In the

colony A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their ''metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often orga ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, a muster was an extension of a

Military Muster A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

to the general populace. A general muster was held when deemed necessary to count the

convict A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as "prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former convicts ...

s and general population. Many people were not included. Musters were held in the years: * 1788 A list of persons victualled in NSW and

Norfolk Island Norfolk Island ( , ; ) is an States and territories of Australia, external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head, New South Wales, Evans Head and a ...

* 1806 A General Muster in NSW of convicts,

emancipist An emancipist was a convict sentenced and transported under the convict system to Australia, who had been given a conditional or absolute pardon. The term was also used to refer to those convicts whose sentences had expired, and might sometimes ...

livestock Livestock are the Domestication, domesticated animals that are raised in an Agriculture, agricultural setting to provide labour and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, Egg as food, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The t ...

and land. * 1810 to 1820 Returns of convicts in the Colony on 1 January 1810 and of those who arrived up until September 1820. * 1811 A General Muster in NSW, Port Dalrymple,

Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...

Town and Norfolk Island * 1814 A General Muster was held in NSW which was arranged by districts. * 1818 Muster of free persons at Hobart Town. * 1819 Muster of persons at Hobart Town and Port Dalrymple. * 1820 and 1821 Muster of convicts and their children at Hobart Town. * 1822 Muster supplying alphabetical returns of persons in NSW and also of convicts in

Van Diemen's Land Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania during the European exploration of Australia, European exploration and colonisation of Australia in the 19th century. The Aboriginal Tasmanians, Aboriginal-inhabited island wa ...

. * 1823 Muster of convicts in Van Diemen's Land. * 1825 General muster of all inhabitants in NSW, except the military. * 1837 General muster of all convicts in NSW and Norfolk Island. * 1841 Censuses of NSW, Adelaide, Van Diemen's Land and

Port Phillip Port Phillip (Kulin languages, Kulin: ''Narm-Narm'') or Port Phillip Bay is a horsehead-shaped bay#Types, enclosed bay on the central coast of southern Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The bay opens into the Bass Strait via a short, ...

. * 1891 Census of NSW.Reakes, Janet, The A to Z Genealogical Handbook, Methuen Australia, 1986,

References

History of New South Wales {{NewSouthWales-stub