Aboriginal Family History

Key Resources

Collections

Family History for Aboriginal People - Official Government Records
The State Records Office in Western Australia holds a range of official government records of use to Aboriginal people tracing their family tree.

Interviews with Aboriginal People
Some Aboriginal people have told their stories on tape, including Isobel Bropho, Alice Nannup and Ken Colbung.

Major References

The Bicentennial Dictionary of Western Australians, Volumes 1 to 8, 1829-1914
An index to personal names in a series of volumes listing many Aboriginal people, European and Asian settlers in the 19th and early 20th centuries in Western Australia.
Four volumes are devoted to Aboriginal people:

Aboriginal Names of the Pilbara, c1870-1890, the Gascoyne, c1880-1890, the Kimberley, c1880-1890
Individual entries give a person's common name, any other name, locality and the source of the information.

The Department of Indigenous Affairs Family History Service Personal Names Index
Index to cards containing extracts from personal files held with the Department for Family and Children's Services. These are only available to an Aboriginal person who is the subject of the card. You can consult a copy of the index at the State Records Office Search Room Enquiry Desk but to see the cards with the personal information, you will need to contact the Department of Indigenous Affairs Family History Officer.

Lookin for Your Mob
A guide by Diane Smith to tracing Aboriginal family trees, published in 1990 by the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies.

Nyungar Tradition : Glimpses of Aborigines of South-Western Australia, 1829-1914
Includes index to names on family trees, and names in text.

Services

The Department of Indigenous Affairs of Western Australia Family History Information Service
Presents information on the Department's resources, including a Personal Names Index and the Tindale collection, and outlines how to go about researching Aboriginal Family History. A helpful flowchart illustrates the steps involved. Includes contact names and addresses for family history information and how to seek permission to access files.

Family Information Records Bureau (FIRB)
Department for Communities
The Family Information Records Bureau has information on Western Australian Aboriginal families in the past, including personal files, records of marriage or defacto relationships, placement of children, employment, health and police records. Some records go back to the 1920’s.

Adoption Services
Department for Child Protection
Contains information about adoptions in Western Australia, that includes current procedures, as well as records of adoptions that occurred in the past.

Community Resources

Interest/Support Groups

My Place My People Support Groups
Gives contact details for Aboriginal support groups in each state, including Link-up which helps Aboriginal people trace their living relatives.

Other Information Resources

Net Links

Non-Indigenous Family History Sources
Key resources include the Genealogy Centre, details of the Western Australian Genealogical Society and descriptions of the major resources for each state in Australia and for Britain, Scotland, Ireland and New Zealand.

AIATSIS Library Family History Unit
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Biographical Index (ABI) with 35,000 entries. The ABI is available on-line as an integral part of Mura, the Institute's on-line catalogue.

South Australia

State Library of South Australia Aboriginal Family History
A guide to the sources to trace Aboriginal family histories in South Australia.

South Australian Museum Indigenous Information Centre
The Centre holds original Tindale materials and extends the information that is available in the Australian Aboriginal Cultures Gallery.

Queensland

State Library of Queensland Indigenous Family History Resources
How to access various collections including the Norman Tindale Collection, a series of genealogy sheets and photographs of Aboriginal people who lived on various Aboriginal missions throughout Australia during the period 1939 to 1959. Information available on these sheets includes up to three (3) generations of family names and in some cases tribal names, relevant moiety and totem.

Victoria

National Archives of Australia Melbourne Collections Aboriginal History
Records are held relating to the administration of Aboriginal people in Victoria dating back to 1860.

My Heart is Breaking
A Joint Guide to Records about Aboriginal People in the Public Record Office of Victoria and the Australian Archives, Victorian Regional Office.