The Swan River Settlement had been in existence for twenty years when it took the unusual step of electing to become a British penal settlement in 1849. Eager Home authorities accepted the offer and quickly dispatched the barque
Scindian, which arrived on the 1st June 1850 with a cargo of 75 male convicts aboard. This was to be the first of 43 shipments of convicts to the colony over an 18 year period.
Although a total of 9,925 convicts were officially transported during this period, it is estimated that some 500 of these were local prisoners intermixed with the transported convicts.
The availability on cheap labour resulted in many convicts being granted their 'ticket-of-leave' before their sentences had expired, which allowed private settlers to employ them. To facilitate the distribution of working men throughout the settlement, hiring depots were established in key town and country areas. Ticket-of-leave men could not leave their assigned district without permission; had to carry their 'ticket' with them at all times and produce it to an official on demand, as well as lodge an official form with the local magistrate on 1 January and 1 July of every years which detailed residence, employer and rate of pay.
One of the hiring depots was at Toodyay, and two registers from this institution from 1862 to 1870 have been archived in the State Records Office at Accession Number 721, volumes 30 and 31.
Divided into two main sections, this CD firstly lists the Convicts alphabetically by surname, also listing given name, convict number and page number. Secondly you will find the Employers listed alphabetically, together with convict numbers. Also included are 349 images of convict details foun in the Ticket-of-Leave Register from Toodyay (Accession 721/30).
The CD is fully searchable.
