Australia Voting Records: Difference between revisions

Because of the lack of Australian census records, electoral rolls are a valuable substitute. Electoral rolls are a census of those who were eligible to vote. Early electoral rolls give an individual’s name, residence, status of property occupation/ownership, and the nature of the rateable property. Electoral rolls were published by each state during election years.

Electoral rolls for New South Wales begin in 1842 and are nearly annual. The rolls for Victoria begin in 1843, but most are incomplete. Those for South Australia survive for 1851, 1852, and from 1903 (the pre-1903 rolls were destroyed by fire). Those for Tasmania date from 1856 and those for Queensland from 1859. The rolls for Western Australia date from 1879, although most pre-1900 rolls did not survive. The following source provides a list of all known surviving electoral rolls for each state: