What is Ticket of leave?
A '''ticket of leave''' was an important [[document]] given to [[convict]]s who had been sent to [[Australia]]. Convicts who were well-behaved were given a ticket of leave. This gave them some rights, and they did not have to stay in [[gaol]]. With a ticket of leave, a convict was able to look for work in a particular area but could not leave the area without [[wikt:permission|permission]] from a [[court]]. Every change of employer or district was written on the ticket. <ref> {{cite web |url=https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&lr=&q=info:nSoxUNfT2J0J:scholar.google.com/&output=viewport |title=Bottomley: Parole in Transition: A Comparative Study of Origins, Developments, and Prospects for the 1990s |publisher=scholar.google.com |accessdate=2008-05-11 |last= |first= }} </ref> ==History== Governor [[Philip Gidley King]] started the tickets of leave in 1801.<ref name=ec>{{cite web |url=http://www.eurekacouncil.com.au/5-Australia-History/for-expansion/1788-convict_release.htm |title=Convict Release - Ticket of Leave - Pardon - Australian history |publisher=www.eurekacouncil.com.au |accessdate=2009-04-03 |last= |first= |archive-date=2009-03-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090330075403/http://eurekacouncil.com.au/5-Australia-History/for-expansion/1788-convict_release.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> It gave prisoners a reason to behave themselves. Also, it helped to provide cheap workers for farmers who were settling in Australia. The government saved money as it did not have to feed and clothe the prisoners. Those with a ticket of leave were able to [[marry]] or to bring their families from [[Britain]]. They could buy land but not carry guns or get onto a [[ship]]. They were often made to pay back the cost of their travel in the prison ship to Australia. The ticket of leave had to be [[renew]]ed every year,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.convicttrail.org/history.php?id=a3b4c2%f%5 |title=Convict Trail Project - History |publisher=www.convicttrail.org |accessdate=2009-04-03 |last= |first= |archive-date=2