1828 Census inscribed on the UNESCO Australian Memory of the World Register
We are thrilled that records of the 1828 Census of NSW which we hold as part of the State Archives Collection have been inscribed on the UNESCO Australian Memory of the World Register. This is wonderful national and international recognition of the State Archives Collection and our work in preserving and making accessible the State’s archives.
The 1828 Census was the first official census undertaken by NSW after it was found the Governor had no authority to compel free men to come to a muster – the previous means of counting the colony’s population.
Browse the alphabetical returns by surname
The Census covers some 36,500 inhabitants, both convict and free, and captures a social and economic picture of the Colony of NSW in November 1828, 40 years after the Colony’s establishment. It covers all settlements within the jurisdiction of the then colony of NSW including Moreton Bay and Norfolk Island,
It records such detailed information for each person (including children) as name, age, if free or convict, if born in the colony or ship and year of arrival, sentence if arrived as a convict, religion, employment, residence, district, total number of acres, acres cleared, acres cultivated, horses, horned cattle, sheep, and remarks.
The records inscribed on the UNESCO Australian Memory of the World Register include:
- Alphabetical Return, 1828 (NRS 1272) - follow the alphabetical links above
- Householders’ Returns (NRS 1273)
- District Abstracts (NRS 1274)
- Working Papers (NRS 1275)
- Colonial Secretary’s Special Bundles: 1828 Census (NRS 906)
We are in the process of digitising this material which will be made available on our website in the coming weeks.
