Queensland Business and Occupations

Online Records

 * 1863-1959 Companies 1863-1959, index.

Government Records

 * Queensland Government Gazettes at Findmypast ($), index.
 * Queensland Public Service at Findmypast ($), index.
 * Queensland Unclaimed Letters at Findmypast ($), index.
 * 1865-1867 Civil servants 1865-1867, index.
 * 1872-1915 Imperial pensions 1872-1915, index.
 * 1898-1912 Imperial pensions 1898-1912, index.
 * 1908-1919 Index to Pensions 1908-1909, index.

Pastoral (Ranching) Directories

 * Queensland Brands Directories at Findmypast, index ($)
 * Australian Pastoral Directories at Findmypast, index ($)
 * Australian Pastoral Directory at Findmypast, index ($)
 * 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.
 * 1954 List of stockowners in the states of New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, Northern Territory, and Tasmania

Licenses

 * Queensland Licences at Findmypast, index ($)
 * 1891-1904 Stage licences 1891-1904, index.
 * 1900-1903 Queensland, Australia, Licensed Victuallers Index, 1900-1903 index - at Ancestry ($)

Police Gazettes (including license news)

 * 1864-1900 Queensland Police Gazettes - at Findmypast ($), index.
 * 1881-1945 Queensland, Australia, Police Gazette Index, 1881-1945 index and images - at Ancestry ($)
 * 1903-1910 Queensland, Australia, Government Gazettes, 1903-1910 - at Ancestry ($)

Occupations

 * Mariners and Ships in Australian Waters, index.
 * 1889-1940 Queensland, Australia, Queensland Railway Employee Index, 1889-1940 at Ancestry, index ($) Also at: Findmypast ($); MyHeritage ($)
 * 1874-1880 Miners rights 1874-1880, index.
 * 1857-1922 Web: Queensland, Australia, Occupational Indexes, 1857-1922 index - at Ancestry ($)
 * 1882-1945 Queensland, Australia, Mining Accident Index, 1882-1945 index - at Ancestry ($
 * 1879 Queensland Railway Dismissals 1879. Ipswich and Rockhampton Railway Workshops at Findmypast, index ($)
 * 1882-1919 Seamen 1882 to 1919, index. Also at Findmypast ($)

Online Records for New South Wales, Including Queensland Prior to 1859

 * 1787-1976 New South Wales, Australia, Miscellaneous Records, 1787-1976 - contains agriculture,police, medical, pharmacy board, mine and examinations division records, images ($)

Bankruptcy and Insolvency

 * 1842-1887 Insolvency Index 1842-1887, at NSW Archives, index.

Licensing

 * 1841-1842 Licensing, 1841-1842 at FamilySearch, images.
 * 1855-1861 Licensing, 1855-1861 at FamilySearch, images.

Police Gazettes (including news of business licenses)
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/Police Gazette.
 * New South Wales Police Gazette at Findmypast($), index.
 * New South Wales Government Gazettes, at MyHeritage, index ($), various years.
 * 1853-1899 New South Wales, Australia, Government Gazettes, 1853-1899 at Ancestry ($), index and images.
 * 1854-1930 New South Wales, Australia, Police Gazettes at Ancestry; index & images ($). Also at FamilySearch, free.

Occupations

 * Merchant Maine Records at FamilySearch.
 * The law list of Australasia at FamilySearch, images.
 * 1824-1876 Barristers and solicitors 1824-1876 at FamilySearch, images.
 * 1830-1861 Publicans’ Licenses Index 1830-1861, at NSW Archives, index.
 * 1850-1860 New South Wales, Teacher Applications and School Records, 1850-1960, at Ancestry ($), index and images.
 * 1852-1913 Police Service Registers 1852-1913, at NSW Archives, index.
 * 1856-1917 Railway Employment Records 1856-1917, at NSW Archives, index.
 * 1856-1890, 1909-1932 New South Wales, Railway Employment Records at Findmypast ($), index.
 * 1859-1936 New South Wales, Australia, Registers of Seamen, 1859-1936, at Ancestry ($), index and images.

New South Wales Archive Resources Kit, Including Queensland

 * Community Access Points A list of libraries and archives which hold the microform copies of the Archive Resources Kit records.
 * The Archive Resources Kit includes the following Professions and occupations records:
 * Returns of the Colony (Blue Books), 1822-57
 * Record of Appointments to Government Offices, 1814-25
 * Roll of barristers, solicitors, attorneys, etc, 1824-76
 * Medical Board Minutes of proceedings and register, 1838-1901
 * Certificates of publicans' licences, 1830-61

"The ARK is held by 40 community access points across NSW. The majority of access points are libraries. The ARK consists of microfilm copies of our most popular and heavily used colonial records. Included are records relating to convict arrivals, assisted immigrants, births, deaths and marriages, publicans' licences, electoral rolls, naturalisation, returns of the colony ('Blue Books'), land grants, and the wide range of functions of the Colonial Secretary (1788-1825). You may find that the ARK (or parts of it) are held at a library near you."

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.

FamilySearch Library
Additional sources are listed in the FamilySearch Catalog: