Courts and Criminal Justice – Divorce Records
The first Victorian divorce legislation was the Divorce and Matrimonial Causes Act 1861 and was administered through the Victorian Supreme Court. Prior to this a very few Victorian residents obtained divorces under English Ecclesiastical Law. Records relating to some of these cases may be found in VPRS 282 Equity Case Files, Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction.
Records relating to divorce in Victoria: a select list
The dates shown next to each series indicate the date range of records that can be accessed through PROV. Consult the following Series pages on PROV’s online catalogue for more information about these records and the administration of divorce in Victoria. See the contact details at the end of this PROVguide if you are seeking divorce case files created after 1917.
|
VPRS 282 |
1841 – 1883 |
|
|
VPRS 283 |
1861 – 1935 |
|
|
VPRS 5335 |
Index to Divorce Cause Files [links to digitised copy] |
1861 – 1924 |
|
VPRS 5334 |
1861 –1924 |
|
|
VPRS 5336 |
?1866 – ?1888 |
|
|
VPRS 5515 |
?1890 – ?1945 |
|
|
VPRS 552 |
Divorce Case Files [held at Ballarat Archives Centre] |
1861 –1924 |
The Progress of a Divorce Case
Divorce proceedings commenced when the husband or wife (the petitioner) or their legal representative (known as a proctor) lodged a petition for divorce at the Prothonotary’s Office of the Supreme Court. The Prothonotary was, and still is, responsible for the administration of the Supreme Court and its records. Along with the petition, the petitioner submitted a statement outlining their reasons for seeking a divorce.
Once the petition was lodged the other party in the case and any other person accused of adultery in the case were required to lodge and answer to the petitioner’s charges. The petitioner could also present additional evidence in support of their case before it went to hearing. Much of the documentation of divorce cases held at PROV, including most of the content of the case files (VPRS 283), relates to this pre-hearing process.
Once a case was ready to be heard in the Supreme Court it was entered in the Divorce Cause Books (VPRS 5334) which monitor the progress of each case. In the latter part of the nineteenth century the Supreme Court sat in its Divorce and Matrimonial Causes Jurisdiction every three months, each time for a period of one month. At the commencement of each sitting a number of cases due to be heard were listed and then heard progressively over the course of that sitting. (See VPRS 5515 Divorce and Matrimonial Causes Jurisdiction Court Books for the period 1890 to 1945.)
When a judgement was handed down it was recorded in the Divorce Court Minute Books (VPRS 5336) for the period 1866 to 1888 and in the Divorce and Matrimonial Causes Jurisdiction Court Books (VPRS 5515) from around 1890. If divorce was granted, a decree or order was filed with the case papers (see VPRS 283).
Terminology
Divorce Cause: A “cause” is a Supreme Court proceeding or action. A divorce cause can be thought of as a divorce case.
Decree Nisi and Decree Absolute: Every decree for dissolution of marriage granted by the Supreme Court was in the first instance a Decree Nisi, that is a “provisional” divorce. After a certain period of time had elapsed, the petitioner was required to apply to the Court in order for a decree absolute to be granted. The parties were not free to remarry until a decree absolute had been granted.
Related Records
The following records were created during the administration of a case and may be of interest:
Divorce Cause Books (VPRS 5334) are a summary record created to monitor the progress of divorce cases at the Court and to record the receipt of some case papers. You will need to know the year in which the case commenced to order the appropriate volume from this series. To find an entry in the Cause Books use the case number (or suit number). Both the year and case number can be obtained from the indexes mentioned in Step One above. Please note: for the period 1872 to 1876 no suit numbers are recorded in the Cause Books.
Information in the Cause Books includes the names of the two parties and their proctors, the date the case was set down as ready to go to trial, the date the case was heard, the judge’s name, the grounds upon which the petition for divorce was made, the page in the Court Book upon which the judgement is recorded (see below) and sometimes the judgement itself.
Divorce and Matrimonial Court Minute Books (VPRS 5336) record the judgement delivered in a case, and cover the period 1866 to 1888. A page reference to the appropriate Court Minute Book can be obtained from the Cause Books (VPRS 5334) by noting the “page in court book” reference in the Cause Book. Alternatively, if you know the date that the case was held you can order in the appropriate volume and consult the alphabetical index at the front of the volume.
From 1890 the Divorce and Matrimonial Causes Jurisdiction Court Books (VPRS 5515) serve a similar purpose to the Court Minute Books. If the entry in the Divorce Cause Books (VPRS 5334) for the case you are researching does not include the judgement, note the date upon which the case was heard and order the appropriate volume from VPRS 5515 Divorce and Matrimonial Causes Jurisdiction Court Books (or obtain the date from an index following Step One above). Entries within each volume are arranged by the date in which the hearing commenced.
Please note: records in VPRS 5515 for the period 1920 to 1938 were not transferred to PROV.
Divorce records 1936 – 1975
Researchers seeking access to Victorian divorce records created between 1936 and 1975 can contact the Registry of the Victorian Supreme Court for advice about access:
Supreme Court of Victoria
Level 2, 436 Lonsdale Street
Melbourne VIC 3000
Phone: (03) 9603 9300
Divorce records created after 1975
In 1976 the administration of divorce was transferred from Victoria to the Commonwealth. Researchers seeking access to Victorian divorce records created after 1975 can contact the Family Court (Victoria) for advice about access:
Family Court (Victoria)
Phone: (03) 8600 3763
Email: enquiries@familylawcourts.gov.au
Futher information
For step by step instructions on searching and ordering a divorce record, please refer to HOW TOguide 61 – Ordering Divorce Records
