The ‘Old Register’: Illuminating Early Colonial NSW
The Registers of Assignments and Other Legal Instruments, otherwise known as the ‘Old Register’, are an invaluable resource!
In the very early years of the colony there was no authorised place to register land transfers and transactions after the initial grant of land. This quickly led to a large number of land disputes. In response, Governor King ordered in 1802 that no assignment would be legal unless it was drawn up and registered at the Judge Advocate’s Office, and the first volume of the ‘Old Register’ was created. These nine volumes contain records of assignments dating from 1794 to 1824. Along with information on land transactions, the volumes also record other domestic legal matters such as affidavits, agreements, appointments of guardians and even marriage agreements and separations.
This webinar led by Dr Carol Liston AO, Adjunct Associate Professor in History at Western Sydney University, which explores the ‘Old Register’ and what it can tell us about early colonial NSW.
About the 'Old Register'
How to search the 'Old Register' online
Related
Browse all
‘Old Register’ One to Nine
The Registers of Assignments and Other Legal Instruments (or the 'Old Register') is an invaluable record for researching early colonial NSW and has been inscribed on the UNESCO Australian Memory of the World Register.
The 'Old Register' Index, 1794-1824
The Registers of Assignments and Other Legal Instruments (or the 'Old Register') is an invaluable record for researching early colonial NSW and has been inscribed on the UNESCO Australian Memory of the World Register
Colonial Social Life in Old Registers 1-9
Old Registers 1-9 have primarily been used for tracing land ownership but they also record many personal transactions that reveal details of social relationships in early New South Wales.