Australia Genealogy

Guide to Australia ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Country Information
European explorers began arriving in what is now Australia in the 17th century. In 1770, Great Britain claimed Australia as a territory. The "First Fleet" of European settlers arrived in 1788 with ships of convicts. Six colonies were created in the late 18th and 19th centuries; they federated and became the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901. English is the official language.

Finding Your Ancestors' Town in Australia

 * Genealogical records are organized by geographical locality. Civil registration (government birth, marriage, and death records) and church records (christenings/baptisms, marriages, and burials) were kept at the local level. To search these records, you must know the town where your ancestors lived.
 * If you do not know your ancestors' town, follow the advice in the Wiki article, Australia Finding Town of Origin, to search a variety of records that might provide that information.

Australia Clickable Map
When doing Australian research, it is helpful to know where one's family or ancestors lived in Australia and to know when they died. Click on a state name or on the map below to learn about research in an Australian state or territory.

States
After federation many governmental functions whose records are of interest to family historians remained the responsibility of the States. For example, the registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages is a State function; the Commonwealth was only responsible for these functions in the territories until the territory achieved responsible self-government. Click on a state below to go to the state Wiki article listing more information.

Territories
 Australian Capital Territory(ACT) Jervis Bay Territory (JBT) Northern Territory Ashmore and Cartier Islands (uninhabited) Australian Antarctic Territory Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Coral Sea Islands (population: 4)</li> Heard Island and McDonald Islands (uninhabited)</li> Norfolk Island</li> </ul>

FamilySearch Resources
Below are FamilySearch resources that can assist you in researching your family.


 * Facebook Communities - Facebook groups discussing genealogy research
 * Learning Center - Online genealogy courses
 * Historical Records all FamilySearch historical records about Australia.
 * Family History Center locator map
 * Chinese in Australia

Archive Resources Kit
"The ARK is held by 40 community access points across NSW. The majority of access points are libraries. The ARK consists of microfilm copies of our most popular and heavily used colonial records. Included are records relating to convict arrivals, assisted immigrants, births, deaths and marriages, publicans' licences, electoral rolls, naturalisation, returns of the colony ('Blue Books'), land grants, and the wide range of functions of the Colonial Secretary (1788-1825).
 * Archive Resources Kit

"The ARK was a result of our Access for All initiative to provide people in regional and rural NSW with better access to the State's archives. The Kit contains over 1565 items (962 fiche and 604 reels) of our most popular and heavily used colonial records. It builds on a genealogical research kit issued in the 1980s and already held by some of the community access points. The Kit includes explanatory material and links to information available on our website.

"You may find that the ARK (or parts of it) are held at a library near you."