Australia, Death Index, 1787-1985

• Title	Australia, Death Index, 1787-1985
  Short Title	Australia, Death Index, 1787-1985
  Publisher	Ancestry.com Operations Inc
  Source ID	S20
  Text	About Australia, Death Index, 1787-1985 Vital records—records of births, marriage, and death—are the basic building blocks of family history research, and this database features some of the most comprehensive indexes available of historical Australian death records. These indexes were created by Australian registrar's offices after civil registration of births, marriages, and deaths became law in the mid 19th century. Exactly when civil registration took effect varied by colony or territory as follows: Tasmania — 1838 Western Australia — 1841 South Australia — 1842 Victoria — 1853 New South Wales — 1856 Queensland — 1856 (before 1856, see NSW) Northern Territory — 1870 (1856–1863, see NSW; 1863–1870 see SA) However, these dates do not reflect the earliest dates for Australian death records. Church records predate civil registration, and as registrar's offices assumed responsibility for registration, they requested copies of earlier church records to incorporate into their collections. Thus, this database includes indexes that may go back even further for the following colonies: New South Wales — 1788 Tasmania — 1803 Queensland — 1829 Victoria — 1836 While these collections make up some of the most important indexes of early Australian death records, they are not necessarily 100 percent complete—compliance to registration laws, of course, varied, and Australia’s vast distances complicated most any record-keeping effort. In this collection records are available for the following span of years: New South Wales — 1788-1945 Northern Territory — 1870-1913 Queensland — 1829-1964 South Australia — 1842-1970 Tasmania — 1803-1919 Victoria — 1836-1985 Western Australia — 1841-1980 Searching the Records Because some later colonies, territories, and states were created out of earlier ones, their history comes into play when searching for vital records. For example, you would look for your Northern Territory ancestor in New South Wales from 1856 to 1863 and South Australia from 1863 through 1870. These records are indexes; they do not include images of actual death records. They can be searched by: year of death, place of death, estimated birth year, father’s name, mother’s surname. The index may also include: age, usual residence, occupation, registration year, place, and number, and page, volume, and entry number. With the information from the indexes, you can order a copy of the record from the appropriate registry office. While these records vary in the information they contain, depending on when they were created, you might find: Date of death Gender Cause of death Residence Marital status Place and date of marriage Spouse Age at marriage Number and gender of children, if deceased Date and place of burial Informant (including relationship to deceased) Length and places of residence in Australia Religion Name of undertaker
  Linked to Individuals: 1	Ann Bewick