If you were ever interested to find out if your ancestors might have been convicts, now is your chance.
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Australia's first-ever Census was recorded in 1828 and covered some 36,500 convicts and free residents, and captures a social and economic snapshot of society.
A volume of the 190-year-old document is making its way to different cities, including Shellharbour, to enlighten current-day citizens of what life was like to many years ago.
A snapshot of the Illawarra will be on exhibit at the City Library and Museum for one day only on May 29, with an accompanying history talk.
At the time, the Colony of NSW had only been in establishment for 40 years. It includes settlements along with in-depth information for each person, including name, age, whether born in the colony or on-ship and year of arrival, sentence if arrived as a convict, religion, employment, residence, district and other remarks.
A highlight of upcoming exhibit will be an entry for William Platt - a convict stockman on Darcy Wentworth's Peterborough Estate who was transported from Ireland to NSW in 1823.
Although he was granted a Certificate of Freedom in 1829, a year later he was found guilty of Horse Stealing and transported to Moreton Bay. He would not be free again until 1837.
NSW State Archives' Executive Director Adam Lindsay said the Census, which was recently inscribed into the UNESCO Australian Memory of the World Register, is the first and most detailed ever taken in the State, and the only surviving of its kind.
"Whether studying Australian history, convict transportation and administration, British Imperial expansion and colonial settlements, or a particular individual, family or local area, the 1828 Census is a fundamental resource," Mr Lindsay said.
"We're committed to encouraging wider education and access to these fascinating assets both locally and globally.
"These records are of universal value and we're delighted to showcase them both on tour and online, with digitised copies that can be accessed anywhere in the world through our website."
Bookings to attend the free public talk on May 29 at 11am, can can be made via Shellharbour Library's website events page or via www.eventbrite.com.au
