Genealogy Resources

The Centre has a vast and diverse collection of resources for the family history researcher. These cover the local area as well as further afield. Many of these resources are not available online and the Hamilton History Centre offers a real opportunity for genealogists to break through a brick wall or find a piece of information they've long been searching for. The following resources are just some of what we offer at the Hamilton History Centre.

Family History Files

Individual files on many local families have been compiled as a result of research requests and research donations received over the years. We now have many of these files, some of them contain newspaper articles and photographs of the family or individual concerned. A portrait index of our photograph collection has also been compiled to assist researchers.

Copies of photos and photocopies from the family history files can be purchased. Please click here to see fees.

FAMILY HISTORIES

Reginald Ansett

Hamilton and Western District Boys College 1911

Hamilton and District Genealogy

Extensive records of Hamilton and inhabitants are held by the Centre.

Many local churches have allowed their Church Registers to be copied or transcribed by us. These transcripts are available to researchers, subject to privacy regulations. They include copies taken from church registers and transcripts of various local church baptisms and burials. For a list of these please click here.

REGISTERS

Local History Resources

At the Hamilton History Centre we have an extensive collection related to our local history. Collected and curated over the last 30 years, the collection covers Hamilton and district from early settlement up until recent times. These resources are in various forms and cover a huge range of topics.

Acheson French (1812-1870)

First Police Magistrate

German genealogy

From 1853, a significant number of German immigrants settled in the Hamilton district. They and their descendants planted strong roots and flourished here. One of our Centre members has specialised in the research of these families and has records pertaining to over 300 families.

The Centre also has numerous books concerning this subject, both in our library and for sale.

Australian genealogy

State based genealogical resources are kept at the Hamilton History Centre. We have civil registration birth, marriage and death indexes for Victoria and some other states, shipping records for Victoria, New South Wales and Western Australia as well as indexes to Victorian and South Australian naturalisations and prisoner indexes. There are Victorian Gazettes and Post Office directories. Various other indexes concerning place names, publicans, hospitals etc. are also available.

Maps in our collection

The Hamilton History Centre holds a comprehensive collection of laminated parish maps for our district.

There are also Shire and sundry other maps including the Hamilton General Cemetery burial maps.

Files in our collection

The Centre has a large amount of information on various aspects of our local history in files collected over many years. The files cover a wide and varied range of topics.

There are files on district homesteads and properties by property name, businesses and trades in Hamilton (since the 1850s), the Botanical Gardens, local towns/areas, transport, sporting and social clubs, pests, butter factories and much more.

Books in our collection

We have a large collection of published family histories about Hamilton and district families.

We also have many books and booklets on local town histories, as well as soldier settlements, church, school and Shire histories. There are books on local institutions such as clubs, hospitals and hotels. Any published history concerning local towns or organisations are added to our library as they are produced.

Researchers are welcome to study these books when they visit the Centre.

Historical Photographs

Over many years, the Hamilton History Centre has gathered a remarkable collection of historic photos. These date from the 1860s to more recent times and cover a wide variety of subjects.

The photographs are presented in folders for easy perusal and there is a comprehensive index for both general and portrait making it easy to find what you are looking for.

Copies of the photos (either digital or paper) are available to purchase.

RESEARCH SERVICES & FEES

War Records

At the Centre, we have a large collection of wartime resources. These include published books and information files. The information files cover a wide and varied range of topics.

The information files cover:

Local soldier enlistments for the Boer War
Local soldier enlistments for WW1
Service Women for WW1,
WW2
Timor
The Land Army

There is a comprehensive collection of Hamilton Spectator articles about Hamilton and district WW1 AIF personnel from 1914 to 1919. The Hamilton area Honour Boards, Memorials etc. are also extensively covered. Booklets about WW2 and its impact on Hamilton are available, as well as other wartime related information.

LOCATE THE HISTORY CENTRE

Births, deaths and marriages

We have a collection of the Hamilton Spectator's birth death and marriage notices from 1859 to 1925 and the Portland Guardian's from 1842 to 1915. An index of the Hamilton Hospital Register of Deaths 1877 to 1938 is also available to search.

School registers

Our collection contains transcripts of school registers, both from Hamilton and outlying towns. For a list of these please click here. We also have copies of old school magazines.

Other records

We also have "Crimes, Courts and Inquests in Hamilton and the Surrounding Area 1842 - 1892, a compilation from newspapers of the time; the Hamilton Almanac 1874 to 1925; a selection of old local phone books and the Wannon electoral roll books 1914 to 1989.

Cutting Chaff (c1901-1940)

Travellers outside the 'Squatters Arms' Balmoral

Digitised records

Various Hamilton and district records have been digitised at the Centre. There are Hamilton Rate Books 1866 to 1971 and Minute Books 1859 to 1883, Shire of Dundas Rate Books 1877 to 1959 and Minute Books 1876 to 1944. Also, Mount Rouse Rate Books 1887 to 1951 and the Hamilton Spectator 1859 to 1933.

Catalogue

We have an extensive catalogue of items held in the library which is used to easily locate files.

Browse our Book Shop
Browse our Family History Books
Browse our Church Records Index
Browse our School Registers Index

Cemeteries

Hamilton Public Cemetery maps and burial indexes can be found at the Centre. We also hold Sexton's burial registers from 1859 onwards.

Deceased search

You can search for records of burials at the Hamilton Public Cemetery and Lawn Cemetery on the website of the Hamilton Public Cemetery Trust. Click here.

Hamilton History Centre

The collection of the Hamilton History Centre