Hi Helen, Out of curiousity I just looked up the Island of Tasmania and see that it is part of Australia. In 1800's, there were several British Colonies making up the larger Australian Colony. I found this good timeline of the history of Tasmania: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Tasmania I'm reading that convicts from the U.K. and Ireland were shipped to Tasmania for most of the 1800's. But, what I'm not reading, so far, is what happened to the convicts. Did they only get sent there for a short time (5-years in jail, for example), or were they meant to spend their whole lives on the Island? And, the "Child Migrants" were sent to Australia and New Zealand for most of the 1800's and a good part of the 1900's. Did they only get sent to the largest island, Ausralia, or also to some of the smaller islands? .. I wish I could get our friend's ancestors back to 1800 in Ireland, or County Cork. So far I can only get back to a Michael, possibly born around 1830's. (Had a son in 1858.) (A researcher just offered some suggestions, and I'll go respond to that e-mail now.) Betty (near Lowell, MA, USA)