Post Office directories are helpful in tracking family migrations from Sydney to other areas of Australia. Many business, alphabetical and street directories have were published commercially eg. Sands Directories in Sydney from 1858 to the 1930s. Most State and large libraries hold copies. Directories and almanacs should be used as a guide for areas in which to search. Directories can also be used to help find the death of an ancestor. If they have appeared for a number of years and then nothing it may mean they died - that would give you an approximate year in which to start searching.

Listings in early Almanacs, post-office and telephone directories are most useful in tracing the existence, whereabouts and movements of your ancestors. These records are especially useful in Australian Family History research because of the virtual non-existence of census. The last time a persons name appears in a directory can give you a good starting point to tracing their time of death.

Directories are also very useful for tracking an ancestors migrations and addresses. Directories often contain alphabetical lists of householders names and addresses, or business and professional names, or both. Some directories only list the prominent citizens in a district. This tends to be particularly so with almanacks, which nearly always only list people holding a public office.

There are a wide variety of different titles, compilers and publishers of Australian Almanacs and directories such as Wise's NSW Post Office Directory of 1886, Australian Almanack and Country Directory of 1850. There are directories/almanacs available for the year 1806 onward. These are held in the collections of numerous libraries but you are most likely to find the directory you are after at the following - The Mitchell Library, The State Library of NSW, La Trobe Library, Australian Soc of Genealogist and most state libraries

Directories often contain alphabetical lists of householders names and addresses, or business and professional names, or both. Some directories only list the prominent citizens in a district. This tends to be particularly so with almanacks, which nearly always only list people holding a public office.  In the case of listings of householders, the male is usually shown as the head of the house. Sometimes, however, the names of single women and widows are listed in their own right. Tradesmen & professional people are frequently listed by profession. It is possible for a person to be listed in one type of publication and not appear in others. It is wise to therefore check all possibilities.

Grevilles Post Office Directory 1872 for Milton Postal region NSW - includes reports on individual families

NSW - Post Office Directory's from 1806, 1813, 1818, 1820, 1822 etc etc through to the 1950's are mainly held at Mitchell, State Library, Royal Australian Historical Society and SAG.

1904 Post Office Directory for Milton - includes reports on individual families
1904 Post Office Directory for Ulladulla - includes reports on individual families


Moores Australian Almanack & Handbook 1852 to 1940 held by the Mitchell Library and National Library- lists only people such as bank managers, clergymen, solicitors, surveyors, architects, surgeons, schoolteachers, senior public servants and police officers, magistrates, Clerks of the Peace and Members of Parliament. Moores is also available on mircofiche so check with your regional Family History Group.

There are some checklists available for Almanacks and Directories which list what is held where. One example is "Victorian Directories - A Checklist" compiled by Morgot Hyslop and published by La Trobe University in Melbourne in 1980. There is also "An Index to Persons and Advertisements" available for South Australian Almanacs and Directories - this is held by the South Australian Archives Office.

Images of original historical documents invaluable for anyone researching family history in New South Wales, Australia. These records complement and build on information you can obtain from the Pioneers and Births, Deaths and Marriages indexes and the Genealogical Research Kit, including Government Gazettes and Sands directories are available from Internet History Resources

The following New South Wales Directories are available on-line from Internet History Resources
Sands Sydney Commercial Directory 1858-59 (97 pages)
Sands Sydney Commercial Directory 1861 (103 pages)
Sands Sydney Alphabetical Directory 1863 (128 pages)
Sands Sydney Trade & Professional Directory 1863 (43 pages)
Sands Sydney Suburban Directory 1864 (36 pages)
Sands Sydney Alphabetical Directory 1867 (181 pages)
Sands Sydney Alphabetical Directory 1869 (166 pages)
Sands Sydney Alphabetical Directory 1871 (174 pages)
Sands Sydney Alphabetical Directory 1873 (209 pages)
Sands Alphabetical Directory (City and Suburban) 1877 (263 pages)
Sands Sydney Alphabetical Directory 1885 (350 pages)
Sands Alphabetical Directory 1890 (501 pages)
Sands Sydney Trades Directory 1891 (196 pages)
Sands Sydney Suburban Directory 1892 (349 pages)
Sands Sydney Alphabetical Directory 1895 (311 pages)
Sands Pastoral Directory 1897 (45 pages)
Sands Sydney Alphabetical Directory 1900 (445 pages)
Sands Sydney and Suburban Directory 1900 (630 pages)
Sands Pastoral Directory 1900 (46 pages)
Sands Pastoral Directory 1903 (91 pages)
Sands Country Alphabetical Directory 1903 (124 pages)
Sands Country Alphabetical Directory 1905 (144 pages)
Sands Sydney Alphabetical Directory 1905 (576 pages)
Sands Pastoral Directory 1905 (128 pages)
Sands Sydney Suburban Directory 1909 (581 pages)
Sands Country Alphabetical Directory 1909 (176 pages)
Sands Pastoral Directory 1909 (194 pages)
Sands Sydney Alphabetical Directory 1910 (705 pages)
Sands Sydney Trades and Professions Directory 1911 (268 pages)
Sands Country Alphabetical Directory 1914 (171 pages)
Sands Pastoral Directory 1914 (211 pages)
Sands Country Alphabetical Directory 1917 (162 pages)
Sands Pastoral Directory 1918 (168 pages)
Sands Country Commercial Directory 1919 (423 pages)
Sands Pastoral Directory 1919 (173 pages)
Walter Samson & Co. NSW National Directory 1867 - 1868 (115 pages - incomplete)
Greville's Official Post Office Directory 1875-76 (837 pages)

© 2003 - 2007 Copyright Notice: All files on this site are copyrighted by Cathy Dunn unless otherwise stated. They may be linked to but may not be reproduced on another site without specific permission from Cathy Dunn. Although public information is not in and of itself copyrightable, the format in which they are presented, the notes and comments, etc., are. It is however, quite permissable to print or save the files to a personal computer for PERSONAL USE ONLY.