Charles Bateson's "The Convict Ships 1787-1868" gives us a true look into Australia's period of transportation. Information is given about the voyages to New South Wales, Norfolk Island, Tasmania, Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia. Transported convicts were handed over to the master of a ship at the beginning of the voyage and then given to the custody of the Governor of the colony who was receiving them. The convicts were housed below decks on the prison deck and often further confined behind bars.Cruel masters, harsh discipline and scurvy, dysentry and typhoid resulted in a huge loss of life. As time went on, charterers were paid a bonus to land the prisoners safe and sound at the end of the voyage.By the time the exiles were being transported in the 1840s and onwards, a more enlightened routine was in place which even included the presence on board of a Religious Instructor to educate the convicts and attend to their spiritual needs.

Researches are often confused as to why the ships had the names they had, and why they took the routes they took. Name-wise, it helps to remember that the Roman Numeral after the ship's name describes the individual ship, while the number in brackets describes which voyage the ship was making.The convict shipping lists indicate if a ship travelled via other ports. That was especially so in the early days when ships were smaller, took longer and had to put in for supplies and repairs along the way. In later years, after other Australian settlements had been established, the transports often stopped at more than one destination to land convicts.

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