Convicts
![https://www.records.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/Collection/Convicts/a-female-escape-artist-2-1024.jpg](https://images.slm.com.au/fotoweb/embed/2022/12/fb4f9a2fe4e84470a79aad3d9dca52b1.jpg)
On This Day
10 Sep 1823 - escapee re-transported to NSW
On the 10th of September 1823 Susan Courtney was tried in England for returning from transportation
![](https://images.slm.com.au/fotoweb/embed/2022/12/165d8a32c5ad4041a6e1995a9f9bd8a7.jpg)
Convict Sydney
1801 - Day in the life of a convict
In the young colony, there was no prisoner’s barrack - the bush and sea were the walls of the convicts’ prison
![IMG_5018-2.jpg](https://images.slm.com.au/fotoweb/embed/2022/12/a49404ea93054fd6995fca859433c2f8.jpg)
Convict Sydney
1820 - Day in the life of a convict
By 1820 the days of relative freedom for convicts in Sydney were over
![eating-doctored.jpg](https://images.slm.com.au/fotoweb/embed/2022/12/6de5692024534b00b8592cfde0e6d98d.jpg)
Convict Sydney
1826 - Day in the life of a convict
The hot Sydney summer of 1826 ended with almost 1,000 convicts living at the overcrowded Barracks
![Reenactment of 5 convicts lying in hammocks](https://images.slm.com.au/fotoweb/embed/2022/12/6316b3311c0c486bb436f009906e191b.jpg)
Convict Sydney
1836 - Day in the life of a convict
By 1836, two-thirds of the convicts in the colony were out working for private masters, and government convicts made up only a small group
![catofninetails.jpg](https://images.slm.com.au/fotoweb/embed/2022/12/65aecf3e2528495581212559f96f94f5.jpg)
Convict Sydney
1844 - Day in the life of a convict
Fraying at the edges, these were the Barracks’ darkest days with only the worst convicts remaining
![early-convict-indent_0.png](https://images.slm.com.au/fotoweb/embed/2022/12/ed7804ca9e144cd6a7eaa570f776cab2.jpg)
On This Day
20 Jan 1788 - First Fleet arrived at Botany Bay
On 20 January 1788 the last of the eleven ships of the First Fleet arrived at Botany Bay
![https://www.records.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/Collection/Col%20Sec/Colonial-Secretary-James-Ruse-first-land-grant-NRS-898-9-2731-Fiche-3267-p-2.jpg](https://images.slm.com.au/fotoweb/embed/2023/07/8d0143ea937f494cb801f1458ced6ace.jpg)
On This Day
22 Feb 1792 - first land grant recorded (James Ruse)
On this day 22 February 1792 the first land grant is recorded as being granted to James Ruse
4 May 1842 - Moreton Bay declared a free settlement
The penal colony of Moreton Bay, on traditional Turrbal and Yuggera land, was declared a free settlement on 4 May 1842