From January 1788, when the First Fleet of convicts arrived at Botany Bay, to the end of convict transportation 80 years later, over 160,000 convicts were transported to Australia.

Module

This resource is aligned to the Australian Curriculum: HASS for Year 5 students. It adopts an inquiry learning approach that develops students’ skills as historians.

Topic

The convict uniform held at the National Library of Australia is the only complete, original convict uniform in Australia. It consists of a jacket, a pair of trousers marked with a broad arrow, a waistcoat, a leather cap and a woollen cap.

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. 

Senate Order for entity contracts listing for the current and previous reporting periods

See how to request ICIP related content in accordance with the Australian Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property Protocol.

Topic

In relation to the West, when the Qing dynasty began in 1644, access to Chinese markets for the Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch and English had been restricted to Canton since 1550.

Learn about the treatment work our conservators have recently done on thepattern plates for the supplement to The Birds of Australia by John Gould.

The National Library of Australia is included in the Commonwealth Heritage List.

Topic 

Explore early European encounters with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art through the work of William Westall and engage students in considering the cultural significance of special places.