History
Convict Ships
Following the American War of Independence, a new destination was sought for the transportation of convicts from Britain and Ireland 'beyond the seas'. On 13 May 1787, the first fleet bound for Sydney Cove with a complement of convicts, sailed from Portsmouth in England. Its arrival on 26 January 1788 marks the foundation of the colony of New South Wales. The first ship to sail directly from Ireland carrying convicts under sentence of transportation was the Queen, which arrived in Port Jackson on 26 September 1791.
Transportation from Ireland to Australia effectively came to an end in 1853. The last ship to carry convicts directly from Ireland to Australia was the Phoebe Dunbar, which sailed from Kingstown (now Dun Laoghaire) near Dublin and arrived in Western Australia on 30 August 1853. During the 62 years of transportation from Ireland to Australia, some 30,000 men and 9,000 women were sent as convicts to Australia for a minimum period of seven years - many more followed their loved ones as free settlers to a new life in the colony.
Additional on-line resources:
- The article Sources in the National Archives for research into the transportation of Irish convicts to Australia (1791-1853) by Rena Lohan (also available to download in .pdf format)
- The online transportation records database
- Convicts to Australia - A Guide to researching your convict ancestors
- Phoebe Dunbar
- The Essex 1824-1837
