Ryerson Index: invaluable to the family history researcher

This valuable genealogical resource is named after Joyce Ryerson, who inadvertently created it when she started compiling death, funeral and obituary notices from the Sydney Morning Herald. At a meeting of the Sydney Dead Persons Society in October 1998 it was decided to create an on-going index of notices from 2 Sydney newspapers, Sydney Morning Herald and the Daily Telegraph, to which was added Joyce Ryerson’s collection of death notices from the Sydney Morning Herald covering the years 1986 to 1998.

Since then, the index has expanded to cover newspapers from not only country NSW but interstate as well. As more newspapers are added to the project, the index has become a goldmine to web savvy family historians around the world. Joyce Ryerson kept contributing to the index until her death in 2012 at the age of 95. Her death is now listed in the Ryerson Index.

The Sydney Morning Herald has been indexed back to its beginning in 1831. The emphasis is on contemporary notices, but other newspapers throughout Australia are being similarly covered. For example, the Courier Mail (Brisbane) has now been indexed back to 1992. This is a major benefit, as it is this period that neither Trove newspapers nor the Registry indexes include.

When searching, notices may not appear in the expected newspapers but can pop up in the index and lead to records in other newspapers. As it is Australia-wide, it is possible to find someone who grew up in one part of the country but lived and died in another.

What is amazing is that anyone may access it. It’s free, easy to search and intuitive to navigate. A link to the website can be found on State Library’s Useful websites for family historians under Australia, then listed alphabetically by website title, Ryerson Index.

What is the coverage?

The Ryerson Index extends from 1803 (The Sydney Gazette, Australia’s first newspaper) to newspapers published within the last week or so, but the priority is on collecting and indexing contemporary newspapers. What is covered also depends on the availability of volunteers in the areas where newspapers need to be indexed, so there are gaps.

On the home page, on the left sidebar, click on the heading Coverage Details to see what major state dailies, suburban and rural papers are included in the index.

Click from the hyperlinked newspaper title of choice to "Dates Indexed" and click again on that option to check if the dates you are seeking have been covered.

For example, Ivy Jean White was born and grew up in Brisbane Queensland. Her maiden name was Packer. She died in Melbourne, Victoria, in 2002. Entries in Victorian and Queensland newspapers use the most familiar name for that state, so searching for Ivy Packer will give further results.

A team of volunteers gives freely of their time to ensure the index grows. Site updates generally occur weekly. Volunteers are always welcome so visit the So you want to be an indexer web page and follow the instructions.

Check the left sidebar of the Ryerson Index homepage for hints and other help. Anyone can help make this valuable index continue to grow.

State Library of Queensland’s newspaper collection

There is no direct link to the notices themselves from the index. It is necessary, once the indexed record is located, to source the newspaper item. At State Library you can search for all available Queensland newspapers, from the historical to the current, in one format or another, as well as many northern New South Wales papers and the major Australian dailies. More recent notices may be found through our newspaper databases, PressReader and NewsBank, which can be accessed from home with a State Library membership.

So why not try a search? If a notice is found, copies of notices and other research can be requested from State Library using our Ask a librarian service.