About Us

President: Dianne Snowden

Dr Dianne Snowden AM is an historian and genealogist. Dianne was a founder member of the Female Convicts Research Centre and is currently President. She is also President of the Friends of the Orphan Schools, which she founded in 2007, and the Australasian Association of Genealogists and Record Agents. She is the author or co-author of a number of publications about convict women and the children of the Orphan Schools. She was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 2017 for significant service to community as an historian and genealogical researcher, to higher education, and to heritage groups. She was admitted to the Tasmanian Honour Roll of Women in 2017.

Vice President:  Wendy Donnelly

I stumbled across the Female Convicts Research Centre database whilst researching a male ancestor; it led me to his ‘very colourful’ mother-in-law, also a transported convict. The database so impressed me as a valuable community resource that I began as a volunteer in 2015; this coincided well with my retirement from teaching.

Initially I began transcribing from the Indents under the guidance of Lois Newham; currently I work closely with Colette McAlpine transcribing from the Conduct Records for the female convicts on various transport ships. Transcribing constantly reminds me of the tragedy yet resilience of the female convicts’ lives.

I feel privileged to work with the very knowledgeable and hardworking members of the Committee (having joined in 2016) and to contribute to the further development of the FCRC database.

Treasurer and Public Officer: Ros Escott

Ros Escott has a Diploma of Family History and a long standing interest in genealogy in general and female convicts in particular. She has served on the FCRC Committee since 2015 and is currently Treasurer and Public Officer. She holds the same positions on the Convict Women’s Press Committee. Ros is also Vice President of the Hobart Branch of the Tasmanian Family History Society and Co-ordinator of their DNA Interest Group.

Secretary: Victoria Hadley

Committee Member:  Colette McAlpine

Colette McAlpine is database manager and volunteer co-ordinator for the FCRC. She traces the lives and deaths of Tasmanian convicts and transcribes their records with the help of a volunteer team from across the globe. Colette has written about convict women in several volumes of the Convict Lives series published by Convict Women’s Press, and in Pack of Thieves? 52 Female Factory Lives, published by the Port Arthur Historic Site Management Authority. She co-edited From the Edges of Empire: Convict Women from Beyond the British Isles, also published by CWP. After she retired from teaching in various state high schools and colleges over ten years ago, Colette became a member of the international collaborative research team on the Founders and Survivors project where she worked as a research assistant for Professor Janet McCalman at the University of Melbourne. Now completely retired, Colette spends much of her time researching convicts when she is not distracted by her granddaughter.

Committee Member/Web Administrator: Elaine Crawford

Committee Member (Seminar Co-ordinator): Jane Hofto

I began working with Colette on the database when I retired as a librarian (specialising in school library support) several years ago. I’ve loved working with the records, contributing extra research and learning the stories of these incredible women. Having several ancestors in the database enhances the experience! I enjoy watching the database grow and knowing that we are contributing to such a special body of knowledge.

As a ‘newbie’ on the FCRG committee I am also editing website content and assisting with the organisation of the annual seminars. It’s a privilege to be involved and I’m learning lots! On the personal side, COVID has restricted my international travel ambitions for the present, but I am enrolled in the Family History Diploma through the University of Tasmania, which I am very much enjoying.

Jan Richards AM

Jan has been actively involved in family and local history research since the early 1980’s – initially assisting others in her role as a librarian/archivist but increasingly for herself as she became ‘hooked’ on the joy of unearthing the stories of her family.

Jan’s Australian research is mostly focussed on the Newcastle region where her ancestors first settled in the 1820’s. In turn, this led to her involvement in a project to record the 1,200 female convicts who passed through the settlement and publication of They sent me north; female convicts in the Hunter.

In 2020 Jan and her husband, Marcus, made an impulse decision to move from Orange NSW to Bruny Island, Tasmania.  Here she balances work as a consultant with engagement in the Australian and International library profession and her many other interests and community commitments.

Amanda Johnson

Having retired after a long career in the Tasmanian State Service, I completed a Diploma of Family History through UTAS. While working at the then Women Tasmania, part of my role was researching and writing entries for the Tasmanian Honour Roll of Women and Significant Tasmanian Women website, tasks that I enjoyed very much. So, when looking for a volunteering role I looked for an organisation that had women’s history as its core role and came across the FCRC.

I also commenced my own family history research, which has been extraordinarily time-consuming and rewarding, particularly as I have been able to connect with several family members a generation ahead of me.

I look forward to continuing to work with the FCRC as a committee member.

Registered Charity

Female Convicts Research Centre is registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission.

2014 Advancing education (01/01/2014)

2014 Advancing culture (01/01/2014)

Convict Women's Press Inc.

CWP is a sister organisation to the FCRC. The Convict Women's Press Inc. is a Tasmanian-based not-for-profit publishing company formed in 2010 as an initiative of the Female Convicts Research Centre  (FCRC). It publishes books about female convicts transported to colonial Australia.  

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