Australia Court Records: Difference between revisions

VisualWikitext

Latest revision as of 11:48, 20 March 2024

Australia Wiki Topics

Australia Beginning Research

Record Types

Australia Background

Cultural Groups

Local Research Resources

Australia

Court Records

Online Records[edit | edit source]

The Old Bailey Sessions.org Has England records of convictions leading to transportation to Australia
Austlii Advanced Search

Background[edit | edit source]

Court records contain information about individuals who were involved in a number of matters, including those mentioned below. Details about Australian convicts are often found in court records. Most court records provide names of individuals who served as defendants, plaintiffs, jurors, or witnesses. They may also provide such information as the individual’s residence, occupation, physical description, and family.

Courts[edit | edit source]

District magistrates’ court[edit | edit source]

Handled cases of petty crimes, such as theft, breaches of peace, and drunkenness.

Quarter Session courts[edit | edit source]

Quarter Sessions were also known as Petty Sessions and handled both civil and criminal cases.

State Library of New South Wales has a good guide to finding and using Quarter Sessions Court Records at State Library of New South Wales, CONVICTS: BOUND FOR AUSTRALIA, Quarter Sessions Court records, 1723-1878

England's quarter sessions (court) records can prove valuable in the search to discover just where in the country a convict ancestor came from. Numerous convicts to the Australian colonies were processed and tried, convicted and sentenced to be "transported" at The Old Bailey Sessions, one of two major quarter session courts, in Middlesex. See their online database for searching for ancestors' names: The Old Bailey Sessions.org Last place of residence and occasional place of birth may be cited in these session records. This is a great place to start your search of a convict's origins in especially England.

Supreme courts[edit | edit source]

Handled divorces, bankruptcies, insolvencies, and naturalizations. Some of the functions of the supreme courts were later transferred to the federal courts. The federal courts were established in 1911 and tried the most serious and indictable offenses, such as murder and manslaughter.

Austlii Advanced Search

Coroner’s courts[edit | edit source]

These investigated unusual deaths. Records dealing with these matters included the deceased’s name, age, and place of death. Newspapers often reported the dealings of the coroner’s courts, which may provide additional information such as the names of the descendant’s spouse and children and reports of witnesses.

Police Gazette[edit | edit source]

Each state published a government or police gazette. These gazettes included information about individuals who appeared before the courts and individuals who were employed by the government or who held public offices (school teachers, constables, or postmasters). The gazettes also gave details about land grants and transfers, leases, mining claims, runaway convicts, and individuals who were granted various licenses.

Locating Court Records[edit | edit source]

Court records can be found in national archives, state archives, and other local repositories and libraries. For further information about these archives, see the Archives and Libraries article and the Wiki Court Records article for each state. State archives have published guides to their court record holdings.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-Court records contain information about individuals who were involved in litigation or other court matters. Details about Australian convicts are often found in court records. Most court records provide names of individuals who served as defendants, plaintiffs, jurors, or witnesses. They may also provide such information as the individual’s residence, occupation, physical description, and family.
+{{CountrySidebar
+|Country=Australia
+|Name=Australia
+|Type=Topic
+|Topic Type=Records
+|Records=Court Records
+|Rating=Standardized
+}}{{breadcrumb
+| link1=[[Australia Genealogy|Australia]]
+| link2=
+| link3=
+| link4=
+| link5=[[Australia Court Records|Court Records]]
+}}
+==Online Records==
+*[https://www.oldbaileyonline.org/ The Old Bailey Sessions.org] Has England records of convictions leading to transportation to Australia
+*[http://www.austlii.edu.au/forms/search1.html Austlii Advanced Search]
-There were several different courts in Australia. Cases brought before the district magistrates’ courts and the courts of quarter sessions in each state concerned petty crimes such as theft, breaches of peace, and drunkenness.
+==Background==
+Court records contain information about individuals who were involved in a number of matters, including those mentioned below. Details about Australian convicts are often found in court records. Most court records provide names of individuals who served as defendants, plaintiffs, jurors, or witnesses. They may also provide such information as the individual’s residence, occupation, physical description, and family.
-'''Supreme courts''' handled divorces, bankruptcies, insolvencies, and naturalizations. Some of the functions of the supreme courts were later transferred to the federal courts. The federal courts tried the most serious and indictable offenses such as murder and manslaughter.
+==Courts==
-'''Coroner’s courts''' investigated unusual deaths. Records dealing with these matters included the deceased’s name, age, and place of death. Newspapers often reported the dealings of the coroner’s courts, which may provide additional information such as the names of the descendant’s spouse and children and reports of witnesses.
+===District magistrates’ court===
-Each state published a government or police gazette. These gazettes included information about individuals who appeared before the courts and individuals who were employed by the government or who held public offices (school teachers, constables, or postmasters). The gazettes also gave details about land grants and transfers, leases, mining claims, runaway convicts, and individuals who were granted various licenses.
+Handled cases of petty crimes, such as theft, breaches of peace, and drunkenness.
+===Quarter Session courts===
+Quarter Sessions were also known as Petty Sessions and handled both civil and criminal cases.
-Court records in Australia can be found in national archives, state archives, and other local repositories and libraries. For further information, see the "[[Australia Archives and Libraries|Archives and Libraries]]"article of this wiki.
+State Library of New South Wales has a good guide to finding and using Quarter Sessions Court Records at [http://guides.sl.nsw.gov.au/content.php?pid=400401&sid=3303142 State Library of New South Wales, CONVICTS: BOUND FOR AUSTRALIA, Quarter Sessions Court records, 1723-1878]
-There are some published name indexes to existing court records. The Family History Library has many of these indexes. Look in the Place Search of the Family History Library Catalog under:
+England's quarter sessions (court) records can prove valuable in the search to discover just where in the country a convict ancestor came from. Numerous convicts to the Australian colonies were processed and tried, convicted and sentenced to be "transported" at The Old Bailey Sessions, one of two major quarter session courts, in Middlesex. See their online database for searching for ancestors' names:  [https://www.oldbaileyonline.org/ '''The Old Bailey Sessions.org'''] Last place of residence and occasional place of birth may be cited in these session records. This is a great place to start your search of a convict's origins in especially England.
-AUSTRALIA, [STATE] - COURT RECORDS: INDEXES
+===Supreme courts===
-AUSTRALIA, [STATE], [TOWN] - COURT RECORDS: INDEXES
+Handled divorces, bankruptcies, insolvencies, and naturalizations. Some of the functions of the supreme courts were later transferred to the federal courts. The federal courts were established in 1911 and tried the most serious and indictable offenses, such as murder and manslaughter.
-Many Australian archives have published guides to their court record holdings. These copies are listed in the Place Search of the Family History Library Catalog under:
+[http://www.austlii.edu.au/forms/search1.html Austlii Advanced Search]
-AUSTRALIA, [STATE], [TOWN] - COURT RECORDS - INVENTORIES, REGISTERS, CATALOGS
+===Coroner’s courts===
+These investigated unusual deaths. Records dealing with these matters included the deceased’s name, age, and place of death. Newspapers often reported the dealings of the coroner’s courts, which may provide additional information such as the names of the descendant’s spouse and children and reports of witnesses.
-The Family History Library has some microfilm copies of Australian court records and gazettes. These copies are listed in the Place Search of the Family History Library Catalog under:
+==Police Gazette==
+Each state published a government or police gazette. These gazettes included information about individuals who appeared before the courts and individuals who were employed by the government or who held public offices (school teachers, constables, or postmasters). The gazettes also gave details about land grants and transfers, leases, mining claims, runaway convicts, and individuals who were granted various licenses.
-[http://webview/supermainframeset.asp?display=topicdetails&subject=477045&subject_disp=Australia+-+Court+records&columns=*,180,0 AUSTRALIA - COURT RECORDS]
+==Locating Court Records==
+Court records can be found in national archives, state archives, and other local repositories and libraries. For further information about these archives, see the [[Australia Archives and Libraries|Archives and Libraries]] article and the Wiki '''Court Records''' article for each state. State archives have published guides to their court record holdings.
-AUSTRALIA, [STATE] - COURT RECORDS
+{{Template:Pros-AU}}
-AUSTRALIA, [STATE], [TOWN] - COURT RECORDS
+[[Category:Australia]]
+[[Category:Court Records by Country]]