The State Library of Western Australia is the official library for the state of Western Australia. They have a Genealogy Centre at the Library and an online Family History collection with research guides and resources. Visit the site for their many online collections.
Western Australia Birth, Marriage, & Death Records
Private Archives
- “The Private Archives Collection includes architectural plans, baptismal, marriage and burial records, correspondence, diaries, maps and microforms, manuscripts, newspaper cuttings, station accounts, and unpublished reports.” These are not available online but you can see the record collections donated by the Anglican Church, Freemasons, and Uniting Church.
Western Australia Residence Records
Directories
- These are Western Australia Post Office Directories for years ranging from 1893 to 1949. “The post office directories provide information by locality, individual surname, government service, and by trade or profession. The different sections enable the enquirer to see at a glance the householders or businesses in any one town; the address of any householder or business in the State; and the businesses or individuals throughout Western Australia engaged in any trade or profession.”
Ships and Passengers
- Log of Logs: a catalogue of logs, journals, shipboard diaries, letters, and all forms of voyage narratives, 1788 to 1988, for Australia and New Zealand and surrounding oceans – a three volume set by Ian Nicholson lists where to find information about voyages by ship to our region. For example, it gives the Australian Joint Copying Project microfilm reel numbers for surgeons’ journals and captains’ logs. All three volumes should be consulted.
- Australian cruise ships
- Australian migrant ships, 1946-1977
- British passenger liners of the five oceans
- Coast to coast: the great Australian coastal liners
- Emigrant ships to luxury liners: passenger ships to Australia and New Zealand, 1945-1990
- The great liners : P&O Orient ships on the Australian trade
- The Log
- The long haul : ships on the England-Australian run
- Migrant ships to Australia and New Zealand 1900 to 1939
- Passenger ships of Australia and New Zealand
- Ships Monthly
- The SITMAR liners: past and present
National Archives & Public Records a joint digitizing project
- Deane index re-indexed 1823-1840: settlers, military, convicts etc – This index, initially compiled by Miss Mathilde Deane in 1929-30, indexed the names of people writing to the Colonial Office in the early years of European settlement. This reworked version on CD-ROM indexes all people and ships mentioned in the letters in addition to the letter writers and gives the relevant Colonial Office reference and AJCP microfilm reel number. It is an extremely useful tool for those researching early settlers in New South Wales and Van Diemen’s Land.
- Index to the historical records of Australia 1788-1848 – CD-ROM indexes all 35 volumes of the Historic Records of Australia published up to 2004.
- Log of logs: a catalogue of logs, journals, shipboard diaries, letters and all forms of shipboard narratives, 1788-1988, for Australia and New Zealand and surrounding oceans – This important set of volumes by Ian Nicholson is valuable for researching ships. Look up the name of the ship you are researching and you will be referred to the AJCP reel number for captains’ logs, shipboard journals, surgeon’s journals etc.
- Index: Australian Joint Copying Project Prison Commission registers, AJCP PCom2, reels 5971-5991 – this is a very useful microfiche index to the UK Prisons Commission records produced by volunteers from the Western Australian Genealogical Society. Viewing the AJCP reel can often reveal extra information about convicts, such as who visited them in gaol, and sometimes addresses are given.
- State Records Office of Western Australia – for Western Australian correspondence visit the State Records Office (SRO) which has various indexes available. The SRO website provides the Colonial Secretary’s Office correspondence. You may need to refer to the AJCP collection in cases where there was an enclosure with outward correspondence. If this is the case, make a careful note of the date and subject matter.
- The Army in Australia, 1840-1850: prelude to the golden years – this is an excellent source of information on the army in Australia during the early years of European settlement. It gives statistics on troop numbers and placement and includes information on enrolled pensioner guards.
- Bound for Australia – this book explains how to trace ancestors who were bound for Australia, whether convicts or free settlers. It goes through the process stage by stage and gives lots of examples.
- Criminal ancestors: a guide to historical criminal records in England and Wales –
- Historical Records of Australia – transcribed Governors’ Despatches for New South Wales were published in Series I in 26 volumes. Published in chronological order with an index at the back of each volume.
- Historical Records of New South Wales – An earlier project to transcribe Governors’ Despatches published in 9 volumes.
- Historical Records of New Zealand – Transcribed Governors’ Despatches for New Zealand published in 2 volumes.
- Convict records in Australia – this extremely useful work explains which records are available for tracing convicts in all Australian states. It gives references to AJCP reel numbers where applicable.
- Convict records of Western Australia: a research guide – this is the key work to consult for those researching Western Australian convicts.
- Administering the Empire, 1801-1968 : a guide to the records of the Colonial Office in the national archives of the UK
- Commonwealth sources in British official records : Colonial and Dominions Offices
- The records of the War Office and related departments, 1660-1964
- Criminal register indexes – this series of CD-ROMs indexes names appearing in class HO 27 Criminal registers for counties other than Middlesex for 1805-1816.
- My ancestor was in the British army: how can I find out more about him?
- My ancestor was a merchant seaman: how can I find out more about him?
Western Australia Daily Life Records
Newspapers
- The State Library of Western Australia Battye Library has an online catalogue with indexed newspaper articles and many titles are available online through Trove.
- “Subject coverage includes portraits of people from all walks of life, social gatherings, dances, sporting events, business activities, rural and mining industries, transport, etc.”
Police Gazettes
- These are free, online resources for the years 1876 to 1900, and include arrest records, warrants, escaped prisoners, police employee records, descriptions of prisoners, deserters from military service, etc.
Private Archives
- “The Private Archives Collection includes architectural plans, baptismal, marriage and burial records, correspondence, diaries, maps and microforms, manuscripts, newspaper cuttings, station accounts, and unpublished reports.” These are not available online but you can see the record collections donated by the Anglican Church, Freemasons, and Uniting Church.
Oral Histories
- “The 200 voices from the Oral History Records Rescue Group project can be heard online.”
Miscellaneous including Military, Prisoners, Migration, etc – National Archives & Public Records a joint digitizing project
-
Deane index re-indexed 1823-1840: settlers, military, convicts etc – This index, initially compiled by Miss Mathilde Deane in 1929-30, indexed the names of people writing to the Colonial Office in the early years of European settlement. This reworked version on CD-ROM indexes all people and ships mentioned in the letters in addition to the letter writers and gives the relevant Colonial Office reference and AJCP microfilm reel number. It is an extremely useful tool for those researching early settlers in New South Wales and Van Diemen’s Land.
-
Index to the historical records of Australia 1788-1848 – CD-ROM indexes all 35 volumes of the Historic Records of Australia published up to 2004.
-
Log of logs: a catalogue of logs, journals, shipboard diaries, letters and all forms of shipboard narratives, 1788-1988, for Australia and New Zealand and surrounding oceans – This important set of volumes by Ian Nicholson is valuable for researching ships. Look up the name of the ship you are researching and you will be referred to the AJCP reel number for captains’ logs, shipboard journals, surgeon’s journals etc.
-
Index: Australian Joint Copying Project Prison Commission registers, AJCP PCom2, reels 5971-5991 – this is a very useful microfiche index to the UK Prisons Commission records produced by volunteers from the Western Australian Genealogical Society. Viewing the AJCP reel can often reveal extra information about convicts, such as who visited them in gaol, and sometimes addresses are given.
-
State Records Office of Western Australia – for Western Australian correspondence visit the State Records Office (SRO) which has various indexes available. The SRO website provides the Colonial Secretary’s Office correspondence. You may need to refer to the AJCP collection in cases where there was an enclosure with outward correspondence. If this is the case, make a careful note of the date and subject matter.
-
The Army in Australia, 1840-1850: prelude to the golden years – this is an excellent source of information on the army in Australia during the early years of European settlement. It gives statistics on troop numbers and placement and includes information on enrolled pensioner guards.
-
Bound for Australia – this book explains how to trace ancestors who were bound for Australia, whether convicts or free settlers. It goes through the process stage by stage and gives lots of examples.
-
Criminal ancestors: a guide to historical criminal records in England and Wales –
-
Historical Records of Australia – transcribed Governors’ Despatches for New South Wales were published in Series I in 26 volumes. Published in chronological order with an index at the back of each volume.
-
Historical Records of New South Wales – An earlier project to transcribe Governors’ Despatches published in 9 volumes.
-
Historical Records of New Zealand – Transcribed Governors’ Despatches for New Zealand published in 2 volumes.
-
Convict records in Australia – this extremely useful work explains which records are available for tracing convicts in all Australian states. It gives references to AJCP reel numbers where applicable.
-
Convict records of Western Australia: a research guide – this is the key work to consult for those researching Western Australian convicts.
-
Administering the Empire, 1801-1968 : a guide to the records of the Colonial Office in the national archives of the UK
-
Commonwealth sources in British official records : Colonial and Dominions Offices
-
The records of the War Office and related departments, 1660-1964
-
Criminal register indexes – this series of CD-ROMs indexes names appearing in class HO 27 Criminal registers for counties other than Middlesex for 1805-1816.
-
My ancestor was in the British army: how can I find out more about him?
-
My ancestor was a merchant seaman: how can I find out more about him?
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