State Archives Collection

A guide to assist users browsing NSW Colonial Secretary’s papers 1826-1900 at Ancestry.com or FamilySearch.org

This select index, compiled by Joan Reese, Linda Bowman and Aileen Trinder, indexes the Colonial Secretary's main series of letters received for the years 1826-1894. The Colonial Secretary was the pre-eminent figure in public life during much of the 19th Century. The papers of this office are among the most valuable sources of information on all aspects of the history of the Colony and the State of NSW.

This webinar explores how to search the index to the records, what you may find and how to access the records

The correspondence of the Colonial Secretary is one of the most valuable sources of information on all aspects of the history of the Colony and the State of New South Wales

Search 20,000 entries covering requests from individuals for land – leases and purchases – received by the Colonial Secretary's office between 1826 and 1856

This is not a name index to letters but a subject listing of bundles. The letters in this series are numerically arranged by number in the years 1826-1832 and 1850-1982. Between 1833 and 1849 the letters are arranged in writer/subject bundles.

A deep dive into the minutes, highlighting how these documents that dealt with Government policy, detailed plans and proposals also captured the lives of individual people, and how to find them

Arranged by name and subject this is the most comprehensive index of early NSW settlement

Tips and techniques for researching the records of the Colonial Secretary, whose office was a central point of contact and records relating to the administration of the colony of NSW

We suggest you use these record series lists (NRS 898 and NRS 906) if you are looking for a particular subject as some papers on important matters were extracted from the main series and became special bundles

The long history of the Office of the Colonial (later Chief) Secretary meant that it was responsible for the creation of records of major importance to all researchers

The Colonial Secretary's Office was a central point of contact for many people in the 19th century. This webinar provides some tips and techniques for researching the records of the Colonial Secretary