Does your research involve use of the NSW State archives? We will be adding genealogy research tips and advice to this page over time. There will be links relating to genealogy and other valuable information that may help with your research in our reading rooms.
Research tips
We have gathered together some useful resources to help you get started with your family history. These tips may also be of interest to the more experienced family history researcher.
How to start your family history
(includes handy downloadable worksheets )
We will give you as much assistance in the reading rooms as possible, but please remember that we cannot carry out your research on the spot for you. When you visit make sure to bring as much information as you can about your enquiry. This could save you a lot of time and effort.
Indexes Online
Our Indexes Online are the most efficient and simple way to start your family history research. The indexes are numerous and they cover diverse topics such as: convicts; deceased estates; courts; gaol photographs; assisted and unassisted immigration; orphans; police service registers; insolvency; and naturalization.
KeyName Search
We have developed a 'KeyName Search' facility to help you find your ancestor among the records more easily. The 'KeyName' option lets you search many online indexes and Archives Investigator at once.
Archives in Brief
AIBs are our information leaflets and provide an excellent starting point for your research. They are designed to give you concise historical information on a particular topic, along with a list of the most relevant records in our collection. Some of the topics covered in the AIBs include: tracing your family history; probate packets; teachers; publicans; cemetery records; and the Aborigines Welfare Board.
Browse a topic-based list of our AIBs
What records can I find here?
Once you have located some basic information about your ancestor, such as birth, death and marriage information, it's time to look for other ways in which the government may have recorded information about that person.
You can find records relating to:
- Convicts
- Shipping - arrivals and departures upto 1922
- Gaols
- Courts
- Occupations and Professions
- Public buildings
- Land records, such as Conditional Purchases
- Building of Infrastructure like roads and water works
- Health - including mental health records
- Government Schools
This is just a small snapshot of the types of records we hold. Try a KeyName Search of our records to locate more inforrmation.
How can I find these records?
Our records are arranged by the government agency which created them. There is no one index arranged by last name that we can search. You will need to determine which government agency your family member may have come into contact with throughout their life. In many instances this is straightforward and you will find this information in the Archives in Brief leaflets. These leaflets contain background to government legislation and departments and popular record series such as the Supreme Court and probate packets.
Sometimes more research is necessary. Government agencies change their name and functions over time. For example, the Department of Public Instruction, which was later Department of Education, once had control of the State Children's Relief Board, a forerunner of the Department of Community Services.
Archives Investigator provides information on each New South Wales government agency and which responsibilities or functions it had. It also lists the preceeding and succeeding agencies. Other suggestions for finding agencies' responsibilities include:
- Government Gazettes
- Blue Books
- Parliamentary Papers
- Acts and Statutes
You can also ask the reading room staff for assistance.