Thanks, Marie. It is a very interesting project. I knew very little about the convicts before we moved to Australia, and have been fascinated by the amount of detail recorded for them compared to the small amount for free settlers.
According to the Ancestry.com.au website the first female convict was Elizabeth Thackery who was sentenced to 75 years for the theft of 5 handkerchiefs. They say there were approx. 160,000 convicts sent to Australia; 80% were convicted of larceny; 20% of convicts were female; average age was 26; youngest convict was 9; oldest convict was 82. Nine years old! I hadn't seen that before.

Sue