Basics on Directories
Australian Directories
Post office directories (the predecessors of today's telephone books and street directories) are a valuable source for family historians. Usually published on an annual basis, directories provide a snapshot of the suburb or locality in a particular year, allowing researchers to trace the development of the street and area where their forebears lived.
Directories have at least two main sections: an alphabetical listing by surname and business name, and a sequential street listing according to suburbs or localities. Many directories also include a trade directory organised by occupations, a pastoral directory or an institutional / official directory.
Directories allow family historians to identify:
- names (and occupations) of building occupants
- house names
- economic uses of buildings, eg. fruit shop, real estate, petrol station
- approximate construction date of a house or building
- demographics
- social infrastructure in a town or locality
Users of directories need to beware changes to both street names and street numbering over the years. Such fluctuations reflect the evolving town, but can lead to errors by the incautious researcher. To avoid confusion, it is recommended that researchers start at the latest date the person was known to be in an area and work backwards.
In addition researchers should bear in mind that most directories were compiled on a commercial basis with subscriptions from local businesses. Listings (particularly in the trade & professional sections) may not be inclusive of all businesses or residents. In this regard, directories should be viewed as a less reliable source than, say, rate assessment books which were an official document used by local municipal councils to charge rates.
New South Wales
The Sands' Directories are the most frequently consulted directories covering New South Wales, due to their availability for viewing on microfiche in many local studies collections and libraries. Published by John Sands between 1858/59 and 1931/32, they cover the Sydney metropolitan area and country New South Wales from 1897.
Less well-known, but equally comprehensive, are the New South Wales' Post Office (and Commercial) Directories (commonly called Wise's Directories). This series of directories cover metropolitan Sydney and New South Wales districts from 1886/87 to 1950. They provide a better coverage of country New South Wales than Sand's Directories. Wises' Directories have not been copied onto microfiche, however there is a full set held at the Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales.
Many country areas also produced their own directories. Publication may have been more spasmodic and their survival in collections less frequent. Researchers in rural areas would do well to check with their local family history group or historical society to see what local directories are held, as well as consulting the indexes listed below.
Other States
Most other Australian capital cities produced directories that covered metropolitan and country areas. Victoria has the Sands and McDougall Directories and the Post Office Directories, and all other states had generous runs of Post Office Directories. The Australian Capital Territory was usually included in New South Wales directories from the early twentieth century.
Telephone directories
More recently, telephone directories can be useful. However, though modern telephone coverage is wide, the use of "unlisted" numbers has grown. Moreover, the general use of initials rather than forenames often makes it difficult to identify individuals. It should be remembered too that a telephone is usually listed under just one name, no matter how many individuals reside at an address. Electoral rolls can therefore often be more useful. However, current telephone directories are often available online, which makes them a useful starting point when tracing living relatives. A wide range of online directories is available from here.
How SAG can help
SAG's library holds many directories - for NSW we have Sands on microform to 1900, in print thereafter, and an incomplete print collection before 1900. We also have an incomplete print collection of Wises' Directories from 1922-1944/5.
Other States are also well represented - on microfiche: Queensland 1868-1949; South Australia 1839-1936; and Victoria 1839-1900. These are supplemented by a range of print volumes.
For further detail, search our catalogue for a particular directory or browse our holdings under the headings Australia - [State] - Directories.
Further reading
- Joy Hughes, New South Wales Directories 1828-1950: A Bibliography (joint publication with Christine Eslick, Joy Hughes & R Ian Jack, Bibliography of New South Wales Local History), New South Wales University Press, Sydney, 1987. (SAG ref: B2/42/1)
- Margot Hyslop, Victorian directories, 1836-1974: a checklist (joint publication with Carole Beaumont, Local history in Victoria), La Trobe University Library, Bundoora Victoria, 1980.
- Eileen Duncan, National Library of Australia - A Comprehensive List of Directories, for all States, Held in This Library, The Author, Canberra, April 1982.
- B LeMaistre, Using Directories in Local Historical Research, Royal Australian Historical Society Technical Information Service Bulletin, No.10.
British Directories
Directories are a valuable source of information for genealogists as they can locate a particular person in a particular place at a particular time. The term 'directory' is very broad and covers general directories (such as Post Office or telephone) and more specialised types dealing with individual occupations or groups within the community.
Post Office directories that cover a county, a section of a county or even several towns will usually consist of an alphabetical section of residents (heads of households), a trade section arranged by occupation and a pastoral, court and/or ecclesiastical section.
The more specialised directories may deal with a particular occupation such as clergy, medical or legal or any other occupation, graduate lists of students from schools or universities or military enlistments or awards. Shipping registers such as Lloyds register of shipping are also considered directories.
One of the most useful resources to help locate an ancestor in a directory is the Biography database, 1680-1830, which aims to provide an index to all UK and North American directories (as well as other resources). There are presently three CD-ROMs involved, with a total of five planned. Searches in the Biography database can be done by surname, occupation or even address. The result is that even though a copy of a particular directory may not be readily available for research, the Biography database can quickly identify whether it includes an ancestor's name.
How SAG can help you
SAG's collection of British directories is extensive and is available in print, microfiche, microfilm and CD. It includes the Biography database, 1680-1830, referred to above.
Search our online catalogue for the place or occupational group of interest.
Examples from our collection include:
- Nottingham directories 1799-1932 (microfiche)
- Glasgow directories 1789-1885 (microfiche)
- Thom's official directories of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland for the 19th century (print)
- 19th century directories for Essex (microfiche)