During transportation to the penal colonies, prisoners were confined below decks, often behind bars and further restrained in travelling chains. They were frequently shackled together for the duration of the voyage, with the “ball and chain” sometimes used as an additional guarantee of the offender’s confinement. Once in Australia, authorities continued to rely on the use of chains to restrict and control convict movement. Particularly during travel, as many as five prisoners would be chained together in an effort to limit their opportunity to escape.

These travelling chains, dating from the 1800s, are on display at the Corrective Services NSW Museum, Cooma.