New South Wales Archives and Libraries

Archives collect and preserve original documents from organizations such as churches or governments. Libraries generally collect published sources such as books and maps. This article describes the major national and New South Wales archives and libraries that hold genealogical and historical information.

National Archives of Australia
National Archives of Australia PO Box 7425 Canberra Business Centre ACT 2610 Tel: 1300 886 881 (from overseas: 61 2 6212 3900) Fax: 1300 886 882 (from overseas: 61 2 6212 3999)


 * The National Archives holds records of Australian government records of the Federation or Commonweath since in 1901; Commonwealth people; and the High Court. RecordSearch describes over 7.7 million records created by 9000 Australian Government agencies. Reading rooms are in Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Hobart and Darwin.


 * A step-by-step guide to research at the National Archivesis available. More than 200 fact sheets about their records are available online. Family history records are not in their collections, but the site contains links to those records. Read Begin Your Journey to get started family history.

National Library of Australia
National Library of Australia Parkes Place Parkes ACT 2600 Phone: +61 (0)2 6262 1266 Fax: +61 (0)2 6273 5081


 * The National Library is the largest reference library in Australia. Their catalogue is online. Use eResources to locate indexes, full-text ejournals, websites and guides. Frequently asked questions for family historians explain about the records there.

ACT Heritage Library
ACT Heritage Library Email: [mailto:act.heritage.library@act.gov.au act.heritage.library@act.gov.au] Phone +61 2 6207 5163 Fax +61 2 6207 5835

For marriage or death research:
 * ACT Historic Marriage Index
 * ACT Historic Death Index

The State Records Authority of New South Wales
The State Records Authority of New South Wales Email info@records.nsw.gov.au Phone +61 2 9673 1788

The State Library of New South Wales - Family History Service
State Library of New South Wales - Family History Service Macquarie St Sydney NSW 2000 Australia Phone +61 2 9273 1414


 * A guide is Concise Guide to the State Archives of New South Wales. No. 13 in the Guide to the State Archives of New South Wales series. Sydney, Australia: The Authority, 1969. (FHL book .)

Family and Local History Societies
Family History Connections promotes and encourages the study of genealogy, heraldry, family history and allied subjects throughout Australia and to assist members and others in genealogical research.

Cora Web lists family history organizations that are helpful to researchers.

University Archives

 * Australian National University Archives (including Noel Butlin Archives Centre and Pacific Research Archives)

Other Archives

 * Australian Trade Union Archives
 * State Archives and Records of New South Wales - online guide to goldmining industry

Another major source of archival material is Newspapers. Australian newspapers all have archives of important events in the past. The following WIKIPEDIA website provides a list of Australian newspapers:

Newspapers in Australia

General Guides to Archives
Printed guides may be helpful in locating family history material.


 * White, Olga, Anne-Marie Schwirtlich, and Jennifer Nash, comp. Our Heritage. O’Connor, Australian Capital Territory, Australia: Australian Society of Archivists, 1983. (FHL book .)
 * Australian Archives. Relations in records: a Guide to Family History Sources in the Australian Archives. Canberra, Australia: Australian Government Publishing Service, 1988. (FHL book .) The following book contains a listing of indexes that are available in Australian libraries:
 * Henty, Margaret, and Rachel Jakimow. Indexes in Australian libraries. Canberra, Australia: National Library of Australia, 1995. (FHL book .)

FamilySearch Catalog
The Family History Library has other guides. Call numbers for these can be found in the library's catalog by using the Place Search for:

AUSTRALIA, [STATE] - ARCHIVES AND LIBRARIES - INVENTORIES, REGISTERS, CATALOGS