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BEGIN YOUR RESEARCH

Through Public Record Office Victoria you can access a variety of records that hold information about the people, institutions and government of Victoria created since the 1830s. If you have not visited a large archive before, spend some time to familiarise yourself with the following information - it may help you to narrow your search.

What can you find at Public Record Office Victoria?

As the State's archival authority PROV holds records created by Victorian government departments and authorities, the State's courts, municipalities, schools, public hospitals and other public offices. The records date from the settlement of the Port Phillip District in the mid 1830s and include information relating to areas of activity managed or regulated by government such as land settlement, the administration of justice, health and welfare, education, planning, transport, resource management, Koorie records and immigration. PROVguide 66 outlines the principles PROV uses to keep track of the nearly 80km of records currently stored in PROV's climate controlled repository in North Melbourne.

All records can be viewed at the Victorian Archives Centre reading room located at North Melbourne. The Victorian Archives Centre holds a large set of search and reference tools, on computer, paper based and in microform. Some frequently used records, such as shipping lists recording immigrants to Victoria, have been microfilmed and can also be viewed in the reading room.

A second reading room is located in Ballarat, holding original records created by government offices in the central highlands, South West and Wimmera regions. There are records of the courts, local government, district land and police offices, mining registrars and wardens and water and sewerage authorities, as well as microfilm copies of records frequently used by family historians.

You can search through much of PROV's collection online using Archives@Victoria, our web-based search and ordering tool, but in most cases you will need to visit a PROV reading room to view records.

Public Record Office Victoria's Reference staff are also available to help you find the information you are looking for. They have experience in identifying and using the records.

What Public Record Office Victoria does not hold:

PROV is specifically responsible for records created by the State Government of Victoria. It does not hold records of the Commonwealth Government and other State Governments, of private individuals, or of private institutions and organisations such as churches, private schools and hospitals, businesses, trade unions, clubs and societies.

Many record collections which include information relevant to the Ballarat region are held in the repository at North Melbourne and cannot be viewed in the Ballarat Archives Centre. These include land selection files, primary school correspondence files, probate administration files, inquest depositions and supreme court case files to mention but a few.

Which public records must you consult or obtain copies of elsewhere?

Certificates of Birth, Death and Marriage
PROV's reading rooms hold the widely distributed indexes to the certificates. However, the certificates themselves are held at the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Transport House, 589 Collins St, Melbourne 3000, to which direct application should be made for copies. The Registry has an online search service available (for a fee) through http://www.dvc.vic.gov.au/bdm.htm.

Inquests
Not all Inquest Deposition Files can be consulted. At present only files for the years 1841 to 1992 are available. Access to more recent files is through the State Coroner's Office, Coronial Services Centre, 57-83 Kavanagh Street, South Melbourne 3006.

Probate
Similarly not all Wills and Probate and Administration files can be consulted. At present only files for the years 1841 to 1992 are available. Access to more recent files is through the Probate Office, 2nd Floor, 436 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne.

Historic Plan Collection
Microfiche copies of this collection of early maps of Victoria can be viewed at the Land and Survey Information Centre, Marland House, Ground Floor, 570 Bourke St Melbourne 3000. A microfiche copy of the Register of Historic Plans 1802 - 1963, which serves as an index to the collection, is held in the Victorian Archives Centre Reading Room.

Company Registration Files
A microfiche index to these records can be consulted in both PROV reading rooms or at any office of the Australian Securities Commission. PROV holds all the files believed to exist of companies registered BEFORE February 1974. Access to files of companies registered AFTER February 1974 is through the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, Level 17, 485 Latrobe Street, Melbourne, 3000.

When you should contact other archives?

Post 1923 Immigration Records
PROV holds records of unassisted immigration from 1852 to 1923. From 1924 the Commonwealth Government took over responsibility for monitoring arrivals and departures. Lists of passengers disembarking in Victorian ports from January 1924 are held at the Melbourne Office of the National Archives of Australia, which is also located at the Victorian Archives Centre.

Naturalisation Certificates
An index to naturalisations is available in both PROV reading rooms. The naturalisation certificates and accompanying papers however are held by the National Archives of Australia. Requests for copies of these papers should be addressed to the Officer in Charge, National Archives of Australia, Reference Processing Centre, P.O. Box 7425, Canberra Mail Centre ACT 2911.

Land selection files
PROV holds licence and lease files which document land settlement under the Land Selection Acts of the 19th century. These document the proceedings leading up to the issue of a crown grant. Land selection file numbers are recorded on parish/township maps.

For a file is to be located its number must be known. Parish maps can be consulted in the Victorian Archives Centre Reading Room, the Land and Survey Information Centre, Marland House, Ground Floor, 570 Bourke St Melbourne 3000, or at any regional office of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment.

What may be on restricted access?

To protect the privacy of the subjects of files many of the records of correctional institutions, the police, the courts, hospitals and welfare agencies etc. are closed for specified periods. Generally the closure period for records relating to adults is 75 years after the creation of the record, while for those relating to children it is 99 years.

Other records may be closed because of their fragility.