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. 

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.

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.

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.

Around 4,000 books and serials on theosophy, Indian philosophy, comparative religion and related topics.

The Library will supply a digital surrogate in place of the original physical item where possible within copyright and other rights obligations.

The National Library is a reference library - you can use collection items in our reading rooms but you can't take them home.

Special collections material may have restrictions around use.

Copyright law applies to Indigenous works in the same way as it applies to other works, however there may be additional legal and cultural issues.

The Library will supply a digital surrogate in place of the original physical item where possible within copyright and other rights obligations.