Victoria, as a part of New South Wales, was annexed to the British Crown on 22 August 1770 by Captain James Cook, along with most of Queensland and [present] New South Wales. Despite earlier (failed) attempts at settlement occurred at Sullivan Bay in 1803 and Western Port Bay in 1826, the first permanent settlement began on 19 November 1834 at Portland Bay by the Henty Brothers from Tasmania.

In 1851 the 'Port Phillip District' of New South Wales was constituted the colony of Victoria, 'bounded on the north and north-west by a straight line drawn from Cape Howe to the nearest source of the River Murray and thence by the course of that river to the eastern boundary of the colony of South Australia'. The area of the new colony was 227,620 square kilometres, and its separate existance took effect from 1 July 1851.

Victoria is the most densely populated state of Australia, with its population estimated at 4,560,800 in 1996, 24.9% of the nation's total, although having only 3% of the land area. Its population boomed from late 1851 with the discovery of gold. From the time of discovery to 1858, a period of about 7 years, the population increased seven-fold! The growth rate in 1996, however, was 0.99%, less than the Australian average.

There were some convicts sent to Port Phillip between 1834 and 1849, mostly from the other colonies, as assigned labour. About 1,750 were transported directly from Britain between 1844 and 1849.

Registration of births, deaths and marriages became compulsory in Victoria on 1 July 1853. Prior to that date records were kept by churches. The pre-1853 records have been made available to the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages and have been indexed along with the post-1853 civil records.

The Victorian indexes extend to 1920 for births, 1930 for marriages and 1985 for deaths. Further research material in the form of certified copies or extracts of entries may be obtained from:

There is also a recorded information line on (03)9603 5888.

To obtain a facsimile copy of an application for a birth, death or marriage certificate, dial 1902 240 550.

Details such as fees, search facilities and privacy considerations can be found at the Registrar General’s excellent website:

The Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages
The "on-line shop" to apply for information

Information on Victorian records includes:

Access to information from the registers and/or the issue of certificates is dependent upon the age of the information, the particular register and the person or group making the application. The following general restrictions apply:

• births - restricted if occurred less than 75 years ago;
• deaths - open access to all death registrations in Victoria;
• marriages - restricted if occurred less than 60 years ago.

The indexes covering Victoria have been extracted in part from the microfiche indexes published by the Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages with the kind permission of the Registry.

Copyright in the reproduced material belongs to the State of Victoria. The Registry accepts no responsibility for any errors and omissions which may result from reproduction of its material.

 Victorian Data

Birth Index to 1913 (Indexed by Date)

Birth Index to 1913 (Indexed by Name)

Birth Index to 1913 (Indexed by Parents)

Death Index to 1960 (Indexed by Date)

Death Index to 1960 (Indexed by Name)

Death Index to 1960 (Indexed by Parents)

Marriage Index to 1930 (Indexed by Date)

Marriage Index to 1930 (Indexed by Name)

Marriage Index to 1930 (Indexed by Spouse)