Family history and genealogy

Genealogy is the study of family origins based on records of important events in the lives of individuals and their ancestors and families. Learn more by exploring the list of eResources on this page. If you are beginning your search, see Getting Started in Genealogy for more information or join a Family History Group at our libraries.

Libraries also provide a range of Local and Family History Events, such as presentations and workshops, suitable for both beginner and advanced researchers.  

Genealogy resources

Births Deaths and Marriages registries
Search historical State and Territory birth, death and marriage records.

Moreton Bay Cemeteries Database
Access records of people interred in Council maintained cemeteries located in the Moreton Bay Region.

Brisbane City Council Grave Location Search
Search records for people buried or cremated in cemeteries and crematoria in Brisbane City Council area.

Ryerson Index
A free index to funeral, death and legal notices appearing in Australian newspapers.

State Records and Archives
Access digitised records and database indexes online.

Ancestry Library Edition training
Learn how to use Ancestry Library Edition, a database for family history and genealogy.

Find My Past training
Learn how to use Find My Past, a genealogy resource with millions of records covering Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and the Pacific Islands.

FamilySearch training
Learn how to use FamilySearch, the largest genealogy organisation in the world containing millions of historical records.

General history and genealogy

Discovering Anzacs
Explore a diverse selection of government records about Australians and New Zealanders in World War 1 and the Boer War and experience the personal stories of service men and women through archival records.

Australian War Memorial
The Australian War Memorial is Australia’s national memorial to the members of its armed forces. Search records relating to the war and view digitised enlistment papers for service men and women.

National Library of Australia Trove - Digitised Newspapers
Collection of digitised historical newspapers with range of titles from every state

Convict Transportation Registers
Search from over 123,000 records of convicts transported to Australia.

Rootsweb
Free online family history resource.

IGI Batch Numbers
This site lists the Batch Numbers for known Parishes of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, as well as America and Canada.

Free BMD
Searchable database of historical birth, marriage and death records for England and Wales, includes FreeREG (Parish Registers) and FreeCEN (Census data).

  • FreeCEN is a free-to-view searchable database of the 19th century UK census returns.
  • FreeREG is a free searchable database of UK Parish Register information. 

GENUKI
Online library of genealogy and family history resources for the UK and Ireland.

The Times Digital Archive
Spanning 1785 to 2014, the archive of the 'world's newspaper of record' published in London, covers all major international historical events. An extraordinary tool for family historians and researchers. See this full-text facsimile newspaper online. State Library of Queensland membership required. Become a State Library member.

Queensland Family History Society
Not for profit state organisation, providing support to trace family histories in Queensland.

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