Convicts
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
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
Convict Sydney
1820 - Day in the life of a convict
By 1820 the days of relative freedom for convicts in Sydney were over
Convict Sydney
1826
The hot Sydney summer of 1826 ended with almost 1,000 convicts living at the overcrowded Barracks
Convict Sydney
1836
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
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
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
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
A long shadow: convict Sydney and the Hyde Park Barracks
Hailed for its architecture, and now World Heritage listed, the Hyde Park Barracks has much more to tell us about the changing experience of convicts and the growth of a restless colony