Northern Territory

Organisations in each state and territory can help with your Indigenous family history research. There are also a number of national organisations and non-government websites that support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander family history.

  • ›Libraries hold a range of material that is useful for family history, including books, indexes and original manuscripts. Many larger libraries have special family history librarians who can help you with your research. Some libraries have online research guides to help you understand their collections.
  • ›Archives hold original records, created by government agencies, private organisations or individuals. Archives are different from libraries, and you will need help from an archivist to locate and access records.
  • ›Indigenous family history services are provided by state and territory governments to assist you in accessing records and personal information about your and your ancestors held in government archives.
  • ›Link-Up organisations provide services to members of the Stolen Generations, their families, and foster and adoptive families. These include researching family and personal records, finding family members and support and counselling.
  • ›Organisations for adoptees and care leavers (and their families) can help you find information about your personal and family history and connect you with family. They also provide counselling and support services.
  • ›Family history community projects and organisations offer practical help in researching your family history. Some are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander focused. They may have library collections, computers, access to resources and provide training courses and workshops.

Before you contact them

Try to collect and organise as much information as you can before approaching organisations for help. They will need names, dates and places in order to help you with your research.

See Family history sources for information about the kind of information you might find.

Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS)

The AIATSIS Family History Unit can help people researching their Indigenous family history. The AIATSIS Finding Your Family website is an online resource with a focus on helping people to learn how to do Indigenous family history research. AIATSIS offers an Australia-wide service. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Biographical Index enables you to do an online name search of some of the material in the collection. AIATSIS cannot compile family trees or help you to confirm Aboriginality.

51 Lawson Crescent, Acton ACT 2601
GPO Box 553, Canberra ACT 2601
Ph: 02 6246 1111
Freecall: 1 800 352 553
Fax: 02 6261 4285
Email: familyhistory@aiatsis.gov.au
Web: www.aiatsis.gov.au/research/finding-your-family

Northern Territory Library

The Northern Territory Library is the Northern Territory’s major reference and research library. It collects, preserves and provides access to the territory’s documentary heritage. The library can help you find out more about your ancestry through a free family history research service which offers a wide range of resources in both print and electronic formats.

Parliament House, Cnr Bennett and Mitchell Streets, Darwin NT 0800
GPO Box 42, Darwin NT 0801
Free call: 1800 019 155
Ph: 08 8999 7177
Email: ntl.info@nt.gov.au
Web: www.artsandmuseums.nt.gov.au/northern-territory-library/family_history

Northern Territory Archives Service

The Northern Territory Archives Service holds Northern Territory Government archives created since the government’s establishment in 1978, as well as inherited records from the periods of administration by the South Australian Government (1863-1910) and the Australian Government (1911-1978). It also preserves community archives such as oral histories, personal papers, photographs and organisation records. The Northern Territory Archives Service is the designated first point of contact for Stolen Generations researchers seeking access to Northern Territory Government records.

Northern Territory Archives Centre, Kelsey Crescent, Millner NT 0810
PO Box 1347, Nightcliff NT 0814
Ph: 08 8924 7677 (general enquiries)
Ph: 08 8999 6890 (reference enquiries)
Fax: 08 8924 7660
Email: ntac@nt.gov.au
Web: dtc.nt.gov.au/arts-and-museums/northern-territory-archives-service/informaton-for-researchers/aboriginal-family-research (Northern Territory Archives Service - Aboriginal Family Research)

Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages

The Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages holds records about the births, deaths and marriages of people in the Northern Territory. The Aboriginal Population Register is also held there – this is a collection of genealogical information about Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory taken primarily from Census information dating back to the 1950s. The register was inherited from the federal Department of Aboriginal Affairs. The cost of BDM records varies from state to state but is normally $30 to $50 per certificate.

Email: AGD.RegistrarGeneral@nt.gov.au
Web: www.bdm.nt.gov.au

Darwin office

Ground Floor, Nichols Place, Cnr Cavenagh and Bennett Streets, Darwin NT 0800
GPO Box 3021, Darwin NT 0801
Ph: 08 8999 6119
Fax: 08 8999 6324

Alice Springs office

Centrepoint Building, Cnr Gregory and Hartley Streets, Alice Springs NT 0870
PO Box 8043, Alice Springs  NT 0871
Ph: 08 8951 5339

Tennant Creek office

Tennant Creek Courthouse, Paterson Street, Tennant Creek NT 0860
PO Box 84, Tennant Creek NT 0861
Ph: 08 8962 4377
Fax: 08 8962 4375

Link-Up Northern Territory – Northern Territory Stolen Generations Aboriginal Corporation (NTSGAC)

NTSGAC helps Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people separated from their families under the past laws, practices and policies of Australian governments to undertake family tracing and family reunions with counselling support. Link-Up counsellors at NTSGAC give priority to Stolen Generations clients, especially the elderly and those requiring urgent assistance due to health concerns.

Suite A, Ground Floor, Building 3, Cascom Centre, 13-17 Scaturchio Street, Casuarina NT 0811
PO Box 43372, Casuarina NT 0811
Ph: 08 8947 9171
Fax: 08 8947 9173
Web: www.ntsgac.org.au

Link-Up Northern Territory â€“ Central Australian Aboriginal Congress Aboriginal Corporation (CAAC)

CAAC's client services target the social, emotional, cultural and physical wellbeing of Aboriginal people.

14 Leichhardt Terrace, Alice Springs, NT 
PO Box 1604, Alice Springs, NT 0871
Ph: 08 8951 4400
Email: info@caac.org.au
Web: www.caac.org.au

IMPORTANT: All requests for client information should be directed to Gap Road Clinic by fax on 08 8952 3397.

Find & Connect Support Services Northern Territory – Relationships Australia NT

Find & Connect supports people who grew up in orphanages, children’s homes, institutions and foster homes. Find & Connect can help you obtain your personal records, trace your history and understand why you were placed into care, as well as providing counselling and other services.

Free call: 1800 16 11 09
Web: www.nt.relationships.org.au/services/find-connect

Darwin office

Level 2, 43 Cavenagh Street, Darwin, 0800
Ph: 08 8923 4999
Email: reception@ra-nt.org.au

Alice Springs office

4/11 Railway Terrace, Alice Springs, 0870
Ph: 08 8950 4100
Email: receptionas@ra-nt.org.au

National Archives of Australia (Darwin)

The National Archives of Australia holds federal Australian Government records, including many about Indigenous people from the Northern Territory. The Australian Government administered the Northern Territory from 1911 until self-government in 1978. Records about people from the Northern Territory are mostly held in Darwin and Canberra. The Bringing Them Home name index can help you find information about Indigenous family members in National Archives records. The NAA has published a guide to Aboriginal births, deaths and marriages in the Northern Territory.

Northern Territory Archives Centre, Kelsey Crescent, Millner NT 0810
PO Box 24, Nightcliff NT 0814
Ph: 08 8999 6890
Fax: 08 8999 6905
Email: ref@naa.gov.au
Web: www.naa.gov.au/collection/a-z/aboriginal-people (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people)
www.naa.gov.au/collection/family-history (Family history)
guides.naa.gov.au/records-about-northern-territory/part2/chapter8/8.7.aspx (Aboriginal births, deaths and marriages in the Northern Territory)

National Library of Australia

The National Library collects and makes available material of national significance about Australia and Australians. It holds books, manuscripts, newspapers, photographs and oral histories that could be useful in researching your family – much of this is available online through Trove. The library has a family history collection and staff you can help you to locate material.

Parkes Place, Canberra ACT 2600
Ph: 02 6262 1111
Fax: 02 6257 1703
Ask a Librarian (online contact form):  www.nla.gov.au/askalibrarian
Web: www.nla.gov.au/research-guides/family-history
www.nla.gov.au/what-we-collect/indigenous

Australian War Memorial

Indigenous people have served in every military conflict that Australia has been involved in since the Boer War (1899-1902). Military records are a rich source of information about the men and women who served in the armed forces, and sometimes their family members.

Treloar Crescent, Campbell ACT 2612
Ph: 02 6243 4211
Fax: (02) 6243 4325
Email: info@awm.gov.au 
Web: www.awm.gov.au
Indigenous Australian servicemen: www.awm.gov.au/encyclopedia/aborigines/indigenous/
People, profiles and biographies: www.awm.gov.au/people/profiles/ (940 Indigenous service persons)

Noel Butlin Archives Centre

Some pastoral station owners or managers kept records like diaries, wage and ration books, and registers of births, deaths and marriages. The Noel Butlin Archives Centre at the Australian National University in Canberra holds some of these records, mainly for farms and cattle properties in New South Wales, Queensland and the Northern Territory.

ANU Archives
The Australian National University
Menzies Building
2 Fellows Rd
Acton ACT 2601
Ph: 02 6125 2219
Email: butlin.archives@anu.edu.au
Web: archives.anu.edu.au/collections

Research guides for Indigenous family history

Research guides provide comprehensive information for people doing family history research. They often include an outline of the history of colonisation and Aboriginal protection/welfare legislation, linking these to the records that were created about Indigenous people.

Books published by AIATSIS

  • ›Penny Taylor, Telling it like it is: A guide to making Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history, AIATSIS, 1992
  • ›Diane Smith and Boronia Halstead, Lookin for your mob: A guide to tracing Aboriginal family trees, Aboriginal Studies Press, 1990.

Online guides

Websites

  • ›Centre for Indigenous Family History Studies (CIFHS) – a name searchable archive of some government documents relevant to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. The site is updated with new records continuously. Some of the documents contain offensive language. www.cifhs.com

General family history organisations

Family history groups, local history societies and local libraries

Local family history groups, local history societies and local libraries are valuable sources of information and resources. They can put you in contact with people with a good knowledge of the local history of a town or area that you are interested in. Many also have local studies collections with books, newspapers, family histories, photographs and manuscripts.

Find local libraries

You can use Australian Libraries Gateway – Find a Library to locate libraries in the Northern Territory with family history and local history collections. Under location select �NT’ and under library type select �Local/Family history’. You can also browse using the map.

Genealogical Society of the Northern Territory

The Genealogical Society of the Northern Territory promotes family history research, collects historical information, provides family history education, and urges the preservation of personal historical records. Its research library holds an extensive range of family history resources including books, journals and indexes.

1st Floor, 25 Cavenagh Street, Darwin NT 0800
PO Box 37212, Winellie NT 0821

Ph: 08 8981 7363
Fax: 08 8981 7363
Email: gsntinc@bigpond.net.au
Web: www.gsnt.org.au

Family history research websites

  • ›CoraWeb: a comprehensive, categorised and cross-referenced list of links and useful advice about tracing your family history (Australia)
  • ›Ancestry – Help & Advice: general family history advice, as well as information about using Ancestry’s paid services (Australia)
  • ›Cyndi’s List: a comprehensive, categorised and cross-referenced list of links that point you to genealogical research sites online (USA)
  • ›FamilySearch Learning Center: articles and short online courses put together by the largest genealogical organisation in the world (USA)

Find family history and historical societies

Society of Australian Genealogists

The Society of Australian Genealogists helps people trace their family history, providing genealogy advice and running workshops and lectures. It has an excellent family history library and a manuscript collection in central Sydney.

�Richmond Villa’, 120 Kent Street, Sydney NSW 2000
Ph: 02 9247 3953
Fax: 02 9241 4872
Email: info@sag.org.au
Web: www.sag.org.au