Covering a period of 1852 to 1901 there are over 4.2 million records available containing information from institutions and organisations across Australia and New Zealand. These fabulous records including police gazettes, Supreme Court records, parliamentary papers and jury rolls can really aid your research.

Police Gazettes are a very valuable resource in your family history research. Despite what many people initially believe, police gazettes do not only contain criminals. Victims of a wide variety of crimes such as thieves, embezzlers and wife deserters; missing persons, including children; inquests; and people reported dead for whom no relative could be found are also listed.

The Parliamentary Papers for the Colony of Victoria are an informative source of information for local historians and family history researchers. The index enables you to search the previously unindexed Parliamentary Papers for people who are not normally mentioned in other sources, in other words, the ordinary people in your family. They provide an overview of their subjects and contain valuable pointers for further research. They cover a remarkable range of subjects including reports of experts, delegations and committees investigating all types of matters of interest to the government.

Parliamentary Papers for the Colony of VIC 1852-1869 example

This is an example of a transcription which details their full name, year of event and a description of their position.

South Australian Police Gazette 1880 example

This is an example of one of the many police gazettes available. These can contain an abundance of useful information such as promotions, demotions, discharges, resignations and deaths relating to the police force. Physical details on persons - missing, wanted or released, which helps to paint a picture of them (name, aliases used, age, height, colour hair, colour eyes, distinguishing features, even colour clothing worn). Information is also given on housebreak-ins, robberies, arson, murders, deserted seamen, warrants issued, prisoners discharged, missing friends, lost and found items and more.