NRS-15989 | Original tickets of leave and conditional pardons

Full description

This series was compiled some time after the creation of the records by bringing together original convict records found loose in registers and the Colonial Secretary’s correspondence. The series consists of the following types of record: Ticket of Leave, Conditional Pardons, Replies to Petition for a Conditional Pardon, Ticket of Leave Passport, and lists of convicts.

A Ticket of Leave gave permission to an individual to employ himself for his own benefit and to acquire property, on condition of residing within the District therein specified. A prisoner required the sanction of the Government to move outside the District and this is entered on the face of the Ticket.

The Tickets of Leave provide the following information: prisoner’s name, Ticket of Leave number, ship and year of arrival, master of ship, native place, trade or calling, offence, place and date of trial, sentence, year of birth, physical description, district the prisoner is allocated to. The series includes a Ticket of Leave Passport providing official permission for a prisoner holding a Ticket of Leave to move outside the district for which the Ticket was issued.

Also included in the series are Conditional Pardons granted for offences committed outside the Colony. The Pardon was granted by the Governor and approved by the Secretary of State, giving freedom to the individual on condition they reside in the territory. The printed form was completed in duplicate with one copy being sent to England and the other retained.

Some ink used for these records is extremely faint and difficult to read and some Conditional Pardons have the seal attached.