A rare survival: these four convict reports provide a neat insight into both the administrative affairs of a working penal colony and the hardships endured by transportees.
Mary Ann North, transported for larceny is described as a "well conducted widow." Her reports notes several instances of absence, once for being out after hours, another without leave and a third for being at "the house of Wm Sandford contrary to orders." For this last she received six months hard labour.
Mary Murray was born in Cork, Ireland, stood a minuscule four foot eleven, and was a seamstress by trade. She was also transported for larceny. She was repeatedly punished with hard labour for drunkenness.
Hailing from London, James Woolf was twenty-five when sentenced for larceny. In July, 1832, he was punished with hard labour for being in Launceston without a pass and in 1837 was convicted for a second time for stealing a pound of stockings. This report also lists his tattoos, which include a heart on the back of his left hand.
William White was transported for life in 1833 for stealing. In 1838, he was punished for being drunk in a disorderly house with a week's hard labour, and, in 1845, he was given six months' hard labour for being absent from his house. A single line at the bottom of his report notes that White received a conditional pardon on 1 January, 1850.
Transportation to Van Diemen's Land began in 1804 with the arrival of the Calcutta. After nearly 80,000 men and women landed on the island, the practice officially ended in 1853.
