The Library has an incredible array of resources to help you find out more about the lives of your ancestors, whether they hail from Australia or overseas.
Key resources relating to family history research are kept in the Library's Genealogy Centre. You can look up directories, electoral rolls or birth, death and marriage indexes. You can also search Ancestry Library Edition, a popular family history database that provides access to original sources, including British census records and Australian electoral rolls.
Most of the sources that help you research your family history are Australian. However, information from New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Ireland is also available as is a growing collection of sources for Jewish genealogy research.
Our in-house 'genie guides', compiled by staff, categorise our microfiche, microfilm and CD-ROM records by country and Australian state. Research guides on family history are another invaluable resource.
Family history research may lead to more specialised sources in other areas of the Library such as Australian Manuscripts, where you'll find ships' diaries describing the voyage out to Victoria; Maps, where you can look for plans of Melbourne's city and suburbs; or the Pictures Collection, where there may be images of the Victorian towns where your family once lived.
More to explore
Collections pages
Family History
Find out more about the lives of your ancestors both in Australia and overseas! You can discover when your grandparents arrived in Australia or track down a distant relative who was a convict. You can look up directories, electoral rolls or birth, death and marriage indexes to see if your aunt or uncle is listed.
You can also search Ancestry Library Edition, a popular family history database which provides visitors to the Library with free access to original sources including British census records and some Australian electoral rolls.
Most of the sources that help you research your family history are Australian. However, information from New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Ireland is also available as is a growing collection of sources for Jewish genealogy research.
Family history research may lead to more specialised sources in the Library's Manuscripts collection, such as ships’ diaries describing the voyage out to Victoria, perhaps in Maps showing Melbourne city and suburbs, to Pictures illustrating the Victorian towns where your ancestors lived and in Newspapers to reports of local events possibly attended by your family, everything from football matches to grand balls.
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Links
Manuscripts
Maps
Newspapers
Pictures
Family history research guides
Family Matters blog
Indexes (Tetlow/Darragh)
Audio (Family History Feast podcasts)
Family history events
Images
1. H 83.126/1 Family group on a verandah. c 1900 – c 1914 Creator : Mark James Daniel
**tiff available on SLV website; out of copyright
2. MS 13787 The Genealogie of Northwood or Norwood beginning 1053
Photographer : Carla Gottgens to be acknowledged; High quality image available via email
3. Helen Macpherson Smith Genealogy Centre, State Library of Victoria c2007
Photograph of Centre by SLV photographer so high quality image should be available
We prefer second row from top left hand image.
