Inquests & coronial records guide
Inquests are conducted by coroners and are held to investigate the manner and cause of a death or a fire. Not all deaths resulted in an inquest
Sensitive material
Inquest files contain documents and photographic evidence of cases that were heard by the Coroner's Court. The contents in some files may be distressing.
An inquest is not always held at the time of death
If the approximate date of death is known, it is possible to check indexes to inquests for the appropriate year, under the name of the deceased. You may need to also look in the years following the known date of death or try looking for a report in the newspapers of the time.
Inquests before 1825
![Inquest on Nanny Cabbage, 14 June 1813 [2/8286]](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/zl9du87e/staging/2624da8b62d077228c6836082643aa5ccb3a947e-3024x4032.jpg?fit=max&auto=format)
Index to Coroners' Inquests 1796-1824
Search c800 entries from the early years of colonial settlement
Index to Colonial Secretary's Papers, 1788-1825
Arranged by name and subject this is the most comprehensive index of early NSW settlement
NRS-5607 Judge Advocate: Reports of inquests, 1796-Apr 1824, Jun 1828 *ARK
This series is indexed by the Coroners inquest index, 1796-1824. It is also available for searching on the Ancestry website in the database New South Wales, Australia, Registers of Coroners' Inquests, 1821-1937.
The volumes contain reports from coroners on inquests held throughout the Colony, including a few held in Van Diemen's Land and one at Port Macquarie. The deaths were mostly caused by drowning, apoplexy or a Visitation of God. There are also occasional murders, thieves killed in the course of a robbery and spearings by Aborigines (mostly in the Bathurst district).
Colonial Secretary's Papers, 1788-1825
Search the index and view the digitised records.
NRS-1024 Colonial Secretary: Proceedings of coroner's inquests, 1809-1822
Reports of some of the inquests held in the colony, arranged alphabetically by the names of the deceased. They provide details of the names of the coroner, the deceased, the jury and a record of depositions and the jury's finding.
Note: The proceedings of inquests which returned a finding of murder by a named person are not listed here.
Inquests for all of NSW, 1826-1963
Inquest index 1851, 1916-1963
Search 55,000+ entries. This index records: inquest number, name or particulars of fire, date, location, coroner and remarks for the period 1851, 1916-1963
Indexes and registers
For some years, for example May 1859-Mar 1864, indexes are the only surviving records relating to inquests.
Earlier registers show district, before whom the inquest was held, when and where, date received, name of deceased, finding and date death certificate required. The later registers also record age of deceased, locality of birth, locality of death, and cash or property owned at the time of death. Though the registers can sometimes provide additional information, they usually reflect that on a standard death certificate.
See the Inquest Papers section below for a list of papers surviving for this period.
Where the inquest papers have not survived, the newspapers of the day can be a valuable source of additional information. You can search digitised Australian newspapers on the National Library of Australia's Trove website.
Card index to inquests, 1834-1836, 1839-1844, 1852-1858, 1867-1868, 1870-1875
This index was compiled by NSW State Archives staff and is accessible in the Reading Room. It complements the following series NRS-344 below. Note that 1839-44 lists surnames A-G only.
Attorney General & Justice
These indexes and registers cover inquests heard around NSW, including Sydney.
NRS-344 Indexes to registers of coroners inquests *ARK
This series is incomplete - the registers are only partially indexed. Prior to 1899, indexes are located in the front of 4/6611.2 (H-Z only) and 4/6612 only; the remaining available indexes for this period, which are separate volumes, are to be found on the following reels.
This series is complemented by the card index to inquests, listed above.
NRS-343 Register of Coroners inquests and magisterial inquiries, 1834-1942 *ARK
Between 1899 and 1942 an index is included in the front of each register.
Registers have not survived for the period May 1859-Mar 1864 (although index entries may be found).
This series is available for searching on the Ancestry website in the database New South Wales, Australia, Registers of Coroners' Inquests, 1821-1937.
NRS-346 Card register to inquests, Jul 1942-Mar 1963
The cards are arranged alphabetically for each six-month period.
Inquest papers
Information found within the papers may include particulars relating to the deceased, such as age and locality of death, circumstances surrounding the death, copy of the coroner's findings, names of members of the jury and also names of witnesses and their testimonies.
When an inquest was related to a fire, information given may include the address of the dwelling and the name of the occupants and owner.
Information found within the papers may include particulars relating to the deceased, such as age and locality of death, circumstances surrounding the death, copy of the coroner's findings, names of members of the jury and also names of witnesses and their testimonies.
When an inquest was related to a fire, information given may include the address of the dwelling and the name of the occupants and owner.
The papers can be a valuable source of information and may include statements from witnesses, police and medical officers. Information may also include a record of personal items found on the deceased and occasionally photographs of the death scene or the victim. For this reason, they may be distressing to the researcher.
If further court action arose out of the inquest, the inquest papers may be filed with the later court papers.
The papers cover all of NSW, including Sydney.
The inquest files are mostly indexed and can be searched in the Inquest Index, 1916-1963. The files concerning reports of deaths, inquests dispensed with and magisterial inquiries are not indexed. These files are listed in date order. The lists are available in the reading room.
NRS-345 Coroners' inquest papers (Files concerning inquests, magisterial inquiries and inquests dispensed with), 1851-1963
We hold a small sample of files from 1851, 1916, 1918-1920, 1921-1939. The bulk of the papers from 1940-Dec 1963 have survived. These files are listed in the Inquest Index 1851, 1916-1963.
NRS 313 Letters received, 1918-1920
A number of files relating to inquests are included with the correspondence. These inquests were passed on to the Attorney General because the Coroner had brought down an open verdict or a reward was offered to bring forward more information. These files are included in the online index.
Inquests for specific localities
Occasionally there are records for specific localities. Where these survive, they are listed in the catalogue.
Indexes and registers
Examples are:
Sydney City Coroner
NRS-1783 Registers of inquests and inquiries, 1862-1926
This series is available for searching on the Ancestry website in the database New South Wales, Australia, Registers of Coroners' Inquests, 1821-1937.
NRS-1784 Index to registers of inquests and inquiries, 1883-1938
1883-1911 on Reel 1390
NRS-1785 Registers of inquests dispensed with, 1882-89
Record name of deceased, date and number of inquest dispensed with.
Indexes and registers for other localities
NRS-1757 Coroners and Morgue: Verdicts in inquests - County of Buckinghamshire, Van Diemen's Land, May 1815-Sep 1819; County of Cumberland (NSW), Jun 1828
Verdicts in inquests, recording dates of death and of inquisition, name of deceased, circumstances and cause of death. Each verdict is signed by the coroner and members of the jury. In some cases for Buckinghamshire and in all cases for Windsor depositions are also included.
NRS-1780 Port Macquarie: Register of inquests and magisterial inquiries, Jan 1839-Sep 1855
NRS-1764 Dubbo: Register of inquests and magisterial inquiries, 1904-1917
NRS-1769 Lower Hawkesbury: Verdicts in inquests, 1888-1913
NRS-1772 O'Connell Plains: Coroner's notebook, 27 Oct 1883-21 Nov 1889
NRS-1775 Parramatta, Silverton and Singleton: Register of inquests and inquiries held by R.H. Mathews, 26 Jul 1884-9 Oct 1894
NRS-1778 Penrith: Register of inquests and magisterial inquiries, 10 Jun 1914-8 Oct 1928
Inquest papers
There are some inquest papers for specific localities. These papers, except for those in NRS-1786, are NOT included in the Inquest index, 1851, 1916-1963. Examples of these papers are:
Sydney Coroner
NRS-1786, Files concerning inquests, magisterial inquiries and inquests dispensed with, 1926 and 1930
These papers are included in the Inquest Index, 1851-1916-1963.
Parramatta Coroner
NRS-1773, Files concerning inquests, magisterial inquiries and inquests dispensed with, 1918-1952
Bathurst Coroner
NRS-1759, Files concerning inquests, magisterial inquiries and inquests dispensed with, 1956-1971
See the catalogue for a full list of series of inquest papers.
Sydney Coroner - other records
Registers of bodies received
The registers show the number of the body and date received, name, sex, age, birthplace, occupation, where and when found, remarks, description and a statement of wounds or injuries.
Post mortem registers
Post mortem registers list the date of death, date of autopsy, doctor and medical attendant, name of deceased, birthplace, age, occupation, previous history and habits of the deceased, circumstances surrounding the death, remarks, external description, result of post mortem, cause of death, doctor's signature and date.
Internal examination registers
These record the name of the deceased, date of autopsy, cause of death, age, occupation, birthplace, date of death, by whom identified, circumstances relating to the death, and details of medical examination.
External examination registers
These may provide the name, age and birthplace of the deceased, occupation, date and results of examination, remarks and signature of the pathologist.
See the catalogue for a list of records from Sydney Coroner.
NRS-1796 North Sydney: Registers of bodies received, 1881-1908
This series is available for searching on the Ancestry website in the database Sydney, Australia, Morgue Registers of Bodies, 1881-1908.
NRS-1799 South Sydney: Register of bodies received, 2 Oct 1881-23 Aug 1892
This series is available for searching on the Ancestry website in the database Sydney, Australia, Morgue Registers of Bodies, 1881-1908.
NRS-1800 South Sydney: Post mortem registers, 10 Oct 1881- 8 Jul 1889
This series is available for searching on the Ancestry website in the database Sydney, Australia, Morgue Registers of Bodies, 1881-1908.
NRS-1788 Sydney: Registers of bodies received, 1908-1965
See the item list for NRS-1788 here.
Related records
Pharmacy Board
NRS-10914 Register of deaths by poisoning, 1924-1939
Information provided may include the name of the deceased, date of death, place of death, poison, how poison was administered and remarks.
Responsibility of the Coroner
The most important function of a Coroner was to inquire into unnatural or sudden deaths, and Coroners were authorised to hold inquests in all cases of death if the body should be lying within the Police district or districts in which his jurisdiction applied. In the more remote Police districts of the Colony where no Coroner was situated, magistrates could take depositions and inquire into the circumstances of death but, in such cases, a Justice of the Peace had no authority to empanel a Jury, as had a Coroner.
In addition to this function, Coroners had a common law right to preserve general order, were authorised to hold inquests on bodies of all persons who died in prison and could also hold inquests respecting deaths taking place in asylums, hospitals or public institutions. In the event of the destruction of any property, real or personal, by fire the Coroner had jurisdiction to inquire into the cause and origin of such fire.
Under the Coroners Act, (No. 27, 1980) Coroners must hold an inquest when the deceased person is not identified, when the cause of death is not determined, when the person died as a result of a homicide, or if the person died in or attempting to escape from police custody. A coroner may also be directed to hold an inquest by the Attorney General or the State Coroner.
Other functions
Further details
For information about the current coronial system in New South Wales, check the NSW Coroners Court website.
In the catalogue
Search our Index to Coroners Inquests, 1796-1824 for over 800 entries and our Index to Inquests 1851, 1916-1963 for over 55,000+ entries. More than 450 entries have been digtised through our digitisation on-demand copy service and can be viewed online.
Family history guides
Immigration & shipping guide
Key records and indexes for passengers arriving in New South Wales 1788-1922
Liverpool State Hospital & Home guide
Patient records in our collection for Liverpool Asylum for the Infirm and Destitute (1862-1933) and Liverpool State Hospital and Home (1933-1961)
Naturalization & citizenship guide
Naturalization records are a good source of information for tracing details of an immigrant's arrival and native place. This guide lists the key records in our collection relating to naturalization, 1834-1903
Aboriginal resources: a guide to NSW State archives
A listing and description of records in our collection which relate to Aboriginal people