Electoral rolls (NSW), 1903-1989
Aboriginal people of New South Wales have been eligible to vote in state elections since Australia's federation in 1901. Few Aboriginal people were aware of their right to vote so it is surprising how many actually appear on the earlier rolls. It is only since 1984 that all Aboriginal people have been required to enrol to vote. Find a brief history of the eligibility of Indigenous people to vote in Australia on the Australian Electoral Commission’s website.
How to search the NSW electoral rolls
You will first need to find out the name of the electoral division in which the person you are searching lived. This information will then help you find them in the electoral rolls.
- STEP 1
Find the electoral division
To work out the electoral division in which the person you are searching lived, find the folder, Commonwealth of Australia 1901-1988, Electoral Redistributions (see full catalogue details) on a table located near the Family History librarian's desk at the State Library.
- STEP 2
- Open the folder to the page of 'Contents' and find the years you wish to search. Turn to the page covering those years and find the relevant map for either New South Wales or Sydney and adjacent regions. These maps have been divided into the electoral divisions.
- STEP 3
Locate the town or suburb on the map where your relative was living during the time period you are searching, and see which electoral division it falls into. For example, someone living in the Sydney suburb of La Perouse in 1903 is shown on the map to be included in the electoral division of Wentworth.
TIP
If you can't find the electoral division on the map, try searching NSW Electoral Divisions 1859-1969 on cards in a set of drawers near the Family History Desk. Ask a librarian if you need assistance.
- STEP 4
Search the electoral rolls
Find the NSW electoral rolls, 1903-1989 on microfiche in the microfiche cabinets in the Family History Service. They are arranged in chronological order by year and alphabetically by division.
- STEP 5
Find the set of microfiche for the year that you are interested in and then, within this set, the microfiche covering the electoral division you are searching. For example, if you are searching for a person who lived on the Aboriginal Reserve at La Perouse in 1903 you would select the 1903 set of microfiche marked 'Division: Wentworth'.
- STEP 6
Each electoral division is split into further subdivisions or polling places. To find the person you are searching for, you may need to search through each of the alphabetical lists of names under all subdivisions or polling places within the larger electoral division you have selected.
- STEP 7
Load the microfiche into the microfiche reader and move the carrier horizontally and vertically to search each alphabetical list of names for each subdivision or polling place until you find the person you are searching. This is an example of the type of information you may find:
No. Surname Christian name Sex Place of living Occupation 480 Timberley Emma F La Perouse Domestic duties 481 Timberley Jane F La Perouse Domestic duties 482 Timberley Lizzie F La Perouse Domestic duties 483 Timberley Nellie F La Perouse Domestic duties 484 Timbury Joseph M La Perouse Fisherman 485 Timbury George junior M Aborigines camp Fisherman 486 Timbury John M La Perouse Fisherman Be aware: Watch out for mis-spellings of a person's surname. In the above example, all of these people are from the same family and the correct spelling of their surname is Timbery.
