Published by Australian Biographical and Genealogical Record in association with the Society of Australian Genealogists, Sydney 1987

The 1811 Musters are important primary source documents with two significant qualities as reference sources. Firstly they concentrate on pre-arrival and arrival information whereas the other early General Musters record contemporary information concerning the persons included. Secondly they provide information about free adults and convicts being not only in NSW and Australia but in the settlements of Norfolk Island and Van Diemen’s Land as well. No other General Musters recorded the same details for the different settlements in a given year.

For those who arrived as convicts the Musters include conviction and transportation details. This information is valuable as it enables a direct link between the Musters, a colonial record, and the Convict Indents, a British record.

Some convicts’ names were omitted from the Indents or included in the Indents with little pre-arrival information. In these instances the pre-arrival information in the 1811 Musters provides a direct link and possibly the only link with other British records such as court records or newspaper trial reports.

The pre-arrival information included for free people is very important as it is often not available elsewhere. Few records listing free passengers to the colony exist for the period 1788 to 1825. By noting that a person “Came with the 102nd Regiment” or “Came free from Bengal” the Musters point researchers in a specific direction.

To those interested in history and genealogy the 1811 Musters provide an unequalled reference to the origins of the white residents of Australia in 1811.

Hard Cover
192 pages
Excellent condition

Cost $95.00 (includes postage throughout Australia)
Available from Catherine Williams; postal order, or cheque, and details to:
Mrs. Catherine Williams, PO Box 4, CAIRNS, QLD. 4870
Enquiries: Email the author