Questions about FCRC Accounts
How do I register for a Guest Researcher account?
How do I become a member of FCRC?
Why hasn't my account been activated?
Why can't I login to the website?
How do I stop being a Guest Researcher?
How do I stop being a FCRC member?
How do I stop receiving FCRC emails?
What do I do if I have forgotten my password?
I'm trying to reset my password, why doesn't my token work?
What do I do if I have forgotten my username?
How do I change my email address?
What happens to the details I provide? How are they used?
Questions about volunteering
Questions about the Female Convicts in VDL database
How do I register as a descendant of a convict?
How do I submit information on a convict to the database?
How can I change information in the database?
Why can't I access the database?
Requests for help with research:
Can I get help with my private research?
Questions about events
How do I find out about upcoming seminars?
How do I register for a seminar?
How do I access papers presented at past seminars?
Other Questions:
How do I register for a Guest Researcher Account?
To become a Guest Researcher account holder of the Female Convicts Research Centre, you simply need to register for an account on the FCRC website using the Register as a Guest Researcher form. Registration is free. You will be asked to agree to Terms and Conditions.
Once you have completed the form, you will not be able to log in to the website until our volunteer Web Secretary has activated your account. This will not happen immediately—it may take a few days—please be patient. You will receive an email when your account has been activated.
How do I become a member of FCRC?
Membership is open to anyone interested in being more actively involved with the FCRC as a supporter or volunteer, for example (but not limited to) committee members, transcribers, researchers, seminar speakers and volunteers in any capacity.
To apply to become a member of the FCRC you are required to apply online or in writing, and agree to the FCRC Membership Terms and Conditions. This is a free, lifetime membership, and replaces your 12 month Guest Researcher registration. Membership application forms will be submitted to the next FCRC monthly committee meeting for nomination and approval.
Is there a registration fee?
There are no fees associated with Guest Researcher registration or FCRC Membership.
Why hasn't my account been activated?
When you register as a Guest Researcher, our Web Secretary is notified by email that your registration is awaiting activation. Activation is a manual process (in order to deter hackers and spammers) and it can take a few days for our volunteer Web Secretary to activate your account. Please be patient. You will receive an email when your account has been activated. If you have not received an email within 5-7 days please check your "Spam" folder.
If you have submitted a Membership form, your account will not be active until approved at the next monthly committee meeting. You will receive notification from the FCRC Public Officer when your application has been processed.
Why can't I login to the website?
If you have recently registered, you may not be able to login to the website because your account is not yet activated. Activation is a manual process (in order to deter hackers and spammers) and it can take a few days for our volunteer Web Secretary to activate your account. Please be patient. You will receive an email when your account has been activated. If you have not received an email within 5-7 days please check your "Spam" folder.
If your account has been approved, or it is some time since you last logged in, and are still having trouble logging in please send us an email at
How do I stop being a Guest Researcher?
You can terminate your Guest Researcher account at any time by:
a) Please send us an email at
b) You can apply for FCRC membership.
c) You can let your annual subscription expire.
How do I stop being a FCRC member?
Under the Rules of Association, you can resign at any time by serving on the Public Officer written notice of resignation.
How do I stop receiving FCRC Newsletter emails?
The options for unsubscribing from email mailing lists:
a) You can select not to receive emails by editing your Update Email Subscription page, found under the Registration menu list.
b) You can de-select the Newsletter Email options on the "Your User Profile" page under the Registration menu.
c) When Newsletter emails are sent out, there will be a link at the bottom of the emails for unsubscribing from our mailing lists.
d) You can email us and request to be taken off the email lists.
What do I do if I have forgotten my password?
If you have forgotten your password, click on the Forgot your password? link under the Login area. Enter your registration email address and click Submit. You will receive an email with a verification token. Type your account user name in the first field, then copy the token in the email (do not include the full stop after the token) and paste it in the second field. You will then be asked to enter a new password—enter the password in both the Password and Verify password fields, then click Submit. If you do not receive the email, check in your junk email.
If you are having problems with the token, please email us for assistance, as the token will not work if your account has been de-activated after too many failed login attempts.
How do I change my password?
You can change your password at any time. Select Your User Profile from the Registration menu (please note, you must be logged in to the website to access this page). You will need to select a new password of at least 5 characters with at least one number, enter it in the Password and Verify password fields, then click Save.
I'm trying to reset my password, why doesn't my token work?
For your token to work you need to highlight it (and only it) in the email you received, copy it, then paste it into the reset password form. Be careful not to highlight and copy the full stop after the token.
If you are having problems with the token, please email us for assistance, as the token will not work if your account has been de-activated after too many failed login attempts.
What do I do if I have forgotten my username?
If you have forgotten your username, click on the Forgot your username? link under the Login area. Enter your registration email address and click Submit. You will receive an email with your username provided. If you do not receive the email, check in your junk email.
If you are having problems with the token, please email us for assistance, as the token will not work if your account has been de-activated after too many failed login attempts.
How do I change my email address?
You can change your email address at any time. Select Your User Profile from the Registration menu (please note, you must be logged in to the website to access this page). Scroll to the bottom of the page, enter your new email address in the Email field, then click Save.
How do I update my profile?
You can change your profile information at any time. Select Your User Profile from the Registration menu (please note, you must be logged in to the website to access this page). Change information in any of the fields then click Save.
What happens to the details I provide? How are they used?
The details you provide in your profile are only used by the Female Convicts Research Centre. They are not provided to any third parties. For further details please refer to our Privacy Policy.
How do I become a volunteer?
We always welcome volunteers—there are many areas in which volunteers can assist us, including Transcribing. To become a volunteer, please contact our Volunteers Coordinator and let us know what skills you have and how you would like to help.
Who are our volunteers?
Some of our volunteers have contributed a photo and short bio to the Our Volunteers web page.
How do I register as a descendant of a convict?
To register as a descendant of a convict, please complete the Submit a Convict form, sign and then email a scanned copy or post it to us.
How do I submit information on a convict to the database?
To submit information about a convict for inclusion in our database, please complete the Submit a Convict form, then sign and scan to email or post it to us.
How can I change information in the database?
If you wish to change information in the database, please contact our Database Administrator with the information you wish changed. We will verify the information before making any changes.
Why can't I access the database?
To access the Female Convicts in VDL database as a researcher, you need to use the correct username and password. Please note, this is NOT the same as your username and password for logging in to the website. The Female Convicts in VDL database is hosted separately to the website. The username and password for the database is provided here (please note, you will need to logged in to the website to access this page). Please note the Access the Database page also contains a step-by-step guide to accessing and using the database.
Requests for help with research:
Can I get help with my private research?
The Female Convicts Research Centre is a not-for-profit organisation run entirely by volunteers. Its purpose is to encourage research into the lives and experiences of convict women and their children in Van Diemen’s Land; into the Female Factories through which they passed; and into the staff of the Factories who looked after them, and the settlers for whom they worked. Our website and database contain freely accessible information about female convicts, their children and the convict system in Van Diemen’s Land, as well as a list of recommended reading. The Female Convicts Research Centre’s sister organisation publishes books in this field: Convict Women's Press. The Female Convicts Research Centre’s volunteers focus on researching and adding to the above publicly available resources; they do not undertake comprehensive research for private individuals.
If you need detailed research, we suggest you contact:
- Libraries Tasmania: https://libraries.tas.gov.au/Pages/Home.aspx
- Tasmanian Archives: https://libraries.tas.gov.au/archive-heritage/Pages/default.aspx
- Professional Historians Association (Victoria and Tasmania): https://www.phavic.org.au/contact
- Australasian Association of Genealogists and Record Agents
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. - Tasmanian Family History Society
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
How do I find out about upcoming seminars?
Information about upcoming seminars is provided here. Please note, This information is only available during the 3-month period prior to a seminar.
How do I register for a seminar?
To register for a seminar, please go to Seminar Registration. FCRC now use Trybooking online event bookings for seminar registration. Please note, the Trybooking link is only available during the 3-month period prior to a seminar.
How do I access papers presented at past seminars?
To access copies of papers presented at past seminars, visit the Seminars section of our Events page. Past seminar papers are only available if donated to FCRC by the paper's author.
How do I make a Donation?
More information on how to make a donation is available here.
