In 1850s New South Wales, a ticket of leave passport was a travel pass for a convict who already held a ticket of leave, letting them go to another district for work without losing their limited freedom. It was usually temporary, often for around 12 months, and the relevant records were kept as “butts” or stubs by the authorities.

What it meant

A ticket of leave let a convict work for themselves, but only inside a specified district and under conditions like reporting to authorities and carrying the document. A passport was the extra permission to travel beyond that district for employment purposes.

Why the “butt” matters

The “butt” was the retained copy of the original document, like a stub on a two-part form. So when you see “ticket of leave passport butt,” it usually refers to the official record copy kept by the government, not the paper the convict carried.

In plain terms

Think of it this way:

  • Ticket of leave = permission to work with restrictions.
  • Passport = permission to travel to another district for work.
  • Butt = the archive copy kept by officials.

If you’re researching family history

These records can include the convict’s name, ship, arrival details, sentence, ticket number, and where they were allowed to go. For NSW research, the main record sets include ticket of leave registers, ticket of leave butts, and ticket of leave passports.

TL;DR: in 1850s NSW, a ticket of leave passport butt was the government’s retained record of a convict’s travel permission under the ticket-of-leave system.