 to December 1825. Details may include name, ship and date of assignment, to whom assigned, residence and remarks. This index has been produced by NSW State Archives and Records from material in their collection.

Ancestry - New South Wales, Australia, Convict Indents, 1788-1842

Convict indents often record to whom a convict was assigned, as well as their trade or profession.

Ancestry can be accessed from any PC in the Library - visit our eResources portal and search for this database under the Browse eResources tab. You may also be able to access Ancestry by visiting your local library.

Microfilmed and other material

Information about assignment of convicts in New South Wales can be found on a number of microfiche resources in the Library's Newspapers and Family History zone:

Index to Assignment Registers 1821 – 1824, Microfilm Compartment 7, Call no. mfm N 229, microfiche 745-748. These are part of the State Records of New South Wales Archives Resources Kit
For 1828-38, the convict’s initial assignment is noted on the convict arrival records of HO 10 in the Australian Joint Copying Project. See the AJCP Guide Part 3 Home Office to find the reel number or view in Ancestry
Convicts and Employers (NSW) Index 1828,1832-1833,1838-Jan 1844 Compartment 7, Call No. mc N 2028. This index is also available on CD ROM, for use in the Library's Newspaper and Family History zone.
Index to Convicts Absconding in NSW 1830-1832, Compartment 7, Call No. mc N 2027
Index of Convicts Apprehended in NSW 1830-32, Compartment 7, Call no. mc N 2026
Index to Colonial Convict Movements taken from the Colonial Secretary's Letters 1827 - 1853. This index covers convict movement throughout the colony and includes transported convicts; convicts transported, freed and reoffended; persons who offended in the colony; and transported convicts who committed some further offence.

Convict uniform and two caps between 1830 and 1849, nla.obj-139411772

A secondary punishment uniform from the transportation era, coloured to distinguish continuing offenders. Hand stitched. From Van Diemens Land.

Notices of convict assignment

Notices of convict Assignment were published in Government Gazettes. Try searching the New South Wales Government Gazettes on Trove for a notice of Assignment.