Introduction
Early grants of land were available to free settlers, convicts who had completed their sentence, and military personnel. The finding aids listed in this guide will help in locating details of individual grants.
- European convicts, military, and free settlers first settled in Tasmania’s south in 1803. If your ancestors arrived at this time they are likely to have settled at Sullivan’s Cove and to have been part of the development of Hobart Town.
- In the north, a settlement was established in 1804 at Port Dalrymple on the Tamar River. Launceston was named in 1807 as Port Dalrymple’s main settlement, with the first land grants in the North of the State being granted in 1808.
- By 1823 European settlement had stretched from Hobart to Launceston
- Between 1804-1834 there were land grants to free settlers, convicts whose sentences were completed, and military personnel.
- Because the Deeds registry was not established in Tasmania until 1827, there are few property transaction records before then.