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Manager's residence at the Pioneer Sugar Plantation outside Mackay, ca. 1880
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Inhabitants of your house

Discover more about who lived in your house. A house is not a home without people and their stories. Enrich the history of your home by discovering who lived there. Share their joys, triumphs and difficulties. Sources such as Post Office Directories, electoral rolls and newspapers will provide a richer understanding of the previous inhabitants of your home. 

Video guide

Part 4: Inhabitants of your house

Set the foundations for house history research success by watching State Library’s series of 5 House Histories video guides. Watch below to find out more about the past inhabitants of your house.

Webinar

The inhabitants of your house

Enrich your house history journey by discovering who lived in your house, using key resources like post office directories, electoral rolls, newspapers and more.

 

Directories and Electoral Rolls

Queensland Post Office Directories

Electoral rolls

  • Available online through Ancestry (Library Edition) which you can use onsite at State Library. The collection is called: Australia electoral rolls 1903-1980. You can search by address. All household members on the electoral roll are listed with their full names and occupations so there is more information to identify the right person or family
  • Available also on microfiche in the Family History area on level 3 of State Library of Queensland. The electoral rolls on microfiche go up until January 2008 but can only be searched by name. 

House styles

V1-FL56351 Cane furniture and a piano decorate this parlour, ca. 1915
  • Use styles only as a guide to age. Houses may be built in a style out of the period
  • Weatherboard houses were moved. Check for ‘available for removal’ notices in Trove newspapers

Resources

House photographs

House at 4 Marieander Street, Tarragindi

State Library resources

  • Photographs of suburbs, streets, residences: order at the John Oxley Library desk on level 4 of State Library or check One Search catalogue by location/suburb (e.g. search subject: “Photographs – Red Hill”)
  • 6169 Frank and Eunice Corley House Photographs ca. 1970: organised by suburb but photographs are increasingly available online. Check the One Search catalogue or the Corley Explorer. Includes most suburbs of Brisbane and surrounding areas of Ipswich, Redcliffe, Toowoomba, Stanthorpe, Bundaberg, Maryborough, Gympie, Hervey Bay, Kingaroy, Nambour, Caboolture, Landsborough and nearby. The photographs in the collection were taken in the 1960s and 1970s.
  • Card indexes (John Oxley Library, level 4)
  • Old subject catalogue (John Oxley Library, level 4) — search by Brisbane-residence-house name (e.g. Roslyn)

Other resources