Organisations with First Nations records

Government Records

Aboriginal Affairs

Family Records Services

The Family Records Unit at Aboriginal Affairs helps people from New South Wales to access government records about themselves and their family. They can also give researchers permission to access the Aborigines Protection Board and Aborigines Welfare Board records.

Get a copy of the "Finding your Mob" Personal Family History Research Application Form by contacting Family Records Services.

Stolen Generations Reparations

The forced removal of Aboriginal children by the Aborigines Welfare Board under the Aborigines Protection Act had individual and widespread impacts on families and communities.

State Records NSW

Aboriginal people

Lists information about various resources and records relating to Aboriginal people.

Aboriginal Resources: Guide to NSW State archives

This guide consists of a listing and description of records held in the State Records collection which relate to Aboriginal people.

NSW Registry of Births Deaths & Marriages

Family History Search

Free access to records of births, marriages and deaths in NSW that date back to 1788.

Family history research guide

Tips to successfully complete a search of births, marriages and deaths records.

Ancestry research help and support

Find out what you can search, about the search results, how to order certificates, paid search services and who to contact for support.

Australian War Memorial

Indigenous Service

Links to Australian War Memorial’s resources related to the wartime experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Adoption Information Unit

Adoptions before 2010: applying if you're 18 or over

Find information about past adoptions that occurred before 2010, for people over the age of 18 with and without direct entitlement.

Post Adoption Resource Centre

The Post Adoption Resource Centre (PARC) provides information, counselling, intermediary services, therapeutic groups and support to people affected by adoption in NSW.

Find & Connect

History and information about Australian orphanages, children's homes and other institutions.

Wattle Place

Wattle Place is a service to support those people who grew up in orphanages, children’s Homes, institutions and foster homes in NSW from the 1920s to the 1990s.

National Archives of Australia

First Australians

The National Archives holds a significant number of records about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and history.

Bringing them Home Index

The Bringing Them Home name index helps First Australians use the NAA files to find information about themselves, their country and their history.

Libraries

Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS)

Family History

AIATSIS assists Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who are looking for information about their families. They can provide family history research assistance, access to information, skills and knowledge but do not assist with or provide proof of Aboriginality.

Dawn Names Index

This is a list of the names of people who are mentioned in the Dawn and New Dawn magazines published by the NSW Aborigines Welfare Board between 1952-1975.

Dawn

The Dawn contain articles about the conditions and activities on reserves, stations, homes and schools throughout New South Wales, as well as highlights from the work of the Aboriginal Welfare Board. You can view photos from the magazines or read from the complete set of Dawn magazines.

New Dawn

The New Dawn contain articles about the conditions and activities on reserves, stations, homes and schools throughout New South Wales, as well as highlights from the work of the Aboriginal Welfare Board. You can view photos from the magazines or read from the complete set of New Dawn magazines.

Koori Mail

The Koori Mail is an Australian newspaper written and owned by Indigenous Australians since 1991.

National Library of Australia

Australian Indigenous family history

You will find research advice, key resources, featured collection items, selected websites and research case studies.

Non-Government Organisation

Link-Up NSW

Link-Up NSW was established around 1980 to assist Aboriginal people who were separated from their family as a result of government intervention.
It provides caseworkers to assist individuals to find their family, to counsel and support them with their reunions, as well as to provide post reunion support.

NTSCORP

Genealogies and Native Title in NSW and the ACT

NTSCORP have recorded the family histories of many Aboriginal communities in New South Wales. Their researchers are happy to share the information that they have gathered.

Royal Australian Historical Society

Finding Your Ancestors: Researching Aboriginal Family History in NSW

Finding Your Ancestors is a project to encourage and help Aboriginal people to research their family history.

Society of Australian Genealogists

Support for family historians with education, training, courses, a library, archives and bookshop.

NSW & ACT Association of Family History Societies Inc

A contact list of member family history societies and groups in NSW and ACT.

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