The Irish Vanguard: The Convicts of the Queen, Ireland to Botany Bay, 1791, by Barbara Hall

Ireland, 1790. Crime is escalating, as hundreds of vagrants stroll the streets prostituting themselves and robbing others. Those already in gaol were digging their way out through the sewers, as others did the hangman’s jig. All the while, the idea of revolution was being bandied about too much for King George’s liking. more...

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Death or Liberty: The Convicts of the Britannia, Ireland to Botany Bay, 1797, by Barbara Hall

Death would have been a better option that life on board the hell-ship Britannia. Its 200 or so convicts had faced a sadistic captain, starvation rations and savage punishments during their long journey from Ireland. Even the days heralding their arrival into Sydney brought severe hail and gale force winds. more...

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Of Infamous Character: The Convicts of the Boddingtons, Ireland to Botany Bay, 1793, by Barbara Hall

The third book in a series of five, Of Infamous Character traces the lives of 145 convicts transported from Ireland to Botany Bay on board the Boddingtons in 1793. One of the smaller ships to arrive that decade, it nevertheless had a violent element to its cargo, and a large contingent of convicts form the north of Ireland. more...

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A Nimble Fingered Tribe: The Convicts of the Sugar Cane, Ireland to Botany Bay, 1793, by Barbara Hall

September 1793 heralded the arrival in Sydney of 164 prisoners from Ireland aboard the Sugar Cane; mainly urban criminals and sturdy beggars, exiled by a British government eager to rid Ireland of its poor and homeless. more...

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A Desperate Set of Villains: The Convicts of the Marquis Cornwallis, Ireland to Botany Bay, 1796, by Barbara Hall

A contemporary source called them the refuse and sweepings of the Irish jails. The Marquis Cornwallis transported 244 Irish male and female prisoners aged from 12 to 65 to Botany Bay in 1796, effectively exiling most of them from their homeland for the term of their natural lives. more...

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One Family History: 220 Years in Australia

One Family History: 220 Years in Australia is the story of a family whose first Australian ancestor was sent on the Second Fleet, arriving in Sydney in June 1790. The story tells of other arrivals, convicts and free, up to 1825; when all those from whom the current family are descended had arrived in the colony. The family names Hall and Readford occur again and again throughout this history: but there were other family names too. In placing this family history in a broad social and historical context the book provides an interesting, detailed and easy to read story of one family in Australia. This is a family history that is contemporaneous with the history of Australia. more...

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Pat Moore's Swamp: An Irish Family in Botany Bay

Convict Patrick Moore arrived in Sydney aboard the horror ship Britannia in 1797. Over the next 54 years his story, and that of his wife's Rose Green, would be one of hardship, and also reward. more...

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Trial Extracts

We have a rich database of information on trials and previous convictions in Ireland starting in 1780 that we often don’t publish in our books. This is currently being digitised, but in the meantime if you would like to know if we do hold additional information on your ancestor, please use the contact form. more...

Papers and additional information

We have a rich database of information from Irish and colonial records starting in 1780 that we often don’t have room for in our publications. This is currently being digitised, but in the meantime if you would like to know if we do hold additional information on your ancestor, please contact us. more...

A Source of Inspiration and Delight: The Building of the State Library of NSW since 1826, by David J Jones

'An unfailing source of inspiration and delight' was how Havelock Ellis described the library over 100 years ago. Today's reader will delight in this lively and entertaining account of the State Library from its earliest days - in warehouses, 'dingy caverns' and 'awful dungeons' - to its latest elegant buildings in Sydney's Macquarie Street. more...

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Colonial Buildings: Macarthur Growth Centre, by Helen Proudfoot

This book is an edited version of a detailed inventory of historic buildings and sites within the Macarthur Development Board area, compiled by Helen Proudfoot. more...

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The Shadows of Elisa Lynch: How a 19th-Century Irish Courtesan Became the Most Powerful Woman in Paraguay, by Sian Rees

In 1854 an ambitious courtesan met a South American general in Paris and returned with him to Paraguay. When he became president, she became his de facto first lady and together they changed the course of the country's history. more...