Author: Tara Oldfield
Senior Communications Advisor
Hundreds of historic State Government archives have been made public as part of Public Record Office Victoria’s annual opening of officially closed records. The records are of particular interest to family historians waiting on files that mention members of their family tree.
Under Section 9 of the Public Records Act 1973 files of a personal or private nature are closed from between 75 to 99 years to prevent the violation of personal privacy. On the 1st of January 2017, another year of files was opened to the public for the first time. Director and Keeper of Public Records, Justine Heazlewood, said this year’s openings may provide researchers with missing pieces of their family history puzzle.
“These newly opened records provide a snapshot into our State’s history. From the capital cases that made headlines in 1941 to divorces of Ballarat – these annual openings provide a new opportunity to discover our past,” said Ms Heazlewood.
Among this year’s openings are Criminal Trial Briefs relating to Pentridge prison escapee Kenneth Raymond Jones, the capital case file of Alfred Bye executed for the murder of Tommy Walker, Divorce Case Files from Melbourne and Ballarat Courts of 1941, Post Mortem Registers from Kew Hospital and Tramway and Victorian Railroads Employee Records.
“There are so many incredible stories to be found in Victoria’s archives. These records of the past now serve to help researchers, academics, writers and historians discover another dimension to years gone by,” said Ms Heazlewood.
A broad guide to time periods for closure under Section 9 is as follows:
- Records primarily concerning adults may be closed for 75 years from the year in which the records were created.
- Records concerning children as the primary subject of the record may be closed for 99 years from the year in which the records were created.
- Records such as staff records where the individuals concerned may still be in the workforce may be closed for a lesser period such as 30, 40, or 50 years as appropriate.
See below for a full list of opened records:
|
Record Title |
Date Range |
|
|
Criminal Trial Briefs |
1941 |
|
|
Inward Registered Correspondence |
1940-1941 |
|
|
Divorce Case Files, Melbourne |
1940-1941 |
|
|
Children’s Court Register |
1912-1917 |
|
|
Central Register of Male Prisoners |
1940-1941 |
|
|
Register of Names, Particulars and Personal Descriptions of Prisoners |
1940-1941 |
|
|
Index To Register Of Prisoners Received |
1939-1941 |
|
|
Divorce Case Files, Ballarat |
1941 |
|
|
Examination Registers (Technical Subjects) |
1985-1986 |
|
|
Capital Sentence Files |
1941 |
|
|
Wages Records |
1940-1941 |
|
|
Children’s Court Registers, Richmond |
Feb 1916-Jun 1917 |
|
|
Children’s Court Registers, Prahran |
Sept 1915-April 1917 |
|
|
Children’s Court Register, Berringa |
1908-1917 |
|
|
Criminal Trial Brief Register II |
1941 |
|
|
Criminal Trial Brief Register II |
1941 |
|
|
Master Patient Index Cards |
1939/40-1940/41 |
|
|
Ward Registers |
Nov 1916-Nov 1917 |
|
|
Children’s Court Registers, Stawell |
1915-1917 |
|
|
Divorce Cause Books |
Sept 1939-Feb 1941 |
|
|
Children’s Court Registers |
Feb 1916-May 1917 |
|
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Post Mortem Registers, Kew Mental Hospital |
Jan 1939-Jul 1941 |
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Head Attendant’s Daily Report Books Male Department, Kew Mental Hospital |
1940-1941 |
|
|
Registers of Voluntary Boarders in Hospitals for the Insane |
1934-1941 |
|
|
Head Nurse’s Daily Report Book – Female Wards, |
Nov 1940-Dec 1941 |
|
|
Bound Circulated Photographs and Offences of Convicted Persons |
Dec 1940-Sept 1941 |
|
|
Nursing Report Books – Female, Sunbury Mental Hospital |
Nov 1940-Nov 1941 |
|
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Admission Warrants – Male, Sunbury Mental Hospital |
Mar 1939-May 1941 |
|
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Admission Warrants – Female, Sunbury Mental Hospital |
May 1939-May 1941 |
|
|
Presentments, Supreme Court |
1941 |
|
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Children’s Court Registers, Camperdown |
1907-Aug 1917 |
|
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Children’s Court Registers, Williamstown |
June 1916-Oct 1917 |
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Children’s Court Registers, Warrnambool |
June 1916-Jan 1917 |
|
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Children’s Court Registers, Ararat |
1907-Nov 1917 |
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Personal Description of Prisoners Received Book, Ballarat |
July 1935-May 1941 |
|
|
Children’s Court Registers, Sale |
1907-Feb 1917 |
|
|
Children’s Court Registers, Carlton |
1908-July 1917 |
|
|
Tramway Employees Record Cards |
1960-1961 |
|
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Correspondence with Australian Railway Union |
1960-1961 |
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|
Accident Compensation Claim Register, Claims Branch |
1960-1961 |
|
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Accident Compensation Claim Book |
1959-1961 |
|
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Employment History Sheets, Photographic Division |
1920-1961 |
|
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In-Patient Death Registers |
July 1979-Feb 1986 |
|
|
Board Minutes, Physiotherapists Registration Board |
August 1963-June 1966 |
|
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Board Minutes and Papers, Dental Board |
Oct 1964-Oct 1966 |
|
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Criminal Presentments and Final Orders, Melbourne |
Nov 1940-Dec 1941 |
|
|
Register of Pathology Tests, Mont Park Mental Hospital |
1933-1941 |
|
|
Children’s Court Register, Preston |
Nov 1913-March 1917 |
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