Social welfare indexes
Tasmanian Welfare records
There are several series of records for the Queens Orphan School which are consulted frequently by genealogists. The Register of children admitted and discharged from the Orphan School 1829-1863 [SWD 28] is particularly useful because children who were born to convict women or accompanied their mothers on a convict ship were often admitted to the School until their parents could care for them or the child was old enough to work. Information given includes name of child and parents (if known), ship the mother arrived on and date of discharge of child and to whom.
For a later period there are Applications for admission to the Orphan School [SWD 26]. These include such information as name and residence of applicant, names, ages and religion of the children, details of the parents including the name of the ship to the Colony and whether arrived free or as a convict and occupation. The applications are usually accompanied by supporting letters and any subsequent correspondence about the child is filed with the application. The records cover the period 1859-1879.
