NRS-992 | Copies of letters to Port Macquarie

Copies of letters to the Commandant, other officers and prisoners at the settlement. In each volume is a list of convicts sent to Port Macquarie, the first two arranged chronologically and the last alphabetically. There is an index to the first two lists. The lists show for each convict his name, original conviction, calling, vessel transported by, number, whom he replaces or is replaced by, colonial conviction, date of transportation to Port Macquarie and date returned. Port Macquarie was settled in 1821 as a place of secondary punishment, but settlement expanded so rapidly that within a few years it became useless for this purpose. This was the main reason for the establishment of Moreton Bay as an alternative. A searching inquiry into the state of the settlement was held in 1828 and in July 1830 the commandant was instructed in detail on the procedure for removing the convicts to Norfolk Island. The area was thrown open to private settlement by a proclamation of 30 July 1830 but the command was not transferred to a civil officer until two years later when a magistrate, Benjamin Sullivan, was appointed to take control of the area. By that time the only remaining government establishments were those for convicts awaiting reassignment and for a few female convicts and cripples or invalids, and some government farms and buildings including the watchhouse and lock-up. (4/3864-66; microfilm copy 1822-25 SR Reel 6019, 1822-34 SR Reels 824-825). 3 vols. *ARK (1822-25) Note:This description is based on Concise Guide to the State Archives of New South Wales, 3rd Edition 2000.