Basics on Land Records in NSW

The general rule of thumb for land research in NSW is this. If your ancestor obtained land from the Government, the records will be at State Records, the State's archives authority. If they purchased land from an individual, the records will be at the Land and Property Information service (the former Land Titles Office).

State Records (SR)

The nature of land transactions has laid a good paper trail, commencing with the correspondence ("memorials") requesting land grants. The following series should be consulted:

Colonial Secretary's Correspondence, 1788-1825 - index searchable online and copies of the documents are held by SAG.
Colonial Secretary: Letters received relating to land, 1826-1856 - index searchable online.

For unalienated crown land occupied under authority of "tickets of occupation" or "depasturing licences" see State Records' leaflet on Occupation of Crown Land prior to 1856.

Many of the above records have been comprehensively indexed - see under "Other sources" below.

Land and Property Information (LPI), formerly the Land Titles Office

"Old System" Records

Until 1802 there were no official records of land transactions. Even once established, official recording of transactions was not compulsory, nor confined to land - for example, an assignment of a mare and cart as security for a loan. Moreover, the first land transactions recorded in the "Old Register" at the LPI are often so vague as to make it impossible to now identify the land involved. From 1825, the system became more formal - registered deeds took priority over unregistered deeds, regardless of date, and this led to most transactions being registered. However, it was still not compulsory, and still isn't. From 1825 an index of vendors was also established, but it was not until 1896 that a purchasers index was established.

The "old system" was cumbersome, requiring a fresh deed to be drawn up for each transaction, with proof of title depending upon the validity of the prior "chain of deeds". In 1863, therefore, it was decided to commence changing to "Torrens title", a system designed initially for South Australia.

"Torrens Title" Records

The big advantage of Torrens title was that title was guaranteed by the Government and did not depend upon the validity of each deed in the chain since the land was first alienated (granted or sold) by Government.

Applications to bring old title land under the Torrens system are known as "primary applications", and required the furnishing of all deeds, documents and evidence necessary to establish the validity of ownership, generally right back to the original grant. This often required furnishing previously unregistered deeds, as well as birth, baptism, death and marriage certificates, statutory declarations and other documentation supporting claims to ownership. Certificates from other countries are often included.

Primary applications are becoming available at State Records. Primary application numbers for a particular property are generally annotated on the original grant of the land. A copy of the application document will specify the contents of the application packet, from which it may be judged whether anything will be of family history interest.

Other sources

Published indexes and lists

The first title holders of land in the county of Cumberland microfiche by Geoff Cannon, 1997 (SAG ref: NSW-LND:1)
The first title holders of land in the county of Northumberland microfiche by Geoff Cannon, 1997 (SAG ref: NSW-LND:2)
Both of above on one CD: The first title holders in the counties of Cumberland and Northumberland by Geoff Cannon, 1997 (also held by SAG)
Index and registers of land grants, leases & purchases, 1820-1856 SR reel 2562) indexed by Jean McNaught, 1997 (SAG ref: B8/29/2)
Index and registers of land grants, leases & purchases, 1792-1865 (SR reels 2548-2550, 2560, 2561) indexed by Jean McNaught, 1998 (SAG ref: B8/29/3)

Theses or essays submitted for SAG's Diploma of Family Historical Studies

The Land Titles Office: a guide for family historians by Nan Bosler, 1996 (SAG ref: Thesis B2/11/326)
Land title records and their place in family history by Ian Ellis, 1996 (SAG ref: Thesis B2/11/332)
New South Wales land titles and parish maps, under used resources by Kevin J Herring, 1995 (SAG ref: Thesis B2/11/323)
The importance of conditional purchase registers in family history by Shirley Cox, 1996, (SAG ref: Thesis B2/11/331)

Guides etc

Family history research gazetteer: the approximate present location of early property names & places relevant to the microfilm records of land leases, grants & purchases, also depasturing & publicans licences, 1792-1865 by Jean McNaught, 1998 (SAG ref: B8/40/4)
Searching New South Wales Land Titles Office Records, NSW LTO, 1996 - detailed guide to searching the various classes of record in the LTO (SAG ref: B2/11/Pam.18)
Land Grants 1788-1809: A record of registered grants and leases in New South Wales, Van Diemen's Land and Norfolk Island, by R J Ryan, 1981 (SAG ref: A8/28/2)
How to Trace the History of Your House, by Des Regan and Kate Press, 1990 - making use of: land titles & memorials; subdivision records & posters; house styles; directories; rate books; water board records; newspapers. (SAG ref: A2/10/24)