Fact sheet 201 – Tracing ancestors in the National Archives

Contents

Defence force and defence service
Immigration
Internal security
Employment
Commerce and industry
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
Prominent figures
Points to remember when using the National Archives

The National Archives holds records that might be useful in your family history research. By identifying the ways in which the people you are researching may have had contact with the Commonwealth government, you might be able to locate records relevant to your search. This fact sheet lists subject areas for which records are likely to be held and identifies which fact sheets or research guides will lead to the records.

You should also refer to the National Archives’ publication Finding Families: The Guide to the National Archives of Australia for Genealogists.

To assist you with your research the National Archives has produced the following fact sheets and research guides. These can be obtained in the reading rooms of all offices of the National Archives, or read on our website. Fact sheets are available free of charge while research guides may be purchased at a cost of AU$10.00.

Defence force and defence service

Subject	Fact Sheet no.	Fact Sheet or research guide title
Boer War	67	The Boer War records and the research guide The Boer War: Australians and the War in South Africa, 1899–1902
Civilian service	39 181 183	Civilian Service in World War ll Civil Construction Corps records held in Perth New Guard Movement, 1931–35
Coastal fortifications	24	Coastal fortifications in New South Wales
Courts martial	63	Sources of information about military service
Defence service records	30 31 32 63 67 97 121 136 138 177	Navy service records (general holdings) Navy crew and ships records RAAF service records Sources of information about military service Boer War records Records held by Office of Air Force History, Canberra General Sir John Monash Army service records Navy service records held in Melbourne Defence service records for WWI and WWII
HMAS Sydney	111	The sinking of HMAS Sydney, November 1941 and the research guide The Sinking of HMAS Sydney: A Guide to Commonwealth Government Records
Maralinga	129	British nuclear tests at Maralinga and the research guide Aboriginal Deaths in Custody: The Royal Commission and Its Records, 1987–1991
Militia	134	Colonial defence personnel records held in Melbourne
National service	117 160 161 162 163 164	Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War Universal military training in Australia, 1911–29 Conscription referendums, 1916 and 1917 National Service and war, 1939–45 National Service, 1951–59 National Service, 1965–72
Pay and administration records	36 133 135 137 152	Military records held in Hobart Defence and service records held in Melbourne Army administrative records held in Melbourne Navy administrative records held in Melbourne Army and RAAF pay records held in Perth
Prisoners of war	61	World War II war crimes
RMC Duntroon	165	Royal Military College, Duntroon
War Veterans	54	Veterans' case files

The Archives also holds records on employment in wartime armaments factories.

Immigration

Subject	Fact Sheet no.	Fact Sheet or research guide title
Aircraft arrivals	66 123 156	Migrant selection documents held in Canberra Records of British migrants held in Canberra Records of Dutch migration held in Sydney
Child migration	124 147	Child migration to Australia Child migrant records held in Sydney and the research guide Good British Stock: Child and Youth Migration to Australia
Chinese migration		The research guides Chinese Immigrants and Chinese-Australians in NSW and Chinese-Australian Journeys: Records of Travel, Migration and Settlement, 1860–1975
Displaced persons and refugees	66 185	Migrant selection documents held in Canberra Migrant selection documents held in Perth
Dutch migration	156	Records of Dutch migration held in Sydney
Italian migration	100 207	Records relating to Italian migration held in Sydney Records relating to Italian migration held in Perth
Japanese migration		The research guide Allies, Enemies and Trading Partners: Records on Australia and the Japanese
Jewish migration	217	The Jewish experience in Australia and the research guide Safe Haven: Records of the Jewish Experience in Australia
Migrant accommodation	170	Migrant hostels in New South Wales, 1946–78
Migrant selection documents	66 123 156 185	Migrant selection documents held in Canberra Records of British migrants held in Canberra Records of Dutch migration held in Sydney Migrant selection documents held in Perth
Naturalisation and citizenship	68 100 187	Naturalisation records held in Canberra Records relating to Italian migration held in Sydney Citizenship in Australia and the research guide Citizenship in Australia: A Guide to Commonwealth Government Records
Passenger records	38 56 64 172 184 190 220	Passenger records held in Canberra Passenger records held in Perth Passenger records held in Sydney Passenger records held in Melbourne Passenger records held in Hobart Passenger records held in Brisbane Index to passenger arrivals
Quarantine	143 228	North Head Quarantine Station, Sydney Torrens Island Quarantine Station, South Australia

The Archives also holds records on emigration and passports.

Internal security

Subject	Fact Sheet no.	Fact Sheet title
Internees, aliens and prisoners of war	58 59 101 106 171 180 182	WW I internee, alien and POW records held in Canberra WW II internee, alien and POW records held in Canberra WW II internee, alien and POW records held in Sydney WW I internee, alien and POW records held in Adelaide WW I internee, alien and POW records held in Sydney Wartime internee, alien and POW records held in Perth Civil Alien Corps records held in Perth

Employment

Subject	Fact Sheet no.	Fact Sheet or research guide title
Commonwealth public servants	27 35 60	Tasmanian railways Administration of the Australian Capital Territory Design and development of the National Capital
Customs and shipping	23 37 55 65 92	Customs House, Sydney Maritime records held in Hobart Fremantle Harbour Customs shipping records held in Sydney Customs Houses in South Australia
Dockyards	140 141	Cockatoo Island Dockyard Stevedoring industry and the research guide Cockatoo Island Dockyard: A Guide to the Records
Foreign and diplomatic service	88 158	Australia and the United Nations The foundation of the State of Israel, 1948
Lighthouses	122 233	Lighthouse records held in Hobart Lighthouse records held in Brisbane
Post office	50 189	Post Office records General Post Office, Sydney
Territorial administration	48 103 148 157	Papua New Guinea patrol reports The Cocos (Keeling) Islands Records of Papua New Guinea, 1883–1942 Christmas Island and the research guide Papua New Guinea Records 1883–1942: Microfilm Collections

Commerce and industry

Subject	Fact Sheet no.	Fact Sheet title
Business	120 155	Bankruptcy records held in Sydney Edward John Connellan and Connellan Airways
Copyrights or patents	105	Copyright records
Industrial relations	232	Industrial relations records held in Melbourne
Industry	108 199	The pastoral industry in the Northern Territory Army Inventions Directorate, 1942–46
Merchant navy	30	Navy service records (general holdings)

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people

Subject	Fact Sheet no.	Fact Sheet or research guide title
Bringing Them Home project	175	Bringing Them Home name index
General	112 113 114 145 150 205 209 224 225 231	Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people Memorandum of Understanding with Northern Territory Aboriginal people Albert Namatjira The 1967 Referendum Memorandum of Understanding with the Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency Memorandum of Understanding with South Australian Indigenous people The Wave Hill 'walk-off' Charles Nelson Perkins Neville Bonner
Research guides	-	Aboriginal Deaths in Custody: The Royal Commission and Its Records, 1987–91 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People in Commonwealth Records: A Guide to Records in the Australian Archives ACT Regional Office (available in Reading Rooms) My Heart Is Breaking: A Joint Guide to Records about Aboriginal People in the Public Record Office of Victoria and the Australian Archives

Subject

Fact Sheet no.

Fact Sheet or research guide title

Bringing Them Home project

175

Bringing Them Home name index

General

112
113
114
145
150
205
209
224
225
231

Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people

Memorandum of Understanding with Northern Territory Aboriginal people

Albert Namatjira

The 1967 Referendum

Memorandum of Understanding with the Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency

Memorandum of Understanding with South Australian Indigenous people
The Wave Hill 'walk-off'
Charles Nelson Perkins
Neville Bonner

Research guides

Aboriginal Deaths in Custody: The Royal Commission and Its Records, 1987–91

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People in Commonwealth Records: A Guide to Records in the Australian Archives ACT Regional Office (available in Reading Rooms)

My Heart Is Breaking: A Joint Guide to Records about Aboriginal People in the Public Record Office of Victoria and the Australian Archives

Prominent figures

Subject	Fact Sheet no.	Fact Sheet title
General	28 34 96 99 127 128 196 197	Australia First Movement Cabinet records JT Lang and Lang Labor Sir Frederick Shedden and the Shedden collection War Cabinet records Cabinet notebooks Sir Charles Kingsford Smith Photographs relating to Sir Charles Kingsford Smith
Organisations	183	New Guard Movement, 1931–35
Prime Ministers The Archives holds the papers of some, but not all, prime ministers.	70 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 144 210 211 212 213 214 215 216	Prime Ministers of Australia Prime Minister Joseph Cook Prime Minister William Morris Hughes Prime Minister Stanley Melbourne Bruce Prime Minister James Henry Scullin Prime Minister Joseph Aloysius Lyons Prime Minister Earle Christmas Grafton Page Prime Minister Robert Gordon Menzies Prime Minister Arthur William Fadden Prime Minister John Joseph Ambrose Curtin Prime Minister Francis Michael Forde Prime Minister Joseph Benedict Chifley Prime Minister Harold Edward Holt Prime Minister John McEwen Prime Minister John Grey Gorton Harold Holt's disappearance, 1967 Prime Minister Edmund Barton Prime Minister Alfred Deakin Prime Minister John Christian Watson Prime Minister George Houstoun Reid Prime Minister Andrew Fisher Prime Minister William McMahon Prime Minister Edward Gough Whitlam
The arts	25 69 115 145 146 149 153	Commonwealth Film Unit ASIO files on writers and literary groups Introducing television to Australia, 1956 Albert Namatjira Jessie Sinclair Litchfield Sound collections held in Sydney ABC Talks Department scripts
The church	151 159	Bishop Francis Xavier Gsell MSC Reverend John Flynn and the Australian Inland Mission

Points to remember when using the National Archives

Most of the collection dates from Federation in 1901.
Records do not become available until they are more than 30 years old.
Archival collections are not the same as library collections (see Fact Sheet 4 – What are archives?, Fact Sheet 5 – Archival terms and Fact Sheet 7 – Citing archival records).
You must observe the reading room rules (see Fact Sheet 3 – Reading room rules). You are using original records, which can only be read or copied, at the office in which they are held.
If in doubt, ask reference staff for advice.

updated December 2007