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Land and Pastoral Station records
If someone in your family was born, passed away or worked on a pastoral property it is a good idea to find out if any records were kept on that station and, if so, whether they still exist.
Some station owners or managers kept records such as diaries, wage books, registers of births etc. The Noel Butlin Archives Centre holds some of these records, mainly for farms and cattle properties in New South Wales, Queensland and the Northern Territory.
Pastoral directories such can be helpful. They were published listings of pastoral properties, their names and owners etc. The major title was Australian Pastoral Directory (didn't include Western Australia), but there were many other short-lived directories that can help.
Such directories are held at the State Library and the Noel Butlin Archives Centre who also have map collections that may assist in identifying a pastoral property.
Also think about contacting:
- State archives, if the property was ever owned by the state
- Local archives, historical and family history societies
- University archives, sometimes have records from their local area
- Individuals, families of previous and current owners (contact Noel Butlin Archives for help tracking ownership)
- Trove (NLA) - search Trove for the name of the station
- Cora Web - Maps, Place Names and Land Records
- State government agencies can also assist you to search for information about pastoral properties They have pastoral maps, records of land surveys and details of who bought and sold properties. See list below.
Australian Capital Territory
New South Wales
Land and Property Information New South Wales (LPI)- Land & Property Searches
Pastoral properties may also be located on Parish and historical maps which are searchable through the LPI website
Northern Territory
Northern Territory Lands Group
Northern Territory Archives Service Guide to records relating to the pastoral industry in the Northern Territory
Queensland
Department of Natural Resources and Mines, Queensland - Land Titles Searches
Queensland State Archives collects public records only, ie., records of State Government departments, State courts, local government authorities, statutory authorities etc. In particular, Brief Guide 5: Land Tenure Records
South Australia
Department for Administrative and Information Services Searching Land Titles Records*
Tasmania
Department of Primary Industries and Water - Property, titles and Maps
Victoria
Western Australia
Landgate is the Western Australian government agency responsible for land and property information -Landgate has a Historical Records service.