Working Queensland: Trades and professions at Queensland State Archives

Guest blogger: Niles Elvery - Manager, Public Access, Queensland State Archives

Searching for information on the work life or career of a person? Queensland State Archives has lots of records which can help you to find out more about trades and professions in Queensland. Some of the trades and professions represented in the records include teachers, farmers, police, miners, solicitors, apprentices and nurses and other medical professionals.

For example, researchers can track the employment changes and transfers for a teacher in Queensland State Archives’ records.

Find early teacher records in our collection with the online index, Teachers 1860-1904. Records are for teachers employed by the State Government to work in state schools and state high schools. Pay records showing salaries for different classifications of teachers are also available.

Police staff files are also popular. You can find out information about your police officer’s first - and in some cases, their second – enlistment in the force. Transfers can be tracked through police staff files and the Queensland Police Gazette.

Police staff files can be found using Queensland State Archives’ catalogue to search for the name of your police officer.

Want to find out more about other professions? Online indexes for some records on trades and professions are located on Queensland State Archives’ website. You can also search for more records using Queensland State Archives’ catalogue.