Family and personal history
On this page
- Beginning your research
- Queensland Government organisations
- Other organisations and resources
- Submit an online Family and Personal History request to the Department of Treaty, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships, Communities and the Arts.
The Queensland Government is responsible for providing access to a large collection of historical records created about Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islander people who were from, or lived, in Queensland. These records were created primarily through the administration of the Aboriginals Protection and Restriction of the Sale of Opium Act 1897 (and subsequent 'Protection Acts'), which allowed previous Queensland Governments extensive control over the lives of many Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islander people.
If you would like to research your family history there are a number of places that can help with this. In order to be able to assist you with your research, these places may ask you to gain permission from other family members to access some information. This is to protect and respect everyone's privacy.
Please be mindful of your wellbeing as many records contain personal and culturally sensitive information. Many records were created at a time when much of the language used was racist and offensive. You may find some of the information and terminology distressing.
Beginning your research
Where to start
Answering the following questions will be helpful when starting your family history research, and when contacting organisations for assistance.
- What are the locations associated with your family?
- What family history information do you or other family members already have, including oral history?
- Do you or other members of the family have any birth, death or marriage certificates?
You may also want to make a list of the people you are researching and for each person note down the following:
- family names, nicknames, different spellings of names
- dates of birth, places of birth and key events such as dates of marriage and death
- places your family were associated with such as towns, missions, reserves or pastoral stations where your family members lived.
It may also be helpful to:
- draw a basic family tree to capture what information you know and what information you don’t know
- write down a list of questions to ask family members
- make a list of the organisations you might need to contact.
Queensland Government organisations
Department of Treaty, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships, Communities and the Arts
Community and Personal Histories unit
The Community and Personal Histories unit can help you to access historical records relating to the Department of Treaty, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships, Communities and the Arts which may be helpful when researching your family and personal history. Many of these records are held at Queensland State Archives. A restricted access period may apply under the Public Records Act 2002 for records transferred to Queensland State Archives. Restricted records are made available via an administrative release process underpinned by both the Right to Information Act 2009 and the Information Privacy Act 2009. There are also many open access records accessible to any member of the public by applying directly to the Queensland State Archives.
To determine if there are departmental records relating to your family, it is important to provide the Community and Personal Histories unit with as much information as you can about your family members. As a guide, the following list of supporting information, where possible, should be included with your application.
For you | Full name Birth date and birthplace | Contact details – including phone number/s, email address and postal address | *Additional information may be required - If you were fostered or adopted. |
|---|---|---|---|
Your Parents | Full names (nicknames, different spellings of names) Birth date and birthplace | Marriage information including place and date (if applicable) | Date and place of death (if applicable) |
Your Grandparents | Full names Birth date/year of birth and birthplace | Marriage information including place and date (if applicable) | Date and place of death (if applicable) |
Your Great Grandparents | Full names Birth date/year of birth and birthplace | Marriage information including place and date (if applicable) | Date and place of death |
Your Great Great Grandparents | Full names/maiden names Year of birth and birthplace | Marriage information including place and date (if applicable) | Date and place of death |
Note: without the above key information the Community and Personal Histories unit may not be able to locate departmental records created about you or your family.
You can submit an online request with the Community and Personal Histories unit.
Proof of Descent requests
The Department of Treaty, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships, Communities and the Arts cannot provide ‘Proof of Aboriginality’, ‘Proof of Torres Strait Islander heritage’ or ‘Confirmation of Aboriginality’. This is an official letter that must be approved by a local Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation or Land Council. Contact your local Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation or Land Council to seek advice on the application process. Each service will have its own policies and procedures.
Read more about the steps involved in obtaining proof of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander heritage on the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies website.
Contact the Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations if you require assistance locating an Incorporated Aboriginal organisation / local Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation or Land Council:
- ORIC (Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations)
Phone: 1800 622 431
Website: www.oric.gov.au/
If you have been asked to provide family history information to support your application, the Community and Personal Histories unit may be able to assist by providing departmental records about your family. Note: there can be a lengthy waiting time.
Queensland State Archives
Queensland State Archives holds a large collection of records relating to immigration, convicts and prisoners, court records such as wills and inquests, early orphanages and reformatory schools, Australian South Sea Islander peoples, Aboriginal peoples, and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
You can access online indexes to many of these records through the Queensland State Archives Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples collection. You can also search the many publicly available records and photographs through the online catalogue ArchivesSearch, or by contacting (07) 3037 6777 or email info@archives.qld.gov.au .
State Library of Queensland
Founded in 1896, the State Library of Queensland is the leading reference and research library in Queensland. The State Library of Queensland is responsible for collecting and preserving a comprehensive collection of Queensland’s cultural and documentary heritage, providing free access to information for all Queenslanders and for the advancement of public libraries across the state.
This collection includes items of specific interest to First Nations peoples, some of which may be relevant when researching your family history. For example, the State Library of Queensland, with permission from the South Australian Museum, provides access to the genealogies and photographs relating to Queensland Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islander people in the Norman Tindale Genealogical Collection.
The State Library of Queensland can help you get started with researching your family history. The library has also developed a guide to protocols for accessing records: Protocols for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Collections.
Department of Justice and Attorney General
Queensland Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages
The Queensland Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages holds records of events that took place in Queensland. Be aware that not all births, deaths and marriages were officially registered, and other historical records may hold this information.
View the free online index to historical certificates on their website.
Department of Child Safety, Seniors and Disability Services
Adoption Services Queensland
Adoption Services Queensland within the Department of Child Safety, Seniors and Disability Services can help people seeking information about a past Queensland adoption.
Right to Information, Information Privacy and Redress
If you were fostered or a ward of the state, you may wish to contact Right to Information. You can apply to access records created during your time in care under the Right to Information Act 2009.
Other Queensland Government departments
If you wish to lodge a right to information request to a particular agency within the Queensland Government, please view Queensland Government Right to Information and Information Privacy agency contacts.
Other organisations and resources
Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) is the custodian of a unique collection containing more than one million items relating to Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and histories, including books, audio recordings [language / oral history recordings], photographs, manuscript collections, films, and academic research material.
The AIATSIS website has a range of resources to assist you with your family history research, including guides to research step-by-step. They can also help you find information in the AIATSIS Collection through their Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Biographical index, Mura Collections Catalogue, and Photographic collection. The AIATSIS website has useful information about how to assess other collections in Australia.
Find and Connect web resource
The Find and Connect web resource has information relevant to anyone who experienced out-of-home ‘care’ in Australia. This includes members of the Stolen Generations, foster children, wards of the state, adopted children, Forgotten Australians and Former Child Migrants.
Link-up
Link-up provides a private service to members of the Stolen Generation. If you are looking for your family of origin, Link-up can help you reunite with your family members if you have been adopted, fostered, removed, separated or institutionalised.
Further resources
- National Library of Australia
- TROVE
- Queensland Family History Society
- Genealogical Society of Queensland
- University of Queensland Anthropology Museum
- Queensland Police Museum
- James Cook University (Queensland archival materials)
- Mitchell Library, State Library New South Wales
- Australian Society of Archivists
- Australian War Memorial
- National Archives of Australia
- National Film and Sound Archive
Submit an online request
To help you locate departmental records created about you or your family, submit an online request to the Community and Personal Histories unit, Department of Treaty, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships, Communities and the Arts:
Submit a family history request
Note: there can be a lengthy waiting time.
The Community and Personal Histories unit can be contacted on email: cph@dsdsatsip.qld.gov.au or by free call 1800 650 230 and leave a detailed voicemail message.