South Australia Court and Criminal Records

Online Resources

 * South Australia Reports Of Crime at Findmypast ($), index.
 * 1826-1856 New South Wales, Australia, Colonial Secretary's Letters, 1826-1856 at Ancestry ($), index and images.
 * 1829-1879 New South Wales, Australia, Sheriff's Papers, 1829-1879 at Ancestry ($), index and images.
 * 1837-1918 South Australia, Australia, Supreme Court Criminal Records, 1837-1918; Reports to the Police Coroner, 1842-1961 at Ancestry ($), index and images
 * 1840s South Australian crooks, cops and victims of the 1840s, Graham Jaunay
 * 1841-1928 Australia, South Australia, Register of insolvencies, 1841-1928 at FamilySearch, images.
 * 1842-1910 Criminal record books - Supreme Court of South Australia at FamilySearch, images.
 * 1859-1893 Australia, South Australia, Matrimonial petitions, numerical series, 1859-1893 at FamilySearch, images.
 * 1867-1888 Index to GRG 54/1 - Correspondence of the Sheriff's Office (and successors) 1867-1888 State Archives, index.
 * 1879-1982 Police reports to the City Coroner 1879 - 1982 - GRG 1/44 at State Archives
 * 1888-1899 Index to GRG 54/1 - Correspondence of the Sheriff's Office (and successors) 1888-1899 State Archives, index.
 * 1900-1907 Index to GRG 54/1 - Correspondence of the Sheriff's Office (and successors) 1900-1907 State Archives, index.
 * 1908-1910 Index to GRG 54/1 - Correspondence of the Sheriff's Office (and successors) 1908-1910 State Archives, index.

Inquests

 * Inquests and Police Reports to the Coroner State Archives
 * 1839-1851 Coroners inquests, 1839-1851 at FamilySearch, images. Also at Index to GRG24/11 Inquest papers - Colonial Secretary's Office 1839-1851, State Archives
 * 1885-1953 South Australia, Australia, Police Inquest Registers, 1885-1953 at Ancestry ($), index and images.

Police Gazettes

 * South Australia Government Gazettes at Findmypast ($), index.
 * 1849 South Australian Government Gazette 1849 at MyHeritage ($), index.
 * 1850 South Australian Government Gazette 1850 at MyHeritage ($), index.
 * 1851 South Australian Government Gazette 1851 at MyHeritage ($), index.
 * 1852 South Australian Government Gazette 1852 at MyHeritage ($), index.
 * 1853 South Australian Government Gazette 1853 at MyHeritage ($), index.
 * 1854 South Australian Government Gazette 1854 at MyHeritage ($), index.
 * 1855 South Australian Government Gazette 1855 at MyHeritage ($), index.
 * 1856 South Australian Government Gazette 1856 at MyHeritage ($), index.
 * 1857 South Australian Government Gazette 1857 at MyHeritage ($), index.
 * 1858 South Australian Government Gazette 1858 at MyHeritage ($), index.
 * 1859 South Australian Government Gazette 1859 at MyHeritage ($), index.
 * 1860 South Australian Government Gazette 1860 at MyHeritage ($), index.
 * 1862-1947 South Australia, Australia, Police Gazettes, 1862-1947 at Ancestry ($), index and images.

Prison Records

 * 1838-1912 Australia, South Australia, Prison records:1838-1912 at FamilySearch, index and images. Also at Ancestry ($)
 * 1848-1857 Index to GRS 2414 Register of Prisoners - Adelaide Gaol, 1848-1857 (Volume A to B) State Archives, index. Also at FamilySearch.
 * 1857-1889 Index to GRS 2414 Register of Prisoners - Adelaide Gaol, 1857-1889 (Volume C to I) State Archives, index. Also at FamilySearch index and images.
 * 1881-1908 Australia, South Australia, Register of prisoners, Gladstone Gaol, 1881-1908 at FamilySearch, images.
 * 1889-1912 Index to GRS 2414 Register of Prisoners - Adelaide Gaol, 1889-1912 (Volume J to N) State Archives, index. Also at FamilySearch index and images.

Newspapers
In many cases the public reporting of criminal actions, trials and convictions is thoroughly described in South Australian newspapers. Digital copies of these papers are available via Trove (up to c.1954) or the State Library of South Australia

Archives
South Australia State Records Research Centre 115 Cavan Road Gepps Cross South Australia 5094 Postal Address GPO Box 464 Adelaide 5001 Ph: 08 7322 7077 Email: Staterecords@sa.gov.au
 * Family History Research
 * Research Centre
 * Indexes and Special Lists

Court records
Prior to 2000 a number of commonly accessed records of the courts (Supreme GRG36, Adelaide Police GRG65, Adelaide Local GRG3, Local GRG4, Youth) were available on open access at State Records of SA. The balance were on restricted access only and a case had to be made to access the material. Since then all records are restricted and the only way to access the material is via the Supreme Court Registry at 1 Gouger Street Adelaide.

Access to the court records is governed by the Supreme Court Act Section 131*, Rule 18 of the Supreme Court, and Supreme Court Practice Direction 1.1 and 16. Although researchers will need to test every case they wish to pursue, the above Rule and Directions seem to relate mainly to the material previously available on open access. These cover material previously presented in open court and include:

RegistryGRG36/1 Supreme Court Indictments and some Depositions 1837–1924 GRG36/3 Supreme Court Depositions 1837–1892 GRG36/8 Supreme Court Depositions 1839–1853 GRG36/57 Supreme Court Correspondence 1838–1852 GRG 36/53 Supreme Court Lunacy petitions GRG65/1 Adelaide Police Court Minutes 1847–1927

To access these records the researcher needs to approach the Supreme Court Registry. However, if unsure of what records are available then a consultation of the series lists held at State Records of SA may be required as the first step. The Supreme Court Registry will determine if the request for records is appropriate. It will then order the records from State Records of SA and vet them before allowing the researcher access for a fee. If the researcher is denied access they can seek access by an application to the court.

The Supreme Court Library that dates from 1837 may also hold records of interest to family historians. Of particular interest are Supreme Court judges' notebooks dating from the 1840s. The notebooks are often the only surviving record of some court proceedings as a number of early records were subjected to sampling a number of years ago.

Note that records generated by the Sheriff and Correctional Services Department (GRG54) are not restricted:

GRG54/10 Supreme Court Sentence Book 1905–1923 GRG54/9 Sheriff's Department Writ Books 1837–1850, 1921–1955


 * Supreme Court Act 1935: Sect 131—Accessibility of evidence etc (1) Subject to this section, the court must, on application by any member of the public, allow the applicant to inspect or obtain a copy of— (aa) any process relating to proceedings and forming part of the court's records; (a) a transcript of evidence taken by the court in any proceedings; (b) any documentary material admitted into evidence in any proceedings; (c) a transcript of submissions by counsel; (d) a transcript of the judge's summing up or directions to the jury, in a trial by jury; (e) a transcript of reasons for judgment (including remarks made by the court on passing sentence); (f) a judgment or order given or made by the court. (2) A member of the public may inspect or obtain a copy of the following material only with the permission of the court: (a) material that was not taken or received in open court; (b) material that the court has suppressed from publication; (c) material placed before the court during sentencing proceedings (including material furnished under section 7 of the Criminal Law (Sentencing) Act 1988); (d) documentary material filed in connection with a preliminary examination; (e) a transcript of any oral evidence taken at a preliminary examination; (f) a photograph, slide, film, video tape, audio tape or other form of recording from which a visual image or sound can be produced; (fa) a report prepared to assist the court in determining a person's eligibility for, or progress in, an intervention program (within the meaning of the Bail Act 1985 or the Criminal Law (Sentencing) Act 1988 ); (g) material of a class prescribed by the regulations. (3) The court may permit inspection or copying of material referred to in subsection (2) subject to any condition it considers appropriate, including a condition limiting the publication or use of the material. (4) A decision by the court on an application under this section is administrative and is final and not subject to any form of review. (5) The court may charge a fee, fixed by regulation, for inspection or copying of material under this section.