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Family history and genealogy

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A black-and-white photo of a family posed outside a brick house with a white picket fence. In the foreground, a man in a bowler hat sits beside a large dog, while a young girl stands nearby. A seated woman holds a baby on her lap, and a child is visible on the steps of the house in the background. The garden surrounding them is filled with overgrown plants.

Portrait of Oliver Barberie and family, 1900, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-136621963

Family history research guide

Uncover hidden stories of your heritage and trace your genealogy using our research guide.

Research guide
A black-and-white photograph shows a group of soldiers marching down a street with rifles over their shoulders. They are accompanied by civilians, who walk arm-in-arm with the soldiers, smiling and engaging with the crowd. The street is busy with people, and buildings can be seen in the background.

Fairfax Corporation, Departing troops walking with their families down Macquarie Street, 1914, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-162908974

Find your military ancestors

Trace the military history of your ancestors using resrouces and records from Australia, New Zealand and the British Army at the Library and beyond.

Research guide
This squatting map of Victoria shows counties, road and rail lines, settlements and subdivisions. Relief is shown on the map using hachures.

Thomas Ham, Blundell and Ford, The squatting map of Victoria, 1864-1865, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-231392173

Australian maps for family historians

Use this guide to find squatting and pastoral maps, parish surveys and real estate plans that provide invaluable insights into land ownership and movements across Australia.

Research guide
Husband and wife sitting at a table with a large cake and vases of flowers in front of them

John Joseph and Harriett Willson Denison celebrating their golden wedding anniversary, November 1939, nla.obj-151150861

Beginner’s guide to family history research

Find out how to get started with your family history research and how the Library can help along the way.

Blog
A black-and-white photograph showing a large wedding party posed on the steps of a wooden house. The group includes men, women, and children dressed in formal Victorian attire. The women are in elaborate dresses, some holding small bouquets. The men wear suits, some with top hats, and a small boy peeks around a door frame to the left.

Album of photographs of Bushy Park, Tasmania, and Dandenong, Victoria, 1875, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-139460187

Births, deaths and marriages

Find out how to access and use BDM records to link generations and branches of your family.

Research guide
A map showing nottinghamshire

The large English atlas, or, A new set of maps of all the counties in England and Wales, 1785, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-230779636

British and Irish maps for family historians

Learn how to access historical gazetteers, Ordnance Survey maps, and early atlases to uncover your family's origins in England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales.

Research guide
Landscape watercolour showing trees, hilly, grass covered terrain, few small buildings and a mountain in the distance

H. M. Rolland, Canberra, view from Camp Hill looking towards St. John' s Church, Mt. Ainslie in the distance, 1924, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-135217175

Canberra family history

Discover early family histories of the Canberra region while learning about how you too can explore your town and put your family history puzzle back together.

Learning activity for adults
Video
Black and white photograph of a gravestone surrounded by a wrought iron fence. The grave is situated in a grassy, rural setting with a few trees scattered around. The gravestone has an arched top and an inscription in memory of William Henry Light.

John Flynn, Grave of William Henry Light: a lantern slide from John Flynn's missionary days in Gippsland, 1906, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-142432903

Cemetery records

Find out how to locate burial information, cemetery and crematorium records that can lead to valuable discoveries in your family history.

Research guide
Woman of Chinese heritage sitting on a couch in a nice house, wearing a colourful striped jumper and smiling

Anna Zhu, Dawna Leung, Thornleigh, Sydney, New South Wales, 31 May 2022, nla.obj-3084238106

Chinese-Australian family history research guide

Beginner researchers can use this guide to find resources to help learn about their domestic family history or trace their ancestral origins overseas.

Research guide
Painting of The First Fleet in Sydney Cove, 1788

John Allcot, The First Fleet in Sydney Cove, January 27, 1788, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-135776002

Convicts research guide

From January 1788, when the First Fleet of convicts arrived at Botany Bay, to the end of convict transportation 80 years later, over 160,000 convicts were transported to Australia.

Research guide
Cover of the book 'Dear Mutzi'
Dear Mutzi

Tess Scholfield-Peters

Book
NLA Publishing book
Man in military uniform with hat smiling

Harry Peters, soldier in the Third Employment Company, c. 1942

Dear Mutzi: Writing a life through letters, memories and imagination

Read about how author Tess Scholfield-Peters explored her grandfather's early life as a teenager fleeing Nazi Germany in her new book 'Dear Mutzi'.

Blog

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