Australia Business Records and Commerce

Online Records
1919-1935 - Victoria, Australia, Battle to Farm, 1919-1935 index and images - at Ancestry ($)

Business Directories

 * The Australasian federal directory of commerce, trades & professions at FamilySearch, images.
 * 1831 - Australian almanack, for the year of our Lord 1831 at FamilySearch, images.
 * 1835 - Australian almanack and general directory, for the year of our Lord 1835, e-book.
 * 1869 - Indian and colonial mercantile directory for 1869 at FamilySearch, images.
 * 1873 - Australian handbook & almanac & shipper & importers directory, e-book.
 * 1888 - The Australasian federal directory of commerce, trades & professions at FamilySearch, images.
 * 1893 - The Australian handbook (incorporating New Zealand, Fiji, and New Guinea) shippers and importers' directory & business guide for 1893, e-book

Pastoral (Ranching) Directories

 * 1893-1899 - Australasian federal pastoral directory List of stockowners [ranchers] in the colonies of New South Wales, New Zealand, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria, and Tasmania.
 * 1913, 1923, 1925, 1931, 1954: Australia Pastoral Directories at Ancestry; index & images ($); Also at FindMyPast ($)
 * 1954 - List of stockowners in the states of New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, Northern Territory, and Tasmania

Licenses

 * 1821-1938 - Western Australia, Australia, Land Leases, Licences, Applications and Selected Images, 1821-1938 index and images - at Ancestry ($)
 * 1830-1899 - New South Wales, Australia, Certificates for Publicans' Licences, 1830-1849, 1853-1899 index and images - at Ancestry ($)
 * 1837-1846 - New South Wales, Australia, Depasturing Licenses, 1837-1846 index and images - at Ancestry ($)
 * 1900-1903 - Queensland, Australia, Licensed Victuallers Index, 1900-1903 index - at Ancestry ($)

Police Gazettes (including license news)

 * 1854-1930 - New South Wales, Australia, Police Gazettes, 1854-1930 index and images - at Ancestry ($)
 * 1855, 1864-1924 - Victoria, Australia, Police Gazettes, 1855, 1864-1924 index and images - at Ancestry ($)
 * 1862-1947 - South Australia, Australia, Police Gazettes, 1862-1947 index and images - at Ancestry ($)
 * 1867-1884 - South Australia Government Gazettes 1867-1884 index and images - at Ancestry ($)
 * 1881-1945 - Queensland, Australia, Police Gazette Index, 1881-1945 index and images - at Ancestry ($)
 * 1884-1933 - Tasmania, Australia, Police Gazettes, 1884-1933 index and images - at Ancestry ($)
 * 1903-1910 - Queensland, Australia, Government Gazettes, 1903-1910 - at Ancestry ($)

Business Occupations

 * 1857-1922 - Web: Queensland, Australia, Occupational Indexes, 1857-1922 index - at Ancestry ($)
 * 1882-1945 - Queensland, Australia, Mining Accident Index, 1882-1945 index - at Ancestry ($)
 * 1883-1900 - Australasian medical directory and handbook images - at FamilySearch.
 * 1903-1977 - Tasmania, Australia, Railway Employment Records, 1903-1977 index and images - at Ancestry ($)

Content of Business Records
Australia businesses and commercial companies seldom contain dates or places of birth, marriage, or death but they can have valuable genealogical information.
 * Pub owners, butchers, lumberjacks, auctioneers, or other professionals had to be licensed. Licenses were granted by the courts, and notices were then published in the Government Gazette. For further information about gazettes, read the Court Records article.
 * Lawyers at the time kept detailed records for their clients. Included in these records are:
 * probate material
 * adoption records
 * insurance papers
 * lawsuits, and other sources that may help you trace your ancestors.
 * Some bank ledgers in Australia give:
 * the name
 * occupation
 * residence
 * age
 * place of birth (by county and country)
 * year of immigration and name of ship
 * a physical description of depositors.

Finding Business Records
Many business records are deposited in Australian national archives, state archives, and other local repositories. For further information, read the Archives and Libraries article.

FamilySearch Library
Additional sources are listed in the FamilySearch Catalog: