Related links
For teachers - Family history related teaching resources
Resources for year 3 and year 5
Convict transportation registers database
Search for a convict on our British convict transportation registers 1787-1867 database.
You can find details for over 123 000 of the estimated 160 000 convicts transported to Australia in the 18th and 19th centuries - names, term of years, transport ships and more.
Information for family historians
Here you will find information about accessing the resources of the State Library of Queensland's Family History services and links to electronic resources and Internet sites that will help you with your genealogical research.
Before you begin, you may like to read our Info Guide 3.1: How to trace your family tree, available with other Family history Info Guides.
Check here for a list of frequently asked questions about family history.
The State Library collects a number of family and local history resources. Please check One Search for location and availability details.
Table of contents
Major resources | Info Guides | Electronic resources | Visit us
Major resources held
- Births, deaths and marriage indexes for Australia, New Zealand, England and Wales
- Electoral rolls for Australia and New Zealand
- Convict records
- Immigration and shipping
- Cemetery records
- Post office directories and almanacs
- Biographical collections
- Newspapers on microfilm
- Access to Ancestry databases
- British government records relating to the Australian Colonies (Australian Joint Copying Project - AJCP)
- Irish land records (Census substitutes) i.e. Tithe Applotment Books for Ireland
- Naturalisation indexes
- Victoria County History series
- An extensive collection of printed books for family and local historians
- Photograph collections
- Newspaper clippings files
What's new in family history
Latest resources available for family history research.
Info Guides to the collection
Check these guides for more information about our resources and tips for researching your family and local history. These Info Guides and more are available through the family history Info Guides page.
- Adoption
- Births, deaths and marriages
- Censuses and musters
- Directories, almanacs and gazetteers
- Electoral rolls
- Immigration and shipping: getting started
- Immigration and shipping : more than lists
- Orphans
- How to trace your family tree
- Convict information : getting started
- Convict information : finding out even more
- British Army in Colonial Australia
Electronic resources
A number of State Library print indexes are available online.
- Convict transportation registers database (1787-1867)
- Index to appointments and removals of Queensland railway employees (1890 - 1901)
- Index to appointments and removals of employees of the Southern and Western Railway, Traffic Branch, Queensland (1866 - 1876)
- Index of miners involved in Queensland mining accidents (1882 - 1900)
- Index to persons called before Queensland Government Committees - Part 1 (1860 - 1901)
- Index to persons called before Queensland Government Committees - Part 2 (1902 - 1920)
Other Internet sites
Check our NetLinks for a collection of quality sites selected by information professionals for family and local historians.
Internal databases
Useful family history CD-ROMs and databases are available for use within the State Library. You can also check One Search for specific titles.
There are 4 CD-ROM computers in the family history area. A normal search session using a CD-ROM is one hour, although if no one has booked or is waiting patrons may stay longer.
Related sites
Materials relating to your family and/or local history may be found in other parts of the Library's collections such as:
- Picture Queensland for images of Queensland - its people and places, past and present.
- Manuscripts Queensland to search the finding aids to the original material collections held in the John Oxley Library
- Information for Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders
- John Oxley Library
- Maps
- Local History and small archives - a tutorial
Visiting us
The State Library's family history service is located in the Micrographics area on Level 3 of the South Bank building. Visitors to the library can browse through the extensive family and local history reference collection and view indexes and newspapers on microfilm and microfiche.
Visitors who live outside Brisbane can reserve a microform machine, at least 24 hours in advance, for half a day (approximately 3 hours).
More information
If you have a family history enquiry, contact us in one of the following ways:
For general enquiries:
- Ask at your local Queensland public library
- Other libraries [new window]
If you are having difficulty downloading or viewing documents, please refer to our help page.
Last updated: 19th October 2009
Creatively linking Queenslanders to information, knowledge and each other
