Australian Electoral Roll Indexes, and Who Could Vote

You can do either a name search or an address search in the Australian electoral rolls collection at Findmypast.

More rolls may be added in the future, but right now (UPDATED 13 Jan 2021) Findmypast lists these as available:

• Queensland:  State electoral rolls 1860-1884 and 1895-1915, and Commonwealth electoral rolls 1903, 1906, 1913, 1922, 1934, 1941, 1949 and 1959. Only 45% have images of original rolls, but transcriptions for 1860-1884, 1903, 1913, 1922, 1934, 1949 and 1959 are very useful.


• New South Wales:  State electoral rolls 1903 and 1913, and Commonwealth electoral rolls 1935. 100% have images.


• South Australia:  Commonwealth electoral rolls 1939, 1941 and 1943. 100% have images.


• Western Australia:  Commonwealth electoral rolls 1939, 1943 and 1949. 100% have images.


• Tasmania:  Commonwealth electoral rolls 1916, 1934 and 1943. 66% have images.


• Northern Territory:  1895, 1906, 1922, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1934, 1937 and 1940. No images.


• For Victoria, first read 'Search Tips', because the records are PDFs.

Index searches are free. To see transcriptions or images of original records, I recommend either a one-month or twelve-month subscription.

* Who could vote *

Details below are derived from Electoral Pocketbook (Commonwealth of Australia, 2005).

• 1901:  State franchises applied at the first federal election (NSW, VIC, QLD, TAS men over 21 years; SA and WA men and women over 21 years). Enrolment and voting were voluntary.
• 1902:  Most men and women over 21 years were allowed to vote at federal elections. However, Aboriginal natives of Australia, Asia, Africa or the Pacific islands except New Zealand were excluded from enrolment and voting unless they already had the franchise at State level. Women over 21 years were allowed to vote in NSW elections.
• 1903:  Women over 21 years were allowed to vote in TAS elections.
• 1905:  Women over 21 years were allowed to vote in QLD elections.
• 1908:  Women over 21 years were allowed to vote in VIC elections.
• 1911:  Enrolment (but not voting) became compulsory.
• 1915:  Queensland introduced compulsory voting in State elections.
• 1920:  Nationality Act 1920 gave British subjects all political and other rights, but South Sea Islanders were still unable to vote despite being British subjects.
• 1924:  Voting at federal elections became compulsory. Enrolment had been compulsory since 1911.
• 1925:  Natives of British India living in Australia were allowed to vote.
• 1949:  Aboriginal people were given the right to vote at federal elections provided that they were entitled to enrol for State elections or had served in the Defence Forces.
• 1962:  All Aboriginal people became entitled to enrol and vote at federal elections.
• 1973:  Qualifying age for enrolment for federal elections was lowered from 21 years to 18 years.
• 1984:  Enrolment and voting for Aboriginal people became compulsory. Franchise qualification changed to Australian Citizenship (but British subjects on the roll immediately before 26 Jan 1984 retained enrolment rights).

Queensland has four separate series of electoral enrolment records. Differences and advantages are explained on Queensland Genealogy and Archives Research Tips. (In the future, this page is likely to have the latest updates and links for electoral rolls - eg, the 1969 Commonwealth electoral roll for Queensland.)

This is the address search screen at FindMyPast.

If you can't find someone in the Australian electoral rolls collection at Findmypast, check (on that page) the list of records included in the collection at that time, and (above) the legislation regarding who could enrol to vote. You should also try the electoral rolls on Ancestry.

I've seen a case where a man used his real name on State electoral rolls and a completely different name on Commonwealth rolls. I only discovered that after I saw the alias mentioned in his Supreme Court probate file.

In the future, you're likely to find more recent information about electoral rolls in Queensland Genealogy and Archives Research Tips.

(This post first appeared on http://uk-australia.blogspot.com/2017/01/australian-electoral-roll-indexes-and.html.)

10 Tips for Wills, Intestacies and Probate

Cover of a probate file (Queensland)

52 Weeks of Genealogical Records: Week 3 (Wills, Intestacies and Probate)

These tips demonstrate why I recommend that you look for wills for every person in your family tree. [UPDATE: From 2019 to 2025, a copy of a will/probate record for England and Wales from 1858 onwards cost only £1.50. It has now reverted to a much higher price.]

Probate records, wills, intestacies, administrations and related documents are vitally important for family history. They provide clues for further research, and they 'put flesh on the bones' as we research our ancestors. They often have relationship details that prove whether we are researching the correct person or someone else with the same name.

Tip 1.  Use indexes for other States and countries.  There may be copies of a will or related documents in multiple places, including record offices far away from where the person died.  Examples:

• Magdalene NIELSON:  Formerly of Bundaberg, Queensland, Australia, but late of New York, USA; wife of Peter NIELSON (formerly of Bundaberg but at present of Copenhagen, Denmark). The Supreme Court file at Queensland State Archives includes Magdalene's death certificate from America (giving her age, marital status, occupation, birthplace, how long in USA, how long in New York City, names and birthplaces of her father and mother, her place and cause of death, and class of dwelling); and a transit permit for her body to go to Germany, stating the exact burial place there.


• Ellis READ:  He owned land at Burketown, Queensland, Australia; and when it was sold, a grant of probate was required so that a certificate of title could be issued. His Supreme Court file at Queensland State Archives shows that he lived in Mexico from 1882 to 1890; and between 1887 and 1890 he make business trips to England and lived there for a few months at a time. He died in Mexico in 1890. An affidavit gives a translation of details from his death certificate (age, cause of death, burial place, native place, occupation, wife's maiden name, father's name, mother's maiden name).


• Julia WEBSTER (my great-great-grandmother):  Probate was granted in New South Wales, and I found her will in New South Wales will books 1800-1952; but there are also documents at the Public Record Office of Victoria (PROV) because Julia had property in both States. She lived in NSW but was entitled to a share of the estate of her late brother, Malcolm John CAMPBELL, in Victoria. (The PROV files include extra documents, and I was able to download digital copies free of charge.)


• Some of the other tips below give more examples of finding information in records of another State or country.

Tip 2:  Probate files may include birth, death and marriage certificates.  The death certificate in a probate file is usually more accurate than a typed certificate that was issued later, and sometimes it has extra or significantly different details (examples are in Free Certificates in Archives Files.) Probate files often contain certificates that would otherwise be restricted and/or expensive!

• Some probate files contain birth, baptism, marriage or death certificates because beneficiaries had to prove their relationship to the deceased.


• From about the mid-1890s onwards, most Queensland Supreme Court probate files (and some intestacy files) contain a death certificate. The majority of these files are at Qld State Archives and have no access restrictions, so you can see very recent certificates. Photocopies cost about $1 per page, but if you take digital photos or copy from microfilm to a USB drive, there is no charge. It is worthwhile looking for files for your direct ancestors, their siblings and other relatives.

Tip 3:  Some wills are only in land title records.  If a person died without a will, his/her relatives would need to prove their relationship before the deceased's land could be transferred to them. The Titles Registry in Queensland holds many records of intestate estates, and many wills that did not go through the Supreme Court.  Examples:

• The Titles Registry has a large packet of documents for a particular person (name withheld at my client's request), including seven certificates for births, deaths and marriages of various family members.


• Indexes to Transmission of Real Estate by Death 1878-1940, from Queensland Government Gazette notices, include all names mentioned. Many property owners and claimants lived interstate or overseas. For a detailed description of the index and original records, see the book Tips for Queensland Research.

Tip 4:  Probate files may give parents' names when death certificates don't.  Example:

• Margaret STAPLETON:  Her death certificate in Queensland, Australia, says 'born Ireland, parents names unknown'; but her probate file at Queensland State Archives reveals their names. In her will, Margaret left property to her sister Johanna in Ireland. As Johanna's surname was spelt incorrectly in the will, she had to prove that she was the person named as beneficiary. Johanna was unable to supply her birth certificate because her birth had not been registered. Instead she sent a copy of her baptism record from a parish register in England! It gave her father's name and mother's maiden name.

Tip 5:  There may be a delay, or there may be two separate probate files created many years apart.  Examples:

• A second file was sometimes created because one of the deceased's children later applied for guardianship of younger siblings.


• Abraham ALMAN of Melbourne, Australia, died in 1854. Twelve years later, administration of his estate was granted (in the United Kingdom) to his widow, who had since remarried and was living in Middlesex, England.


• See Tip 10 for more examples of probate being granted decades after the death.

Tip 6:  Read before you research.  Look for published guides and search procedures, which Archives and Record Offices often put on their Web sites. If you don't understand how the records are arranged, you may fail to find a will.  Example:

• Unlike other States, Queensland has three Supreme Court Districts (Northern, Central and Southern); and each district keeps separate records. For each of these three districts there are two series of files:
  
  
  1. Ecclesiastical files ('wills'). This series includes (1) files with a will, and (2) files without a will if the estate was administered by someone other than the Public Curator.
  2. Public Curator orders and elections (commonly but misleadingly called 'intestacies'). This series includes (1) files without a will, (2) files with a will that named the Public Curator as executor, and (3) files for deceased estates administered by the Public Curator because the will was not valid (eg, if it was unsigned).
  
  In other words, there are six main series whose indexes you may need to search - plus minor series such as Supreme Court (Southern District) orders to administer (inventories). For more suggestions, see my book Tips for Queensland Research.

Tip 7:  If you don't find it, repeat the search.  Make a note of searches with negative results, and try again later.  Examples:  If you used the old version of the index to Queensland wills up to 1900, you would not have found these entries. The new version corrected hundreds of indexing errors including these:

• 'John SMITH, late of Brisbane' was indexed as 'LATE, John Smith'
• 'Michael KELLY junior' was indexed as 'JUNIOR, Michael Kelly'
• 'August NEIDLER of Helen Street' was indexed as 'STREET, Helen' (yes, really!)

Tip 8:  A few Queensland Supreme Court probate files contain photographs.  The ones I've seen were for people 'missing, believed drowned' after the steamers Pearl and Lucinda collided in 1896.

Tip 9:  FindMyPast will soon be the largest online resource for UK wills/probate, and those records include data for people from other countries including Australia.

FindMyPast's 'wills and probate' collection includes (to name just a few) New South Wales will books 1800-1952 and Great Western Railway Shareholders index (see 6 Genealogy Sources You May Have Overlooked); an index to Queensland intestacies and wills 1859-1900 from Government Gazette notices; Bank of England wills extracts 1717-1845; National Probate Calendar (England/Wales) 1858-2019; British India Office wills and probate; London probate index; Suffolk testator index 1847-1857; index to Death Duty Registers 1796-1903; index of Irish wills 1484-1858; and one of my favourites, Prerogative and Exchequer Courts of York Probate Index 1688-1858. Material added to FindMyPast's wills and probate collection (http://bit.ly/2ALLwills) includes the National Wills Index from Origins.net for pre-1857 probate material for England and Wales. To narrow your search, click 'Browse record set', scroll down ('see more') and select the one(s) you want.

Tip 10:  Ancestry has indexes or images for many series of wills, administrations, probate records, death duty registers etc, with details for thousands of people from all over the world. On that search page, untick 'Only records from [specific country]'.

Examples below (I'm only quoting selected details) are from the National Probate Calendar (index of wills and administrations) for England and Wales, 1858 to the present date. I usually search the index for 1858-2019, then go to the Government site to order a digital copy of the will/probate record for just £1.50 (it used to be £10.00).

• George AMBLER of Richmond, Melbourne, Australia, died 10 Jun 1864. Administration granted 13 years later to his widow in Wales.


• Elma BERG of Chillagoe, North Queensland, Australia, died 15 Dec 1902.


• Joseph MOUNTAIN of London died 30 May 1834 at Hammersmith, Middlesex. Next of kin was his son John MOUNTAIN living (in 1883) in the USA.


• Harry White SMITH, otherwise known as Harry WHITE, formerly of Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, but late a Corporal in the 94th Regiment of Foot, died 5 Dec 1879 at Fort Albert Edward, South Africa.


• Richard SMITH late of Amoy, China, merchant, bachelor, died 26 Jan 1857 at Amoy. Administration was granted to his father in 1880 (23 years after Richard died).

Do you have any personal tips about wills, intestacies and probate records? (P.S. I've recently posted my own thoughts about Will Books.)

Getting cheaper copies of wills and certificates

I frequently find information about a direct ancestor in records of his/her siblings or other relatives. Genealogists always strive to use original records, but if I cannot afford to buy certificates and wills for all family members, I look for ways to obtain cheaper copies. For specific examples, plus links to articles about 'Free Certificates', 'Postems' and '10 tips', read on!

Record offices often hold copies of wills for people who died in other States or other countries.

Example 1:  Julia WEBSTER died in 1900 at Orange NSW, and her original will went through the Supreme Court in New South Wales - but a copy of her will can be downloaded (free) from the Public Record Office Victoria (PROV). Why is there a copy in Victoria? The explanation is in Julia's will, where she mentions (quote) 'my interest in the estate of my late brother Malcolm John CAMPBELL, late of Newry, Gippsland, in the Colony of Victoria.'

A transcription of Julia's will is also in the New South Wales will books 1800-1952.

Julia WEBSTER, incidentally, was my great-great-grandmother. Because I wanted to see her signature, I made a point of inspecting her original will in New South Wales, not just the transcriptions available in NSW and Victoria; but thanks to the PROV's free downloads, it cost me nothing to get wills and other probate documents for Julia's sister and brothers and many people from other branches of my family tree.

PROV entry re the will of Julia WEBSTER who died in NSW

Example 2: Queensland State Archives have a probate file for Ellis READ, who spent a lot of time in England but died in Mexico in 1890. Ten years later his widow applied for administration of his estate. He owned land at Burketown in Queensland, and when it was sold, a grant of probate was required so that a certificate of title could be issued. The file includes details from Ellis's death certificate from Mexico (his age, native place, occupation, wife's maiden name, father's name, mother's maiden name, and his cause of death and burial place).

Some early probate files for Queensland are available on microfilm through Church of Latter-Day Saints Family History centres - but a word of warning...

The old 'card index' listed in FamilySearch had a huge number of mistakes, so you should use the new (corrected) index to Supreme Court wills on the Queensland State Archives Web site. Note that it only covers the 'ecclesiastical files' series. Many other wills are in the 'Intestacies' series (Supreme Court Public Curator orders and elections). There is an explanation of this in Tips for Queensland Research.

See also:

• Free Certificates in Archives Files.
• 10 Tips for Wills, Intestacies and Probate (worldwide).
• Postems on FreeBMD (for England and Wales).

Have you succeeded in getting cheaper copies of wills or certificates by these or other methods?
~ ~ ~

Coffs Harbour genealogy seminar: Queensland and Beyond

Queensland and Beyond: A Family History Smorgasbord

On Saturday 17 Nov 2012, 10am to 4pm, I will be presenting a genealogy seminar at Coffs Harbour in New South Wales. The seminar (Queensland and Beyond: A Family History Smorgasbord) will consist of four sessions. The first will focus on Queensland, but the other three sessions will deal with sources and techniques that are relevant to research in many areas.

1. North of the Border - an Overview. An introduction to some of the main repositories and resources for research in Queensland. This talk will highlight major differences between Queensland and NSW research, and it will demonstrate why you should look in Queensland for information about people who lived or died in other States or overseas.
   
   
2. Black Sheep and Vanishing Relatives. Sources and strategies for researching the 'black sheep' of the family and people who 'disappeared' (either temporarily or permanently). Problems and sources to be discussed include unregistered deaths; aliases; family stories that hide the truth; illegitimacy; mental asylum records; electoral rolls; inquests; 'no-inquest' preliminary enquiries; police and prison records; Police watchhouse records; murder files; registers of criminal depositions; maintenance records; Police Gazettes; and various series of Court records. For those with Queensland research, this session will provide a wealth of specific advice; and because most Government archives hold similar records, it will also help you with research in other areas.
   
   
3. Using Indexes: Tips and Traps. You are less likely to miss relevant entries in indexes if you are aware of indexes' idiosyncracies and the many mistakes that indexers make (especially when handwritten documents are involved).
   
   
4. Who else is Researching Your Family? Distant relatives are likely to have photos, letters and other precious items from your branch of the family. Learn about many different ways to find and contact these 'new' relatives.

The seminar will be held at the Community Village, Earl Street, Coffs Harbour. The cost (including morning tea and a light lunch) is $25 for members of Coffs Harbour District FHS and $30 for non-members.

Bookings by Wed. 14 November are necessary for catering purposes. Phone Stan Gordon (02 6658 7955) or Jane Gow (02 6658 3355) or email the Society (coffsgenie [at] gmail.com).

There will be time for questions during the seminar. If you intend to ask me for advice, please come prepared with copies of certificates and details of names, dates, places, and sources that you have used.

Details of my future talks are on my Web site.

I is for In-Letters and Invalid Pensions

The 'Family History Through the Alphabet' series is now up to the letter 'I'.

I is for...

• In-letters.  Queensland State Archives' Brief Guide to Colonial Secretary's Correspondence 1859-1903 explains how to search the series called In-letters (letters received). This can be slow and frustrating but it is often very rewarding. About eight hundred names from in-letters are on my Web site. Thousands more will be added when I have time! The emphasis is on items of interest for family history, such as correspondence about women, children, certificates, naturalisations, requests for assistance, missing friends, orphans, inmates of mental and benevolent asylums, etc.
  
  Postscript: Registers (and indexes to the registers) for 1859-1896 have been digitised and are on the Queensland State Archives Web site (series ID 11936).


• Invalid Pensions.  I have created a partial index to Police Department correspondence 1908-1952 that mentions hundreds of invalid pensioners and old age pensioners. Some lived in New South Wales and Victoria but most were in Queensland.

You will find more tips for family history in my other articles in this series. If the information and advice is useful, have a look at this page.

G is for Gypsies, GENUKI and Gold Coast

I was eight weeks late starting the the 'Family History Through the Alphabet' challenge, but I am determined to catch up! Here is my contribution to the letter 'G'.

G is for...

• Gypsies.  The Romany and Traveller Family History Society is dedicated to researching British Romany Gypsy, Traveller and Fairground ancestors.


• GENUKI.  The huge GENUKI Web site is the best starting point for genealogy in the UK and Ireland.


• Gold Coast.  Somerville Funerals undertakers records include overseas and interstate residents who died while holidaying on the Gold Coast (Queensland, Australia). The records give name, age, dates of birth/death/burial, where from, cause of death, next of kin and other remarks. Names from 1965-1983 have been indexed by the Gold Coast Family History Society. (This is an extract from the book Specialist Indexes in Australia: a Genealogist's Guide, which is described on my Web site.)

You will find more tips for family history in my other articles in this series. If the information and advice is useful, have a look at this page.

Tuesday's Tip: School registers - parent or guardian?

If someone 'vanished', it may be because they changed their name. If children are involved, try using school admission registers. I once overcome a genealogical dead end by finding a school admission register entry that listed the child's 'parent or guardian' as the mother's new partner. She did not marry him, but she and the children used his surname. Once I knew what that surname was, the research progressed in leaps and bounds.

School admission registers usually show the child's date of birth. Although it's not always totally accurate, it can be helpful if you haven't found a birth registration.

Some indexes to Queensland school pupils (from many school histories, some admission registers, etc) are now on the Internet.

Australian school admission registers should be either at the school or in State Archives. By law, historical societies or museums should only hold copies, not originals. Many indexes to school registers are listed in the book Specialist Indexes in Australia: a Genealogist's Guide (1998 edition and 2006 Supplement). For specific advice about Queensland school records, see the latest edition of the book Tips for Queensland Research. Those books are described in more detail on my Web site.

('Tuesday's Tip' is a theme used by 'Geneabloggers'.)

UK emigrants at Croydon QLD

A study of hospital admission registers for Croydon (Queensland, Australia) in the late 1880s (during the local gold rush) showed that about two-thirds of the hospital patients were born in the UK or Ireland. Significant numbers also came from the Victorian goldfields and other mining areas. The hospital registers are very useful for family history. See the list of patients' names (about 5,000 of them).