Australia Biographies

A biography is a history of a person’s life. In a biography you may find an individual’s birth, marriage, and death information. You may also find the names of the individual’s parents, children, or other family members. 

Individual Biographies

Often these collective biographies only include biographies of prominent citizens of Australia. Others feature biographies of specific groups of people, such as Aborigines.

Biography Collections

Some biographies have been gathered and published in a group. These are sometimes called biographical encyclopedias or biographical dictionaries. The following are significant biographical encyclopedias:

Australian dictionary of biography. Edited by Douglas Pike, et.al. 16 vol. Carlton, Victoria : Melbourne University Press, 1966-2005. (FHL book 994 D36a.)

• Who's who in Australia - 1997. Melbourne, Victoria : Information Australia, 1906-.  (FHL book 994 D3aL. The FHL also has editions 1906, 1912, 1922, 1927, 1935, 1955
  

• The Bicentennial Dictionary of Western Australians. Eight Volumes. Nedlands, W.A., Australia: University of Western Australia, 1988–1994. (Family History Library Call Number 994.1 D36bd. This work includes three volumes on Aborigines.

Family History Library Collection

The Family History Library does not generally collect individual biographies, but they do have many collective biographies that are listed in the Place Search of the Family History Library Catalog under:

AUSTRALIA - BIOGRAPHY

Additional Biographies may be located by adding State and or Town to a Place Search.

AUSTRALIA, [STATE] - BIOGRAPHY

AUSTRALIA, [STATE], [TOWN] - BIOGRAPHY

You can also find some biographical information in Australian encyclopedias. For more information see the "Encyclopedias and Dictionaries" section of this outline.