Convicts re-offending in New South Wales
Once here in Australia some convicts got themselves into trouble again. You may notice that their Ticket of Leave may have been cancelled, or their Certificate of Freedom may be dated many years after their original sentence expired. You can look for records of colonial offences in the following places.
Court records
| Resource | Type |
|---|---|
Bench of Magistrates, 1788-1820Records of all criminal and civil cases heard before the Judge Advocate's Bench of Magistrates. Information includes name, date, charge or nature of document and location number at State Records to obtain copy of original document. | website |
Court of Civil Jurisdiction, 1788–1814Records of every form of civil action, including pleas about land, houses and debts. Information includes plaintiff, defendant, date, series, item and case number. | website |
Index to the Governor's Court of New South Wales, 1814–1824This court replaced the Court of Civil Jurisdiction in 1814 and most cases were for the recovery of debt. Available at the State Library or try your local public library | |
Supreme Court of New South Wales, 1828–1844Details of 465 select cases taken from the case notes of Sir James Dowling, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New South Wales. Information includes a summary or full transcript of the proceedings of these cases. Available at the State Library or try your local public library | |
Superior Courts of New South Wales, 1824–1842Edited records of cases drawn from original manuscripts and newspaper reports. Includes many cases covered in Supreme Court of New South Wales 1828-1844 (Dowling's select cases 1828-1844) with, in some cases, the full transcript of the trial where it is not in the bound version above. Open the resource via instructions for searching the records by: | website |
Index of Quarter Session cases, 1824-1837Courts dealing with any crimes not punishable by death. Case papers include the name of person, date, place, verdict and sentence. In some cases, a description of the crime and sworn statements by the accused and witnesses are also included. | website |
Clerk of the Peace (Quarter Session Records), 1824-1920Additional information to that found in the Index to Quarter Session Cases, such as month of case and a description of the nature of the charge. Available at the State Library or try your local public library | |
District Magistrates' Court records and Police Court books, 1824-1835Selected court records from Bench books such as Argyle Police District Magistrates Records (Berrima-Throsby Park 1826–1827 & Goulburn Plains 1827–1835) and Liverpool Police Court books 1824–1826. Available at the State Library or try your local public library | database/ microform |
Convict monthly returns of summary trials, 1832-1836Court records from the Colonial Secretary's papers: monthly returns of summary trials of convicts before Benches of Magistrates, August 1832–1836. Available at the State Library or try your local public library |
Other resources relating to a re-offence
| Resource | Type |
|---|---|
Convict arrivals, 1788-1842Lists of convicts arriving in New South Wales. Information includes name, date and place of trial and sentence. In some cases, a convict's indent was amended to indicate any further offences committed in the colony. Available at the State Library or State Records NSW Community Access Points | microform |
Australian newspapers and gazettesFind out about your convict's activities through newspapers and gazettes. Available at the State Library or try your local public library | database/ microform |
Colonial Secretary's papers, 1788-1825Find out about specific events in your convict's life, including information about theim re-offending in New South Wales, through letters to and from the Colonial Secretary as well as official records kept by the Colonial Secretary at the time. Available at the State Library or State Records NSW Community Access Points | website/ microform |
Colonial Secretary's correspondence, 1826-1877Letters from the Colonial Secretary which may relate to a convict re-offending. Available at the State Library or try your local public library | microform |
Musters and census records, 1788-1837Find clues which might suggest a convict re-offended in NSW, such as a change in assignment, eg if a convict's indent lists assignment to a settler but a later muster indicates he is now in a Road Gang, there is a possibility that he committed some crime. Available at the State Library or try your local public library | |
Index to colonial convict movements, 1827-1853Convict movements in the colony of New South Wales. Information includes convicts who had served their sentence and then re-offended. Available at the State Library or try your local public library | database |
Our cataloguesUse these catalogues to find a large variety of original materials, covering convicts and convict life in Australia. | database/ print |
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