State Records NSW
State Records preserves the official archives of the state of NSW from 1788 to the present. The State's archives are a unique and irreplaceable part of our culture heritage. They document the business of government in New South Wales and its interaction with people and groups in our society. In addition to the reading room located in the Rocks area there is also a reading room located in Western Sydney: The Western Sydney Records Centre 143 O'Connell Street, Kingswood Telepnone: (02) 9673 1733
Address:
2 Globe Street, The Rocks, NSW
Tel:
0296731788
Hours:
Weekdays 9am - 5pm, Saturday 10am - 4pm (closed Sundays and Public Holidays)
Website:
Email:
Admission:
Free
Facilities:
Enquiry, copying services, seminars, talks, tours, exhibitions program, on-line: search tools, exhibitions, digistised copies of records.
Collection:
The collection consists of records of the convict system, such as the First Fleet convict indents and pardons, documents which established our systems of government and justice, such as the Charters of Justice 1787, 1814, and 1823. There are key sources of information about people and life, such as the records of the 1828 and 1901 censuses and records of exploration and land settlement , such as Phillip's 1792 map of Sydney and Sturt's report on his 1838 journey to South Australia. The archives appear in all formats: files; photographs; maps; posters; plans; films; sound recordings; and electronic records.
Items
Photographs in bound volumes
Photographs taken during cleansing operations in quarantine areas, Sydney
Creator:
Public Works
Description:
These are photographs of quarantine areas in Sydney, following the outbreak of Bubonic Plague in 1900, taken by Mr. George McCredie, in charge of cleansing and disinfecting operations in quarantine areas. The photographs largely of buildings requiring to be demolished, and include the interior and exterior of houses, stores, warehouses and wharves, and surrounding streets, lanes and yards, thus providing a fairly clear indication of the state of the city during and immediately after the Plague.
Date:
1900
Item Id Number:
CGS 12487
Manuscript
Charter of Justice, 1823
Creator:
Supreme Court
Description:
This document enabled a departure from the ad hoc and pragmatic innovations that had characterised the application of law in early colonieal New South Wales. It provided for creation of a Supreme Court of New South Wales, with a single Chief Justice, for the appointment of Court officers, and the admission of solicitors and barristers. It also made limited provision for trial by jury.
Date:
1823
Item Id Number:
CGS 13461
Manuscript
New South Wales Charter of Justice, 1787
Creator:
Colonial Secretary
Description:
The document is the authority for the establishment of the first New South Wales Courts of Criminal and Civil Jurisdiction. It is in the form of Letters Patent providing for a Deputy Judge-Advocate and six court officers to be appointed by the Governor and the establishment of a Civil Court. The displayed image is part of the whole object.
Date:
1787
Item Id Number:
CGS 1021
Bound Volume
Indents First Fleet, Second Fleet and ships, 1788-99
Creator:
Colonial Secretary
Description:
The 'Convict Indents' are the most important legal records in the convict system. They usually take the form of lists of convicts arranged by the ships in which they arrived, although some alphabetical compilations exist for the period up to 1800.
Date:
1788-99
Item Id Number:
CGS1150
Map
Phillip's Map: A survey of the settlement in New South Wales
Creator:
Surveyor General
Description:
This map was signed by Governor Phillip in Sydney, and dated 2 December 1792. It shows the outline of the settlement and buldins around Sydney Cove and Farm Cove, and the boundary line of Sydney Common and ground retained for use of the Crown. On the back there is another outline of the settlement, which appears to be similar but not as complete, which is also signed and dated 2 December 1792.
Date:
1792
Item Id Number:
CGS 113859