Hi Ursula Having just studied Convict Australia at Uni and found my great great grandmother married a convict the second time around. Convicts had to get their own way back to Australia ie they had to save the money from the wages they may have received, if they received any. Most convicts didn't return to their native country. Once he got to Australia you need to know where he went. Did he go to Sydney (Port Jackson), Van Dieman's Land (Tasmania), Norfolk Island) or Western Australia. Most went to Sydney but those considered bad or political prisoners may have gone to places of secondary punishment ie Norfolk Island, Moreton Bay (Brisbane). Once you know where they were transported to you can find where they were assigned (why they worked for) or whether they were on the road gangs etc. The State Library of Qld has a convict database online they may help http://www.slq.qld.gov.au/info/fh/convicts Also the National Library of Australia has a database of early Australian papers' that have been digitised. It is a wonderful site and continuously updated. It is called Trove. http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper Hope this helps Cheers Marg in Brisbane -----Original Message----- From: perthshire-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:perthshire-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Ursula Sent: Saturday, 8 January 2011 1:43 AM To: Perthshire List Subject: [PERTHSHIRE] Transportation Dear Listers Although not strictly a Perthshire question, I'm hoping someone might be able to answer or point me in the right direction, as this group seems to be a fount of all sorts of knowledge! I have a family member who was transported to Australia in 1835 for 7 years (details from the Australian Convict papers on Ancestry). He completed his term in 1842 and received his pardon, but I have no idea what happened to him then. He had married in England in 1830 and had two children, but by the 1851 census his wife was declaring herself a widow. I can't find any death records for him in either the English parish records or the Australian records (or any other mention of him, in fact), so have no idea whether he ever actually returned to England, or whether being a widow was a polite fiction for a husband that never returned.... I assume that, having completed their service, convicts were free to return to England but how did they get back? Did the government provide a berth on a ship back, or were they just cut loose to find their own way? In which case, how did they afford the fare... Any pointers would be gratefully received! Ursula When replying to a message or a digest, please delete everything except the portion to which you are replying. ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to PERTHSHIRE-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message