Ticket of Leave

A Ticket of Leave (TOL) was a document given to convicts when granting them freedom to work and live within a given district of the colony before their sentence expired or they were pardoned. TOL convicts could hire themselves out or be self-employed. They could also acquire property. Church attendance was compulsory, as was appearing before a Magistrate when required. Permission was needed before moving to another district and 'passports' were issued to those convicts whose work required regular travel between districts. Convicts applied through their masters to the Bench Magistrates for a TOL and needed to have served a stipulated portion of their sentence:

- 7 year terms needed 4 years service with 1, or 5 years with 2 masters
- 14 years needed 6 years with 1, 8 years with 2 or 12 years with 3 masters
- Lifers needed 8 years with 1, 10 years with 2 or 12 years with 3 masters

TOL documents record the convict's number, name, ship, year of arrival, the master of the ship, native place, trade or calling, offence, place and date of trial, sentence, year of birth, physical description, the district the prisoner was allocated to, the granting Bench, the date of issue, and further remarks about Conditional Pardons and district changes. Registers of Tickets of Leave 1824 to 1827 (with index) are included in the SAONSW Genealogical Research Kit. Records of applications for replacement tickets and records of passport tickets for convicts moving between districts from 1835 to 1869 were also kept and are held by the SAONSW.