Victorian Genealogy
Finding People and Places in Victoria, Australia.
Also see Councillors and Aldermen.
Also see Municipal Officers.
Also see Municipal Voter Rolls.
Also see Public Works Contractors.
Local government in Victoria began in 1841. There were cities, boroughs and town councils, and municipal districts. There were local road boards for rural areas. The road boards amalgamated into shires. There has been much redrawing of municipal boundaries. In 1915 the state government forced the amalgamation of municipal entities whose rate base was too low. In 1994 the state government forced the amalgamation of many municipal entities. In order to find the municipal entity for the time period in question may involve looking at the history of municipal entities for the area.
This includes a local council finder:
https://www.localgovernment.vic.gov.au/
This is not operational.
This includes a map of local council areas in Victoria and a list of websites. This is not operational.
http://knowyourcouncil.vic.gov.au/councils
The history of local government authorities may be traced on Wikipedia.
Local government records may be found in local libraries. See Municipal Libraries. They may also be found in archives. See Archives.
Or see Rate Records (A-Z).
Up until 1913 roads were primarily funded, constructed and maintained by local government authorities. In 1913 the Victorian State Government established the Country Roads Board and they constructed and maintained main roads in Victoria. In 1983 this was succeeded by the Road Construction Authority. In 1989 this was merged with the Road Traffic Authority to become the Roads Corporation which trades as Vic Roads.
See Roads and Bridges.
See Building Records.
Licences may be found in Court Records. The issuing of licences may be reported in local newspapers. See Newspapers, Magazines and Journals.
These are provided by Public Record Office Victoria. These records are not indexed but can be browsed by description and range. They include:
https://search.ancestry.com.au/search/db.aspx?dbid=60672
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE VICTORIA - COUNCIL MINUTES AND CORRESPONDENCE
This is a finding aid for council minutes and correspondence. They are not online.
These are provided by Public Record Office Victoria. These records are not indexed but can be browsed by description and range. They include:
https://search.ancestry.com.au/search/db.aspx?dbid=60672
These are provided by Public Record Office Victoria. These records are not indexed but can be browsed by description and range. They include:
https://search.ancestry.com.au/search/db.aspx?dbid=60672
LODDEN SHIRE - EAST LODDON SHIRE MINUTE BOOKS 1870-1919
These are sourced from Public Record Office Victoria (VPRS 16928) and include East Lodden District Road Board from 1870 to 1871.
LODDEN SHIRE - KORONG SHIRE MINUTE BOOKS 1865-1873, 1876-1898, 1915-1929
These are sourced from Public Record Office Victoria (VPRS 16554).
https://www.loddon.vic.gov.au/Our-Council/Our-Shire/Historical-records/Korong-Shire-minute-books
FAMILYSEARCH - BOROUGH OF HAMILTON 1859-1925
They have been digitized. Original records were housed with the Town Clerk, Hamilton.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/570765?availability=Family%20History%20Library
FAMILYSEARCH - SHIRE OF DUNDAS 1876-1944
They have been digitized. Original records were housed at the Shire offices, Hamilton.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/569602?availability=Family%20History%20Library
FAMILYSEARCH - SHIRE OF MOUNT ROUSE 1860-1958 MINUTE BOOKS (INCLUDES ROAD BOARD 1860-1863)
They have been digitized. Original records were housed at the Shire offices, Hamilton and Penshurst.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/569609?availability=Family%20History%20Library
FAMILYSEARCH - SHIRE OF WANNON 1872-1938
These have been digitized. Original records were housed at the Shire offices in Coleraine, Victoria.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/570975?availability=Family%20History%20Library
FAMILYSEARCH - SHIRE OF GLENELG 1864-1941
They have been digitized. The period 1872-1880 are damaged and unreadable. Original records were housed at the Shire offices in Casterton, Victoria.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/571125?availability=Family%20History%20Library
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE VICTORIA - COUNCIL MINUTES AND CORRESPONDENCE
This is a finding aid for council minutes and correspondence. They are not online.
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE VICTORIA - CITY OF MELBOURNE TOWN CLERK'S SUBJECT INDEX TO CORRESPONDENCE 1840-1997
BALLARAT AND DISTRICT GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY - 1873 FARMERS' WIVES AND DAUGHTERS PETITION
The petition signed by the wives and daughters of farmers from around the Ballarat region was addressed to the mayor and councillors of Ballarat requesting a market to sell their local produce.
https://www.ballaratgenealogy.org.au/resources-2/1873-petition-farmers-w-d
BENDIGO REGIONAL ARCHIVES CENTRE - CITY OF SANDHURST INWARD CORRESPONDENCE INDEX 1855-1899 (VPRS 16936)
https://www.brac.vic.gov.au/_files/ugd/cdba08_1525571427284d1fba32797c258fa3e4.pdf
BENDIGO REGIONAL ARCHIVES CENTRE - CITY OF SANDHURST PETITION SIGNATORIES INDEX (VPRS 16936)
https://www.brac.vic.gov.au/_files/ugd/cdba08_e5053f6194bc419a8d2029b11188e2fe.pdf
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE VICTORIA - MUNICIPAL DISTRICT OF INGLEWOOD OUTWARD LETTER BOOKS 1863-1868 (VPRS 12572) ?
https://prov.vic.gov.au/archive/VPRS12572
CITY OF MELBOURNE - ART AND HERITAGE COLLECTION
This is a collection of 13,000 things.
https://citycollection.melbourne.vic.gov.au
Proceedings of local government authority meetings may be found in local newspapers.The activities and advertisements of the local government may also be found in newspapers. See Newspapers, Magazines and Journals.
GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY OF VICTORIA GENEALOGICAL INDEX OF NAMES - VICTORIAN MUNICPAL DIRECTORY AND GAZETEER 1885
This has been indexed into the Genealogical Society of Victoria's Genealogical Index of Names (GIN) Database.
https://www.gsv.org.au/article/our-collection
FAMILYSEARCH - VICTORIAN MUNICIPAL DIRECTORY AND GAZETTEER 1888-1900
This can be found under Australia, Victoria Directories in the Catalog.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/224722?availability=Family%20History%20Library
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