Australia Newspapers

The first newspaper in Australia, the weekly Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, began publication in 1802. Other newspapers soon followed. Notices of births, marriages, and deaths; obituaries, military, government and business notices; and news of the day were printed in these newspapers. The Historic Australian Newspapers, 1803 to 1954 project is digitizing many early newspapers.

Google news has put the Sydney Morning Herald on-line. The images start with 1854 and continue to the present. It is not a complete run but still worth your time. It is free to use and view the newspaper but you cannot print or copy the image.

Some compilations have been made of the genealogical information found in early newspapers. The following is an example for Queensland.

Grinly, Merle, and Margaret Belcher, Editors. Crosse- Dunleavy index: births, marriages, and deaths, 1846–1860. Stones Corner, Queensland, Australia: The Genealogical Society of Queensland, 1985. (Family History Library book number .)

Online Resources

 * Australia Newspaper Vital Notices, 1851-1997, ($), index, incomplete.
 * Australian Periodical Publications 1840-1845
 * Trove digitized newspapers
 * Australian Lutheran, ($), index.

Family History Library Collection
To find newspapers and compilations available in the Family History Library, look in the Place Search of the FamilySearch Catalog under:


 * AUSTRALIA, [STATE] - NEWSPAPERS

Bibliographies of existing newspapers are also available. The following is an example:


 * Newspapers in Australian Libraries: A Union List. Fourth Edition. Canberra, Australia: National Library of Australia, 1984–1985.

To find newspaper bibliographies, look in the Place Search of the FamilySearch Catalog under:

AUSTRALIA - NEWSPAPERS - BIBLIOGRAPHY

AUSTRALIA, [STATE] - NEWSPAPERS - BIBLIOGRAPHY

Websites

 * Australian Newspapers
 * Ryerson Index
 * Trove Digitized Newspapers and other resources from The National Library of Australia
 * NLA Newspapers
 * SLSA Newspapers