1 January 2017
Hundreds of historic State Government archives have been made public today 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. As of the 1st of January 2017, another year of files will be 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.
See below for a full list of opened records. 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.
Contact PROV’s Communications Officer, Tara Oldfield, for more information:
0418 698 364 or at media@prov.vic.gov.au
2016 RECORD OPENINGS
|
Record Title |
Agency |
Date Range |
|
|
Criminal Trial Briefs |
Office of Public Prosecutions |
1941 |
|
|
Inward Registered Correspondence |
Attorney-General's Department |
1940-1941 |
|
|
Divorce Case Files, Melbourne |
Supreme Court of Victoria |
1940-1941 |
|
|
Children's Court Register |
Malvern Courts |
1912-1917 |
|
|
Central Register of Male Prisoners |
Penal & Gaols Branch |
1940-1941 |
|
|
Register of Names, Particulars and Personal Descriptions of Prisoners |
Pentridge Gaol |
1940-1941 |
|
|
Index To Register Of Prisoners Received |
Pentridge Gaol |
1939-1941 |
|
|
Divorce Case Files |
Ballarat Courts |
1941 |
|
|
Examination Registers (Technical Subjects) |
Education Department |
1985-1986 |
|
|
Capital Sentence Files |
Governor |
1941 |
|
|
Wages Records |
Country Roads Board |
1940-1941 |
|
|
Children's Court Registers |
Richmond Courts |
Feb 1916-Jun 1917 |
|
|
Children's Court Registers |
Prahran Courts |
Sept 1915-April 1917 |
|
|
Children's Court Register |
Berringa Courts |
1908-1917 |
|
|
Criminal Trial Brief Register II |
Office of Public Prosecutions |
1941 |
|
|
Criminal Trial Brief Register II |
Office of Public Prosecutions |
1941 |
|
|
Master Patient Index Cards |
Alfred Hospital |
1939/40-1940/41 |
|
|
Ward Registers |
Chief Secretary's Department |
Nov 1916-Nov 1917 |
|
|
Children's Court Registers |
Stawell Courts |
1915-1917 |
|
|
Divorce Cause Books |
Supreme Court of Victoria |
Sept 1939-Feb 1941 |
|
|
Children's Court Registers |
Fitzroy Courts |
Feb 1916-May 1917 |
|
|
Post Mortem Registers |
Kew Mental Hospital |
Jan 1939-Jul 1941 |
|
|
Head Attendant's Daily Report Books - Male Department |
Kew Mental Hospital |
1940-1941 |
|
|
Registers of Voluntary Boarders in Hospitals for the Insane |
Department of Mental Hygiene |
1934-1941 |
|
|
Head Nurse's Daily Report Book - Female Wards |
Kew Mental Hospital |
Nov 1940-Dec 1941 |
|
|
Bound Circulated Photographs and Offences of Convicted Persons |
South Australia Police Department |
Dec 1940-Sept 1941 |
|
|
Nursing Report Books - Female - Mental Hospital |
Sunbury Mental Hospital |
Nov 1940-Nov 1941 |
|
|
Admission Warrants - Male Patients |
Sunbury Mental Hospital |
Mar 1939-May 1941 |
|
|
Admission Warrants - Female Patients |
Sunbury Mental Hospital |
May 1939-May 1941 |
|
|
Presentments |
Supreme Court of Victoria |
1941 |
|
|
Children's Court Registers |
Camperdown Courts |
1907-Aug 1917 |
|
|
Children's Court Registers |
Williamstown Courts |
June 1916-Oct 1917 |
|
|
Children's Court Register |
Warrnambool Courts |
June 1916-Jan 1917 |
|
|
Children's Court Registers |
Ararat Courts |
1907-Nov 1917 |
|
|
Personal Description of Prisoners Received Book |
Ballarat Gaol |
July 1935-May 1941 |
|
|
Children's Court Register |
Sale Courts |
1907-Feb 1917 |
|
|
Children's Court Registers |
Carlton Courts |
1908-July 1917 |
|
|
Tramway Employees Record Cards |
Melbourne And Metropolitan Tramways Board |
1960-1961 |
|
|
Correspondence with Australian Railway Union |
Victorian Railways |
1960-1961 |
|
|
Accident Compensation Claim Register, Claims Branch |
Victorian Railways |
1960-1961 |
|
|
Accident Compensation Claim Book |
Melbourne And Metropolitan Tramways Board |
1959-1961 |
|
|
Employment History Sheets, Photographic Division |
Victorian Railways |
1920-1961 |
|
|
In-Patient Death Registers |
The Royal Children's Hospital |
July 1979-Feb 1986 |
|
|
Board Minutes |
Physiotherapists Registration Board |
August 1963-June 1966 |
|
|
Board Minutes and Papers |
Dental Board of Victoria |
Oct 1964-Oct 1966 |
|
|
Criminal Presentments and Final Orders, Melbourne |
Court of General Sessions |
Nov 1940-Dec 1941 |
|
|
Register of Pathology Tests |
Mont Park Mental Hospital |
1933-1941 |
|
|
Children's Court Register |
Preston Courts |
Nov 1913-March 1917 |
|
