Family matters

Tracing your Victorian Police ancestor

Tracing your Victorian Police ancestor

October 23, 2025

Collections, Family matters, Research tips & tricks:

A common question we receive on desk is how to trace the career of an ancestor who was a police officer. To begin, I would recommend researching their birth, death,… Read More ›

Researching your World War II ancestors

Researching your World War II ancestors

September 2, 2025

Family matters, Research tips & tricks:

September 2 marks the 80th anniversary of the official end of World War II. This is a time when people may reflect on the experiences of the service men and… Read More ›

he Twins, directed by Lynne Ellis, La Mama, 1990. Photo by Maggie Diaz. This item is in copyright;  H2014.1059/99b

Cracking the narrative: pruning the misinformation from your family tree

August 11, 2025

Family matters, Research tips & tricks:

Is misinformation sinking its tendrils into your family tree? Are dates not lining up, people aren’t where they should be, or maybe there’s no record of Grandma Joan before the age of 25? Our Family History Librarians are here to help you separate fact from fiction in your lineage, and give you some tips to strengthen your research.

Finding Florrie

Finding Florrie

August 3, 2025

Ask a librarian, Family matters, Our stories, Victorian history:

When librarian Sarah Matthews stumbled across a female publican in her family tree, she couldn’t resist investigating. In this blog, Sarah explains how the library’s collection supported her research, and shares some fascinating findings from her own family’s archive.

Passengers On the Deck of 'SS Ballarat' Arriving a..., 1925, © Museums Victoria. Migration to New Worlds

Online Collection Spotlight: Migration to New Worlds

May 16, 2025

Family matters:

Migration to New Worlds charts the emigration experience of those who travelled from Great Britain, Ireland and Europe to Australasia and North America in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Here at last! The 1921 census for England and Wales

Here at last! The 1921 census for England and Wales

March 19, 2025

census, census records, British records, Family matters, Uncategorized:

Great news for anyone interested in British history. The 1921 census for England and Wales can now be accessed onsite at State Library Victoria through both the FindMyPast and Ancestry databases.

Melbourne’s Marvellous Madame Weigel

Melbourne’s Marvellous Madame Weigel

October 21, 2024

Collections, People & professions, Such was life, Victorian history:

Madame Weigel’s Journal of Fashion became a staple of Australian life for those interested in being well dressed, well presented, and well informed. This treasure trove has recently been digitised and made available online.

Researching your home

Researching your home

August 28, 2024

Collections, Family matters, Research guides, Research tips & tricks:

Are you interested in the history of you home? Or would you like to discover more about the home your ancestor lived in?

Unless it’s a well-known property, it’s unlikely you will find a detailed history but there are ways you can try and find details about the house and the occupants who lived in it.

In today’s blog, we will look at what resources can be used to research the history of your house.

How our ‘genies’ saved the census

How our ‘genies’ saved the census

July 29, 2024

Ask a librarian, Family matters, Our stories, Victorian history:

Researchers visiting the Library are often dismayed when they discover that prior to 2001, there are no surviving census returns for individuals in the Colony of Victoria. What were the reasons behind the destruction of our census records? And how did our ‘genies’ save the day?

New family history ebooks

New family history ebooks

January 31, 2024

Family matters:

The State Library Victoria’s ebook collection continues to grow at a rapid place. We now provide free access to over 200,000 ebooks on such topics as social sciences, family history,… Read More ›