How to research Local and Family History

A great way to find out about people, places and more.

Trove is Australia’s free online research portal for digital copies of newspapers, Government Gazettes, maps, magazines, newsletters, photographs and more.

trove.nla.gov.au

Not on Trove? Try our microfilm collection.

Includes Bathurst Advocate, Bathurst Daily Argus, Bathurst Free Press, Bathurst Free Press and Mining Journal, Bathurst Post, Bathurst Times, National Advocate, Western Independent, Western Times and Western Advocate.

Available in-house at Bathurst Library

The National Library has a lot of great resources.

To get started in family history try their Guide to starting family history research.

To get started with local history try How to: Discovering the history of your hometown. This video and transcript gives you some starting points for planning and carrying out your research.

The new home of the NSW State Archives collection plus more.

mhnsw.au

The State Library collects and preserves materials and evidence relating to New South Wales. Access information online and in-person.

sl.nsw.gov.au

Confirm the year of a birth, death or marriage. It’s important to make sure you have the correct date. NSW BDM is a good place to start your search.

Search birth records 100+ years ago

Search death records 30+ years ago

Search marriage records 50+ years ago

nsw.gov.au/family-and-relationships/family-history-search

Looking for a death, funeral or probate date?

This is a free index to death notices appearing in Australian newspapers, including Bathurst. Search a name to find a record of the date and newspaper where the notice was published. Indexing is carried out by a team of volunteers.

ryersonindex.org

Cemetery records can provide a wealth of information.

Search the index to discover names of the deceased, ages and dates of death and burial, religious denominations and grave locations. 

library.bathurst.nsw.gov.au/Research-History/Bathurst-Cemetery-Index

Ancestry Library Edition

Find My Past

Family Search

Access historical databases and digitised records. Only available for in-library use. Access Ancestry and Find My Past via links on our website (in-house) and public computers. Access Family Search via links on our public computers.

Search the catalogue or visit the library.

Looking for land?

NSW Land Registry Services provides online access to more than 19 million images of historical maps, plans, titles, registers and indexes.

hlrv.nswlrs.com.au

Maps at Bathurst Library

Most of our maps are on the Historical Land Records Viewer, so try there first. If you still can’t find what you are after, ask library staff for access to physical maps. You will need to tell us a general area and date.

Searching for a property?

Start with Heritage Buildings of Bathurst, an index to eight heritage studies held at Bathurst Library. Access online via our catalogue or in person. Search by street or property name to find out in what study it appears.

Access the heritage study in person at the library.