About us
Updated 20 February 2015
Use the menu bar to the side of the project page to navigate to any page of the project website. To post to the forum ("Activity Feed"), make sure you are signed in as a member.
Australia is a pacific nation which is populated by persons from probably every country (and ethnicity) on Earth.
If you have ancestors who were transported to Australia (male or female), please hit the "Join Request" button.
If your ancestors were settlers (as opposed to convicts), you may care to join the " Australian Settlers" project. (Also a dual YDNA and mtDNA Geographical project, but which also accepts atDNA testers).
For the project to give meaningful information, all Y-DNA and mtDNA testers need to know the port of arrival and ship’s name for their direct paternal (or direct maternal) ancestral convict. This means the results you represent can be placed into the "ancestor port/area arrival and ship" categories on the appropriate page. (If you have only tested Family Finder (atDNA) then this information is unnecessary at this time). Please note this is NOT a surname project and the general criteria is a little different to that used in Surname projects. Please make certain you give me that ancestral arrival information when you join the project. If you cannot do this, then please let me know. (By the way, only one direct patrilineal ancestor's arrival needs to be given to me, not the lineage - the lineage is your business. Similarly for that direct matrilineal ancestor who entered Australia).
Although it is best that female testers locate a male member of their family to test his Y-DNA as her/their proxy, I am happy to welcome those men and women who, for example have only tested Family Finder (FF) or have transferred their autosomal results from 23andMe or from AncestryDNA.
( Here is a hint for you if you have tested FF.
As information become available to me or Peter (your two Admins), further websites will be posted here detailing passenger lists where available. You will also see information on the "News" tab of the project. To begin (and do please write in to your admins with your own knowledge of websites):-
Here is the main site I use...
http://www.hawkesbury.net.au/claimaconvict/search.php
"Lady Juliana" 1790 (sometimes called the 'Floating Brothel') http://www.historyaustralia.org.au/twconvic/Lady+Juliana+1790
Some authorities state this ship as being in the "Second Fleet", simply because it arrived in later than the "First Fleet but given the treatment of the convicts on board, I suspect this is not quite accurate as those on board this ship apparently received treatment (food, fresh air and hygiene standards as was expected in that day) that seems to me, to be far superior to that which it seems the majority of the 'Second Fleet' transportees were subjected.
An Australian and New Zealand data base of Family Trees can be located at http://www.famnet.net.nz/ (If there is sufficient interest, the owner will establish a specific Australian based site).
Be aware that this site hosts more than just a data base - much, much more!
You will need to register to see the people for whom you might be searching, but you will be intrigued with the concept of the site if you care to look at the introductory video.
(Disclaimer: Although I am a member, I have no pecuniary interest in this site)..
Immediately below is a sketch of the First Fleet ships in Sydney Cove, Australia, followed by a cartoon picture of a ship of the first fleet.
If your ancestors were settlers (as opposed to convicts), you may care to join the " Australian Settlers" project. (Also a dual YDNA and mtDNA Geographical project, but which also accepts atDNA testers).
For the project to give meaningful information, all Y-DNA and mtDNA testers need to know the port of arrival and ship’s name for their direct paternal (or direct maternal) ancestral convict. This means the results you represent can be placed into the "ancestor port/area arrival and ship" categories on the appropriate page. (If you have only tested Family Finder (atDNA) then this information is unnecessary at this time). Please note this is NOT a surname project and the general criteria is a little different to that used in Surname projects. Please make certain you give me that ancestral arrival information when you join the project. If you cannot do this, then please let me know. (By the way, only one direct patrilineal ancestor's arrival needs to be given to me, not the lineage - the lineage is your business. Similarly for that direct matrilineal ancestor who entered Australia).
Although it is best that female testers locate a male member of their family to test his Y-DNA as her/their proxy, I am happy to welcome those men and women who, for example have only tested Family Finder (FF) or have transferred their autosomal results from 23andMe or from AncestryDNA.
( Here is a hint for you if you have tested FF.
Once you (or anyone) joins a project, you can go to your FTDNA Home Page and hover your mouse over the FF Drop-down menu visible in the blue tool bar. Then select "Advanced Matches" from that menu. Check FF and select whether you want to see your matches in either the full data base, or just in the specific projects that you have joined.
Because it is a pain switching from one window to another, I have three browsers, so that I can get the same person’s Home page up showing different reports for the same tester all at the same time.)As information become available to me or Peter (your two Admins), further websites will be posted here detailing passenger lists where available. You will also see information on the "News" tab of the project. To begin (and do please write in to your admins with your own knowledge of websites):-
Here is the main site I use...
http://www.hawkesbury.net.au/claimaconvict/search.php
"Lady Juliana" 1790 (sometimes called the 'Floating Brothel') http://www.historyaustralia.org.au/twconvic/Lady+Juliana+1790
Some authorities state this ship as being in the "Second Fleet", simply because it arrived in later than the "First Fleet but given the treatment of the convicts on board, I suspect this is not quite accurate as those on board this ship apparently received treatment (food, fresh air and hygiene standards as was expected in that day) that seems to me, to be far superior to that which it seems the majority of the 'Second Fleet' transportees were subjected.
An Australian and New Zealand data base of Family Trees can be located at http://www.famnet.net.nz/ (If there is sufficient interest, the owner will establish a specific Australian based site).
Be aware that this site hosts more than just a data base - much, much more!
You will need to register to see the people for whom you might be searching, but you will be intrigued with the concept of the site if you care to look at the introductory video.
(Disclaimer: Although I am a member, I have no pecuniary interest in this site)..
Immediately below is a sketch of the First Fleet ships in Sydney Cove, Australia, followed by a cartoon picture of a ship of the first fleet.
Updated 30 March 2014
The day this project began...
Australia currently has in the vicinity of 12,000+ people who call it "Home". It is a vast land for such a small population. The country itself is separated into a number of states, each having its own distinct
Updated 30 March 2014.
This project was borne from the realisation that many people who were destined to be transported to the other side of the world on the whim of a particularly inequitable English judiciary system of the time, had families in their land of birth but who never saw them again. It is aimed at bringing those families together again by means of their DNA results.
Y-DNA for the men but please test to at least Y-67 because anything less can be totally inconclusive.
MtDNA for both men and women, but please test the full sequence otherwise any results will only be stabs in the dark.
atDNA (Family Finder) for both men and women (the older the tester, the better).
It is not the place of this project to consider the rights and wrongs of that system that resulted in the transportation. It is an opportunity to enable all those who have today descended from those persons who were subjected to the conditions of the day and who have made their homes in the country now known as Australia. Both male and female, old and young were placed on board of these often ill provisioned and ill prepared floating hulks and banished. In many ways, those on the First Fleet were treated a little better, but the Second Fleet has a reputation for being the absolute worst. [More to come in due course - along with the remainder of the tabs in this project being populated].
An Australian and New Zealand data base of Family Trees can be located at http://www.famnet.net.nz/ (If there is sufficient interest, the owner will establish a specific Australian based site).
Be aware that this site hosts more than just a data base - much, much more!
You will need to register to see the people for whom you might be searching, but you will be intrigued with the concept of the site if you care to look at the introductory video.
(Disclaimer: Although I am a member, I have no pecuniary interest in this site).