Department of Education - Archives Office of Tasmania

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Brief Guide 21: records useful for genealogical research

Described below are some of the records held in the Archives Office which are most frequently used for genealogical research

Free Immigration and Emigration

Information relating to immigration can be found among the records of several agencies. 

  • The Marine Board of Hobart records include a series of passenger lists beginning in 1829 [MB2/39]. The lists are arranged chronologically by date of the ships arrival. Information given includes a brief description of the ship, port and date of departure and on most occasions names of passengers. The information given on each passenger is very brief, often without given names.
  • The Immigration Board maintained quite detailed records of government assisted immigrants including name, age, marital status, religion, education, trade and native place of each person plus details of employment in the colony [CB7/12]. Other less complete series of records listing passengers can be found among the records of the Governors Office, the Colonial Secretary's Office and the Customs Department.
  • Few records of departures were kept, although there are several series of Police records which do list crew and passengers departing from Launceston for the period 1833 - 1837 [POL458] and 1848 to 1854 [POL220]. The information supplied includes the ship to the Colony and the status of the passenger (ie whether crew or ex-convict). There are some records of passengers leaving Hobart for the period 1817 - 1833 [CSO63; CUS33].

Convicts

The records of the Convict Department and the administration of the Convict System are a valuable source of genealogical information. More than 74,000 convicts were transported to Tasmania between 1803 and 1853. Conduct registers of male and female convicts arriving in the period of the Assignment System 1803 - 1843 provide much information. [CON31 and CON40]. Until June 1840 convicts were either assigned to settlers or sent to work on public works but in the early 1840s the Assignment System was replaced with the Probation System. On arrival convicts were placed into gangs to work and the length of time in the gang depended on the length of their original sentence. There are similar but more detailed conduct records for this period [CON33 and CON41]. The information contained in the conduct records can be supplemented by using other series of records such as indents, descriptions and muster rolls. The Convict Department in Tasmania did not retain butts of indulgences such as Tickets of Leave and Conditional Pardons but simply noted the fact that the indulgence had been granted on the conduct record.

Naturalisations

The Archives Office holds records relating to the application by non-British subjects for certificates of denization and naturalization for the period 1835 to 1905. The applications can be found in the files of the Colonial and Chief Secretary's Department and the Oaths of allegiance and the copies of certificates are among the records of the Supreme Court The first Act enabling the Lieutenant Governor to grant letters of Denization was passed in 1835. This legislation was repealed in 1861 by the Aliens Act.

Birth, Death, and Marriage Records

The pre-1900 records of the Tasmanian Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages are held by the Archives Office. These contain the formal registration records for births, deaths, and marriages in Tasmania from the beginning of official registration in Dec 1838. Surviving church records of baptisms, marriages, and burials for the period 1803 to 1838 were incorporated into these records by the Registrar in the mid 1900s.

Inquests: Findings, depositions and associated papers relating to Coroners' inquests are filed in the Supreme Court. The records cover the period 182 8- Mar 1977 [SC195]. An index to the records exists for the period 1865 - 1961 [SC499]. Additional records relating to coronial inquiries can be found the records of the Coroners Office, however, no public access is allowed to these files unless they are more than seventy five years old [AGD20].

Property and Census Records

  • The correspondence of the Lands and Surveys Department [LSD1] includes applications for land grants and LSD354 is useful when researching information on early settlers (Copies of land grants issued for the period 1804-1823).
  • In 1832 the “Caveat Board” was set up to establish titles to land both in regard to disputed claims and to any new claims. The documents maintained by the Board are a useful source of information for those researching properties [SC285].
  • Deeds of land grants give descriptions of property purchased by settlers for the period Nov 1
  • Census: Census returns have survived for some districts for census taken between 1842 and 1857. Information provided includes the name of the proprietor or householder and a summary of the building construction. No other names are included but the returm also contains a statistical form showing the age, sex, religion, occupation, condition (free, convict, or ex-convict) and trade or calling of the persons residing in the house. A census for the district of New Town was taken in 1837. [POL361].
  • Assessment and Valuation Rolls which give the location, area and description of a property and the name of the occupier and the name and address of proprietor are published annually in the Government Gazette. The first roll is for Hobart only published in 1847, the next list, including both Hobart and Launceston, appears in 1853 and from 1858 all districts are included more or less annually.

Education

Among the records of the Education Department is a series of general correspondence files for teachers employed by the Department from 1862-1905. The files usually contain an application form detailing the applicants previous experience and includes, age, date and place of birth, if not born in Tasmania, length of residence in the Colony and name of referee. Among the correspondence in the files are referees reports, notification of dates and results of examinations conducted for teachers and of appointments [ED2].

The Archives Office holds admission records and other registers for many Infant, Primary, and High Schools and some Matriculation Colleges in Tasmania. With few exceptions most school records do not exist prior to 1915.

Wills and Probate

A range of records relating to the administration of probate is held in the Archives office.

There are three main series of records -

  • Records relating to the granting of probate which includes a copy of the will
  • Records relating to the granting of Letters of Administration authorising the administration of intestate estates and recording the granting of probate
  • Records relating to Elections to Administer for small intestate estates.

Employment

Records relating to an individual's employment can be found within many Agency's records. 

  • The Government Gazette lists hotel keepers and further lists appear among the records of the Licensing Court and Treasury [LC31 and TRE50].
  • The “Blue Books” [CSO50] and the published Tasmanian Statistics list civil servants from 1822 and registers and forms detailing employment of Civil Servants from 1907 can be found among the records of the Public Service Board [PSC8 and PSC7]. Salary registers in the Audit Department [AUD17: 1852 - 1956] and Education Department [ED45: 1895 -1939] also contain information on employment and payments made to Civil Servants.
  • In the records of the Supreme Court are registers and documents relating to the admission of legal practitioners [SC207 and SC208 1824 - 1913]
  • Minutes of Meetings of the Medical Council includes information on Medical Practitioners and Pharmacists [CB12/1 1841 - 1901; 1908 - 1923].
  • The records of the Mines Department include not only registers of applications for leases such as gold mining but there is also a register of Mine Managers [MIN71 Feb 1900 - Apr 1955].
  • From 1885 the officers of the Inspection of Machinery Department were responsible for issuing certificates of competency to individuals who operated heavy machinery such as land engines and mining plant. Copies of the certificates can be found in the department's records eg. Copies of Certificates of competency to operate a mine winding engine Dec 1890 - Aug 1961 [LID24].
  • A register of the appointment, transfer, resignation and dismissal of members of the Police establishment exists for the years 1832 - 1844 and 1855 - 1955 [POL324]. However between 1858 and 1865 there was a de-centralisation of the Police Force as the various Municipalities assumed responsibility for appointing and maintaining the force in their area. The register mentioned above does not include policeman employed by the Municipalities. This de-centralised system existed until 1898.
  • Information on lighthouses and those employed on them can be found among the records of the Hobart Marine Board eg. Light House returns of men employed 1879 - 1892 [MB2/19].
  • The Marine Board of Hobart had responsibility for issuing certificates of service and competency to ships' officers, masters and mates of foreign - going ships. The relevant legislation was passed in 1875 and the various registers and butts of certificates cover the period 1874 - 1923 [MB2/26 and others].
  • Information on crews engaged on ships trading out of the Port of Hobart can be found among the records of the Hobart Marine Board and the Customs Department. There are registers of crew engaged on various vessels for the period 1861 - 1899 [MB2/4] and a register of crew discharged from various vessels 1856 - 1918 [MB2/35]. There is also a large series of agreements between masters of many vessels and crews signed on at Hobart, 1846 - 1935 [MB2/33].
  • Within the records of the Customs Department is another series of records relating to ships clearances. The records include cargo, passenger and crew lists and manifests [CUS36 1841 - 1887]. These records, like the series mentioned above, are arranged in alphabetical order by the name of the ship.
  • In 1860 the government passed the Superannuation Act which entitled people who had been in permanent positions in the civil service of the colonial government for more than ten years to be paid a pension. Individuals with less than ten years service who were severely injured on duty were also entitled to a payment. The applications and decisions are filed among the correspondence files of the Chief Secretary's Department and indexed under the heading of Pensions in that Agency's index.

Medical Records

Records of some public hospitals including the Royal Hobart and Royal Derwent Hospitals are held by the Archives Office. Most records containing information on a patient's medical history are on closed access for seventy five years.

Welfare Records

There are several series of records of the Queens Orphan School which are consulted frequently by genealogists. The register of children admitted and discharged from the Orphan School 1828 - 1863 [SWD28] is particularly useful because children who were born to convict women or accompanied their mothers on a convict ship were often admitted to the School until their parents could care for them or the child was old enough to work. Information given includes name of child and parents (if known), ship the mother arrived on and date of discharge of child and to whom. For a later period there are applications for admission to the Orphan School [SWD26]. These include such information as name and residence of applicant, names, ages and religion of the children, details of the parents including name of ship to the Colony and whether arrived free or as a convict and occupation. The applications are usually accompanied by supporting letters and any subsequent correspondence about the child is filed with the application. The records cover the period 1859 - 1879.

Police and Court Records

Records of the Supreme Court and the Lower Courts are held in the Archives Office. It is necessary to know when a person appeared in Court in order to avoid an extensive search.

Records are held for most Police Stations however it is a matter of chance as to what has survived. Most stations have for example, crime and occurrence books and charge books for some years and a few have registers of male and female ticket of leave holders residing in the district (eg. New Norfolk Station).

Private Records

Among our extensive holdings of private records are the registers of baptism burial and marriages from most of the early Anglican Methodist, Congregational and Presbyterian Churches and the Uniting Church. We also hold the records of the Hebrew congregation. We also hold letters diaries and photographs of various Tasmanian families