Australia, Victoria, Inquest Deposition Files - FamilySearch Historical Records

Australia Victoria

What Is in the Collection?
This collection contains digital images of court inquest records from the Public Records Office of Victoria in North Melbourne, Australia. The collection will also include Inquest Deposition Files created by the Coroners Court of Victoria. The years covered include 1865-1925. Earlier records are handwritten.

Most genealogical records found in Australia are in English. However, due to immigrants coming from various countries throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, variations in spelling may appear in many of the records. See Australia Language and Languages for further help.

Sample Image


Inquest Records may contain the following information:


 * Name of deceased
 * Cause of death
 * Date of death
 * Place of death
 * Age of deceased
 * Date of Inquest
 * Names of any witnesses
 * Testimonies of witnesses

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search, it would be helpful if you knew the name of your ancestor, a place of residence before the time of the event you are searching for, and/or an approximate year of death.

To Search by Image: To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒Select the "Browse" link in the initial search page ⇒Select the "Record Type" category ⇒Select the "Year" category ⇒Select the "File Number" category which will take you to the images.

When searching it is helpful to know:
 * Your ancestor's given name and surname.
 * Some identifying information such as residence, age, and family relationships.
 * Also, remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name as your ancestor and that your ancestor may have used nicknames or different names at different times.

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * Look for new information about your ancestor. Add this information to what you already have recorded about your ancestor.
 * Use the estimated age to calculate a birth date.
 * Look for your ancestor in census records taken prior to the death.
 * Use the death date and the place to search for a cemetery record. To search for a death record, use the Australia, Cemetery Inscriptions, Sydney Branch Genealogical Library (FamilySearch Historical Records) collection to find a death date.
 * If the information that you have found contains a spouse, search for the marriage to give you a marriage date.
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.
 * You may need to search using a nickname.
 * Check for variant spellings of the names.
 * Titles may be clues to property ownership, occupations, rank, or status within the community.
 * Search the records of nearby localities (Tasmania, New South Wales, South Australia)

Citing Family Search Historical Collections
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information. This will help you or others to find the record again. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records.

Citing This Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

Collection Citation

Image Citation