Little information was included in the lists of baptisms, burials, and marriages. The information varies; in some cases, only the names, dates, and place of the event were recorded. Not all church records were provided to the Registry.
We do not have original handwritten versions of church records. Our records are large volumes transcribed from the clergy returns and church records provided to the Registry. When a certificate is requested, the information is transferred into the database for a certificate to be issued.
The online index includes a code for the churches. See the list of early church codes.
Records were entered into large registers. To protect original records in a poor condition, we imaged the records. When a certificate is requested, we provide the image in a digital format. If the image cannot be provided, the record will be converted to a typed certificate.
Many marriage registers, between 1856 and the 1890s, may not show all the details which the church may have recorded in their register. Some entries were updated based on information from church registers loaned to the Registry.
Birth, marriage and death events moved from registers to separate forms from 1952. These records have been digitised and when a certificate is requested, an image of the document is provided. Since the 1990s, the records have been entered directly into the computer system. Today, certificates can now be digitally produced and printed.
Did you know?
The first birth and death recorded were on board the ships of the First Fleet:
- The first recorded birth was William Tilley on board the Lady Penryn on 20 April 1787.
- The first burial was James Bradley on board the Alexander on 3 February 1787.
- The first marriage was between William Parr and Mary MacCormick and took place in Sydney on 10 February 1788 at the corner of what is now known as Bligh and Hunter Streets.
The first registrations
From 1788 to 1856, the only birth, death or marriage records kept in NSW were the registers of baptisms, marriages and burials maintained by the churches. The Registry holds copies of the church records. The original records provided to the Registry are in the NSW Museums of History, State Archives Collection.
By 1825, the Colony became concerned about the lack of comprehensive records. As a result, they passed 8 Acts of parliament between 1825 and 1855.
William Carter was appointed as the first non-civil Registrar General in 1843. On 1 January 1850, the role of Registrar General was transferred to the Registrar of the Supreme Court. At that time, Theodore Jacques, a clerk from the now-closed Registrar General's Office, was appointed, and Carter retired. Carter’s departure was linked to the financial and constitutional challenges facing New South Wales during the 1840s.
The Legislative Council voted to revive the position of Registrar General in response to the legislation on marriage. By the 1850s, the Colony had produced marriage laws that resulted in unregistered marriages. This could undermine the legitimacy of children and impact on the inheritance of property.
They adopted a system of uniformity and certainty. The marriage legislation now stated conditions for a valid marriage and included the Church of England and other denominations. The State could then register the marriages.
A Registration Act was also drawn up, allowing NSW to record all births, deaths, and marriages.
Compulsory civil registration began in 1856 with An Act for Registering Births, Deaths and Marriages 1856. This allowed the Governor to appoint a Registrar General and establish an office in Sydney to register all births, deaths, and marriages in NSW. The Colony was divided into registry districts. District registrars and ministers were given books and forms to record births, deaths, and marriages.
This meant the public had to notify the district registrar when an event happened.
In the case of birth, the parents could notify the registrar. In the case of a marriage, the minister could notify, and in the case of a death, any person residing in the home where the death occurred could notify.
In the early years of civil registration, most events were registered on verbal advice. The use of notification forms did not begin until after World War One in 1918. District registrars would enter the details into bound registers and give the registration a unique number. They made a copy of the registration on a loose registration sheet and forwarded it to the Sydney Registry at the end of each quarter.
The Sydney Registry would consolidate these returns. They were bound with Sydney registrations first, followed by the metropolitan districts and then the country districts in alphabetical order. The consolidated registers were then renumbered starting at one (1) and running throughout the entire year.
The Registry has collected copies of early church records since 1856. Major efforts to source or copy these registers took place in 1856, 1879 and 1912. In recent years more church registers have been found, and copies sent to the Registry for inclusion in the State's records. The Registry no longer collects church records.
1856
The Registry's first acquisition was in 1856 when it took possession of records held by the Supreme Court. These included copies of 1834 to 1855 baptisms, marriages, and burials from ministers of denominations other than the Church of England.
1879
The Clergy Returns Transfer Act 1879 was passed. It stated that the copies of the 1825 to 1855 baptism, marriage and burial registers that were lodged with the Church of England Bishop in Sydney, be handed over to the Registry. Until this time, the records had been held by Henry Kerrison James who had issued certificates from them. Mr James was paid 4,000 pounds for the records. When the crates were opened, they contained not only the 1825 to 1855 records but also the earlier registers going back to 1787.
1912
The Registrar General wrote to all church authorities requesting that they allow him access to their pre-1856 registers. The Registry's early church records were consolidated into volumes, and each entry was given a unique number. When the reconciliation was complete, there were 158 volumes of early church records with approximately 500,000 entries.
The task of reconciling the early church records and amending the marriage registrations was never finalised. Therefore, the Registry's records from these years are not complete.
It is recommended that people wanting as much information as possible about an official event check the original church record. In this way, details missing from a transcribed marriage certificate or a baptism record with no corresponding civil registration record could be found.
Our index
The index makes it easier to find registered birth, marriage and death events, as well as baptism, marriage, and burial records held by the Registry, by name, event type, date range, district and registration number.
From 1856, annual birth, death and marriage indexes were created in handwritten registers.
- Marriages were indexed under both the bride's and groom's name.
- Re-registrations, legitimations, adoptions, and late registrations were usually indexed both in the year the event occurred and again when it was registered.
- There was no linking of birth records to subsequent marriages or deaths, nor between children and families.
In 1912, a consolidated index to the volumes containing the 1787 to 1855 baptism, marriage and burial records was created to replace the many separate indexes in existence. The miscellaneous births and deaths were included in this index.
The index was later issued on microfiche, a flat film format, for public use and was updated annually as historic records became available. These records were later collated in a microfiche index series titled ‘Pioneers index 1788-1888,’ ‘Federation index 1889-1918,’ and ‘Between the Wars 1919-1945.’ The last series did not include births.
As more processes were digitised, the Registry’s index was made available on CD Rom in the 1990s, before it was eventually moved online.
The index lists key identifying information and the registration number but has never included mother's maiden name (births), place of event or spouse's name (deaths).
Reconciling records
Incomplete birth and death records
While reconciling the church records, the Registry registered and indexed thousands of miscellaneous births and deaths dating back to 1856. These registrations related to events which were brought to the attention of the appropriate district registrar but could not be registered because of:
- incomplete information
- missing signatures or
- time lapsed since birth.
Although incomplete, the forms held by the Registry were the only record of these events. They were therefore entered into 4 volumes and allocated reference numbers (volumes 151–154).
Late registrations
The original 1856 Act establishing the process of civil registration required that:
- a child's birth is registered within 60 days, and
- the district registrar could not register a birth after six months.
If the parents did not meet the deadline, the births were not registered. However, if the child was baptised, these records were reconciled by the Registry in 1912. Others were recorded by way of a declaration.
In 1935, the Act was changed to allow births to be registered at any time. As a result, many births that had occurred before 1918 were registered and cross-referenced in the index with the year of birth.