Tasmania Civil Registration

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Tasmania Wiki Topics
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Beginning Research
Record Types
Tasmania Background
Local Research Resources
Tasmania Civil Registration


How to Find the Records[edit | edit source]

Online Records[edit | edit source]

New South Wales Online Records, Including Tasmania Prior to 1825[edit | edit source]


British Armed Forces[edit | edit source]

Contacting an Office[edit | edit source]

Registrar General of Births, Deaths and Marriages
15 Murray Street
G.P.O. Box 198
Hobart, Tasmania 7001
Australia
(011) (61) (2) 30-3793

New South Wales Archive Resources Kit, Including Tasmania Prior to 1825[edit | edit source]

Abstracts of all licences for marriages granted to free persons, 1813-27
Registers, 1787-1856
Reports of inquests, 1796-1828
  • Community Access Points A list of libraries and archives which hold microcopies of the Archive Resource Kit records

"The ARK is held by 40 community access points across NSW. The majority of access points are libraries. The ARK consists of microfilm copies of our most popular and heavily used colonial records. Included are records relating to convict arrivals, assisted immigrants, births, deaths and marriages, publicans' licences, electoral rolls, naturalisation, returns of the colony ('Blue Books'), land grants, and the wide range of functions of the Colonial Secretary (1788-1825). You may find that the ARK (or parts of it) are held at a library near you." [1]

History[edit | edit source]

Registration of births, marriages and deaths was introduced in December 1838. Before that date, information can be traced through church records.

Before 1838, see New South Wales as Tasmania was part of New South Wales before its creation as a state.

Rights of Privacy[edit | edit source]

Rights of privacy laws limit access to records recent enough to contain information about living persons. You can access any of the following records:

  • births that happened over 100 years ago
  • deaths that happened over 30 years ago
  • marriages that happened over 75 years ago


For records created since the cut-off dates, only these people have access to a record:

  • the person named on the birth, marriage or change of name record
  • an immediate family member named on the death certificate, such as a spouse, parent or child
  • a parent, grandparent or guardian of a child over 18 years old who wishes to apply for a birth certificate and who has given written permission.

Information Recorded in the Records[edit | edit source]

When civil registration first began, there was no common standard of recording information, so the information listed may vary from state to state. Later records generally give more complete information than earlier ones.

Birth records

  • Surname and forenames of child
  • Date and place of birth of child
  • Sex of the child
  • Multiple births
  • Surname and forenames of father
  • Age, birthplace, and occupation or rank of father
  • Maiden surname and forenames of mother
  • Place and year of marriage of parents
  • Age and birthplace of mother
  • Number and sex of previous issue, if deceased
  • Name, relationship, description, and residence of informant

Marriage records

  • Surname and forenames of parties
  • Occupations and places of residence of parties
  • Ages and places of birth of parties
  • Marital status prior to the marriage
  • Date and place of marriage
  • Name of celebrant and denomination
  • Names of witnesses
  • Surnames and forenames of parents

Death records

  • Surname and forenames of deceased
  • Date and place of death
  • Occupation, age, and sex of deceased
  • Place of birth and place and date of marriage of deceased
  • Length of residence in Australia and in what colonies, states, and territories
  • Name of spouse and names and ages of living children of deceased
  • Number and sex of issue, if deceased
  • Name and occupation of father
  • Maiden surname of mother
  • Cause of death and duration of last illness
  • Name of medical practitioner
  • Date and place of burial
  • Religion and name of minister or witness
  • Names of undertaker and informant
  • Residence and relationship or description of informant
  • Date and place of civil registration

For Further Reading[edit | edit source]

FamilySearch Library[edit | edit source]

Additional sources are listed in the FamilySearch Catalog:

  1. "Archive Resource Kit," New South Wales State Archives and Records, https://www.records.nsw.gov.au/archives/collections-and-research/guides-and-indexes/archives-resources-kit-ark, accessed 3 March 2022.