National Archives

The National Archives of Ireland holds a wide range of records relating to transportation of convicts from Ireland to Australia covering the period 1788 to 1868. In some cases these include records of members of convicts’ families transported as free settlers. To mark the Australian Bicentenary in 1988, the Taoiseach presented microfilms of the most important of these records to the Government and People of Australia as a gift from the Government and People of Ireland. A computerised index to the records was prepared with the help of IBM and is available for use at various locations in Australia.

Online Search
This index to the transportation records is available here for online searches. To search the index enter one or more words in the form below and then select “Submit”. The index will be searched for entries that contain any combination of the words/text that you enter and they will be returned for you to look at. The search is not case-sensitive, you may enter letters as upper or lower case.

The records from which the transportation database was compiled, transportation registers and petitions to government for pardon or commutation of sentence, are incomplete. While the collection of convict petitions dates from the beginning of transportation from Ireland to Australia in 1791, all transportation registers compiled before 1836 were destroyed. Therefore, if the person you are researching was convicted before 1836, but was not the subject of a petition, he or she will not appear on this database.

• For more on the history and historical sources of Transportation, see the brief  outline and the comprehensive article by Rena Lohan.
• A digital image of a petition  is now available should you wish to view it.
• Many Irish people were transported as a result of incidents during the the Great Famine , which occurred in Ireland in the middle of the 19th Century.
• You can also contact us if you require guidance or further information