Finding Your Family in Queanbeyan and Region
The Queanbeyan and District Historical Museum is not a family history research archive and only holds limited information that can be searched for a particular family.

We do have:  Some cemetery records for the historic Riverside Cemetery and some published books relating to particular families.

There are organisations in the area holding family collections who will be happy to assist you with your research, thought they may be subject to search guidelines or require a fee.

The Queanbeyan City Library has a Local Studies Collection
The Local History Collection consists of: historical photographs; a small general genealogy collection; a small map collection; some historic monographs from the old Queanbeyan School of Art; a small collection of Queanbeyan ephemera and regalia.
Queanbeyan’s early rates books
Rates/Valuation books were used to record Council rates collection.
Rates books may include details such as –
the situation of the land (parish/portion etc.)
name and residence of owner
name and occupation of occupier
annual value
and rates due and received.
QCC also has a number of research collections:
The Sheedy Memorial Local History Collection: The books, research notes and papers of local historian and avid researcher Mr Bert Sheedy form the basis for the wider local history collection and contain many obituaries and death notices.
The Collection of Frederick J. McCauley: Long time Unionist, Politician (NSW and ACT), and member of local committees, Fred McCauley played a large role in the way Queanbeyan developed.
Research Notes of Mr Errol Lea-Scarlett: This collection of notes is the result of Erroll Lee Scarlett’s research into the history of Queanbeyan and Gundaroo.  He is the author of Queanbeyan, District and People. The QCC Local Studies Collection has recently acquired a large addition to this research collection.
Electoral Rolls
The following titles are available in the QCC local history collection
REF 994.47/REY Captain’s Flat electoral roll 1922
LH 929.39447/REY Monaro Electoral Roll 1861, Jerangle Electoral Roll 1922
LH 929.39447/QUE Queanbeyan Electoral Roll 1884-85
LH 929.39447/ELE Electoral Roll – NSW Eden Monaro, Bungendore 1895, 1915
The QCC Newspaper collections include a complete run in microfilm of the Queanbeyan Newspapers 1860+ as well as 1930s onwards in paper and good collections of other regional newspapers such as Bungendore. The Library also has a good collection of history books about Queanbeyan.
Contact the QCC Local History and Special Collections Librarian
Brigid Whitbread: Tel: 02 6285 6256;
Email: Brigid.Whitbread@qcc.nsw.gov.au
(Works Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays).
http://www.qcc.nsw.gov.au/Discover-Queanbeyan/Heritage/Local-History

RESEARCHING YOUR OWN FAMILY HISTORY
Tips on Getting started:

•  You have collected information on your family.
•  You have spoken to other members of the family
•  You have obtained certificates
•  You have recorded all the Information you have

RESEARCH SOURCES

New South Wales Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages holds over 17 million records of events registered in New South Wales.

These records include:

• Early Church Records (baptismal, marriages and burials) from 1788 to 1855.
• Birth, death and marriage registrations from 1856 to the present day.
• Family History Certificates are available to anyone if the event occurred: Births 100 years ago or more
  Deaths 30 years ago or more
  Marriages 50 years ago or more

Web site: http://www.bdm.nsw.gov.au

Births, Deaths & Marriages ACT
The Births, Deaths & Marriages Unit registers birth, death, marriage, adoption and change of name events that occur within the Australian Capital Territory, and provides certificates of those events upon application to appropriately authorised persons.

ACT records relate to events that have occurred since 1930. Records prior to 1930 were registered by New South Wales.

Web site: http://www.ors.act.gov.au

Electoral Rolls
Electoral rolls are the nearest record Australians have to census listings and hence are extremely important to local, social and family historians.

Compulsory enrolment was introduced for all federal rolls from 1911 so the 1913 roll should reflect the adult population (over 21 years) excluding the foreign and indigenous population.

Cemetery Records
Cemetery records might show names and dates available nowhere else.
The main cemeteries in Queanbeyan are:
The historic Riverside Cemetery. Erin St;
Tharwa Road which is located off Lanyon Drive.

Queanbeyan Pioneer Cemeteries register of the Oaks Burial Ground and headstone sections at Riverside and Tharwa Road published in 1982 were transcribed from monumental inscriptions, diocesan and council records.
Locations given in the books may not always be correct.
Parts of the Riverside Cemetery were washed away in 1925 and 1974 taking away monuments.
Aboriginal persons were buried outside the Riverside Cemetery boundary, either behind the Greek Orthodox Church on Campbell St or along the river walk at the edge of the Erin St.

Cemetery websites of interest:
The Oaks Burial Ground
http://www.ozgenonline.com/aust_cemeteries/act/theoaks.htm
Bungendore Cemetery
http://www.ozgenonline.com/aust_cemeteries/nsw/yarrowlumla/bungendore.htm
Cemeteries in and around Gunning Shire http://www.gundaroo.info/genealogy/cemeteries/index.htm
Captains Flat Cemetery
www.interment.net/data/aus/nsw/southerntablelands/capt_flat/index.htm

Deaths in the ACT
Information about deaths in the ACT is available on ACT Historical Death Index 1930-1973

Burials in the ACT are listed at
http://www.canberracemeteries.com.au/