Family History
South Perth and Manning Libraries have a wide range of books relating to family history research, all of which are searchable through the Library catalogue.
Both libraries also offer free access to the following online resources to assist with family history research:
Ancestry Library Edition
The world's largest online family history resource with 10 billion genealogical records from across the globe and millions of family trees. Use it to search through census, birth, marriage, death, military, convict and immigration records, as well as Australian electoral rolls and passenger lists.
Visit the Ancestry library edition website.
Please note: Ancestry Library Editions is only available from with the Library due to IP restrictions.
Microfiche Records
Available for viewing by appointment at the South Perth Library, the Local History Collection carries a wide range of microfiche records that can assist in family history research.
Useful Links
Western Australian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages - offers free online historic index searching of births (from 1841-1932), deaths (from 1841-1971) and marriages (from 1841-1936) in W.A.
Wise's Post Office Directories - an invaluable source of information for anyone who is doing family history research on Western Australia during the period 1893-1949.
Metropolitan Cemeteries Board - maintains records for all interments, cremations and memorials at cemeteries in W.A. dating back to 1899.
Family Search - preserves and shares one of the largest collection of genealogical and historical records in the world.
State Library of Western Australia (SLWA) Catalogue - search through the State Library's Heritage Collections, Pictures, Maps, etc.
Australian family history and genealogy selected websites - by the National Library of Australia. Contains a variety of information relating to family history and genealogy including guides, indexes and digitised images of documents, as well as links to other informative sites both in Australia and overseas and pathways to make contact with other family historians.
Western Australian Genealogical Society (WAGS) - offers up plenty of information on family history research (for members and non-members). Good resources include the WAGS Guides and the WAGS Genealogy Links Table, as well as the listing of publicly available Indexes and Databases.
National Archives of Australia - more than 100 years of Australian Government records, documenting the history of individuals, communities and the nation.
Maritime Archaeology shipwreck database - contains records and details for over 1650 Western Australian shipwrecks recorded by the Western Australian Museum.
Passenger arrivals index - includes an index of passengers arriving at Fremantle, Perth Airport and outports between 1898-1978. A useful online database as the passenger lists lodged in Fremantle included all passengers disembarking in Fremantle, and usually passengers travelling on to other Australian ports (such as Melbourne or Sydney) or overseas ports (such as Auckland or Colombo)
State Library of W.A. Family History Guides - use the State Library's Subject Guides to find detailed information on resources available for family history research both within the State Library and online.
History at Home: A Guide to Genealogy - a long list of helpful resources for family history research.
