Stories

One of the more unusual archives in our collection is this red ribbon rosette . It was worn by train driver, Albert Arnold, who drove the first train over the Sydney Harbour Bridge after opening on 19 March 1932.

This case study has been developed to show what types of records can be found in our collection. References to John Knatchbull, alias John Fitch, turn up in a number of convict records, such as the convict indents, Tickets of Leave and Ticket of Leave Passports. What makes Knatchbull more intriguing is that he continued to get into trouble for the rest of his life, thereby leaving a steady stream of records about him.

On the 27 January 1834 at the Sydney Quarter Sessions, Mary Maguire was convicted of stealing and sentenced to 12 calendar months at the Female Factory as a Third Class prisoner (less privileges). 

The State of New South Wales is fortunate in having in its archives an extensive collection of records documenting the 'careers' of over 80,000 Imperial convicts transported between 1788 and 1842 (plus the 'convict exiles' from the later 1840s and 1850s)...A better understanding of the Convict records can be gained by an awareness of how the system worked within the Colony. Primary responsibility initially devolved upon the Colonial Secretary, supported by the Principal Superintendent of Convicts.

Part of this collection of lantern slides was shown at the Franco-British Exhibition in London, 1908. Many of the slides are of typical country scenes such as saw mills, dairy farms, mining, and timber felling and hauling.

(NRS 4481) Photography was a major activity of the Government Printing Office from the late 19th Century until well into the 20th, resulting in an extensive and diverse collection of photographs of life in New South Wales.

These photos are of pit-tops and loading and transport facilities of northern NSW coal mines & include: Australian Agricultural Company's pits at Glebe and the Sea-pit, Burwood No.1 and 3 and Burwood Extended, Cardiff, Co-operative, Duckenfield, Dudley, Durham, East Greta, Ferndale, Gartlee, Hetton, Lambton, Minmi, New Lambton, Pacific Teralba, Seaham, Skillingworth, South Waratah, Stockton, Wallarah, Wallsend, West Wallsend and Young Wallsend.

These photographs include children being vaccinated; medical staff; and the interior of the Dental Clinic. The photographs bear no captions and although undated they appear to date from 1914 - the year that the School Travelling Hospital was instituted.

On the early morning of 17 April 1816 at least 14 people of the Dharawal tribe were killed when James Wallis’ detachment encountered a camp at Appin near the banks of the Cataract River.

These photographs illustrate the farm property and buildings, the training programs and aspects of daily life of the people working at Scheyville (near Windsor). Scheyville was a training farm for young men selected from the Sydney area, and those arriving under various British immigration schemes.

This series consists principally of photographs of the Royal National Park including flora and fauna. Many images relate to the recreational facilities around Audley and include photographs of people boating, playing sports, bushwalking, picnicking and participating in ceremonies.

These photographs were collected by the NSW Board of Pharmacists and associated with the Board's roll in keeping records relating to people registering as Pharmacists in NSW.

These photos of prisoners were accompanied by the following details: name, aliases, date when portrait was taken, native place, year of birth, arrived in colony - ship and year, trade or occupation, religion, degree of education, height, weight (on committal, on discharge), colour of hair, colour of eyes, marks or special features, where and when tried, offence, sentence, remarks, previous convictions - where and when, offence, sentence.

Photo albums of Mr L.G. Watt, NSW Board of Fire Commissioners. These photos are a visual account of the Commissioners' travels around New South Wales and parts of Victoria, Queensland and South Australia covering 1928-1935. To some extent the photos capture the route the Commissioners took on their travels recording where they stopped for lunch, where they stayed and any events they attended during the trip. This series is an excellent snapshot of regional NSW during the late 1920s to mid-1930s and record the antics of the fire commissioners as they made their way throughout NSW and across neighbouring state borders.

Divorce files can be a detailed source of information for the family historian, providing extra details which may not have been discussed or known within the family. And official records can often give a more impartial account than a family story. Researchers have been known to locate marriage certificates, handwritten letters and occasionally photographs in the files.

Every now and then rare we find rare examples of collection items which may be described as 'treasures'. One example is the intestate estate file for a Mr Patrick Birmingham who died in 1907. Most of the records on this page are not typically found in intestate estate files, especially the photos. Which makes this fantastic example such a treasure!

The earliest records held in the NSW State Archives Collection relating to the French are contained in the Colonial Secretary's Papers, 1788-1825.  Included are letters that relate to a number of French vessels visiting Sydney, such as the Surprize asking for permission to go sealing in 1802.

The earliest records held by NSW State Archives relating to Greek people arriving in NSW are the convict indents for seven sailors from Hydra convicted at Malta in 1828 for piracy and transported for various terms.

The first time the number of Italian born immigrants in NSW was reported was in the 1871 Census, when 772 Italians were recorded. 

Sentenced beyond the Seas project revealed tales of convict fraud, the origins of Australia’s love of beer, executions and more. In this podcast and presentation from Open Day 2013 Janette Pelosi tells tales of some of our earliest convicts from 1788 to 1801.

This page was created thanks to a researcher who was looking the records of education and schools for deaf children in NSW.

The wreck of the Dunbar, with the loss of 121 passengers and crew, is one of Australia's worst maritime disasters in peacetime.

The Soldier Settlement website: A Land Fit For Heroes? contains 195 case studies using a variety of sources including those held by us and the returned soldiers’ digitised personnel files held by the National Archives of Australia. The case studies are often incomplete and the information generally dates to the early 1930s. There were over 9,000 soldier settlers in New South Wales and this small sample has been extracted from our voluminous files. 

A number of Germans, such as Augustus Alt (appointed the first Surveyor of Lands on May 1787), the astronomer Carl Ludwig Rümker and Phillip Schaffer who established one of the earliest vineyards in Australia, played key roles in the early development of New South Wales.