Memory of the World International Register

The Tasmanian convict records held in the Archives Office of Tasmania, together with those of New South Wales and Western Australia, have been added to the UNESCO Memory of the World International Register. They form one of only four items from Australia on the list which has a total of only 158 items recognised as having world wide significance. The Register is the equivalent for documents of the World Heritage List for built and natural sites. This is a recognition of the extraordinary amount and detail of documentation about these thousands of people forcibly transported across the world to form the beginnings of European colonies in Australia.

Copies of examples of some of these records are on our site, as is an index to the more than 75,000 people who are the subjects of the records. Also available on our site are descriptive guides to the making and content of these records.

For further commentary on the announcement see the Tasmanian Government's media release [Word 189KB] and the Australian Memory of the World Committee's media release [Word 30KB].

In early 2006 the Tasmanian convict records were added to the Australian National Memory of the World Register as a precursor for seeking inscription on the International Register. This was the announcement of this initial successful nomination.