The 'South Australian Gazette and Colonial Register' was the major South Australian newspaper from 1836. Personal notices from this paper, which became the 'South Australian Register' in June 1839, have been published and indexed in an important series of volumes. Each volume includes:
- the entire text of all birth, marriage and death notices for the period covered
- an index of ALL persons mentioned in the notices
- an index of marriage celebrants
- an index of place names - especially useful to local historians
In addition to the full text from the original notices this volume includes - 18,800 index headings to 38,842 index items - 18,997 place names, 2362 marriage celebrants, 17483 names. The place index includes several thousand references to names and places in other Australian colonies and some 30 overseas countries - especially Britain and Ireland.
Also available:
- Register Personal Notices Volume 1- 1836-1859 - 17,700 index headings to 37,220 index items - 18,470 place names, 2020 marriage celebrants, 16,730 names.
- Register Personal Notices Volume 3- 1866-1870 - 16,480 index headings to 35,712 index items - 16,603 places names, 1990 marriage celebrants, 17,119 names.
- Register Personal Notices 1836-1870 Volumes 1-3 (set)
The information given complements that available from other sources. In addition to names and dates of persons being researched there are often details of the person's origins and relatives in other colonies and overseas - Britain, Ireland, Germany, India, New Zealand, Canada, U.S. and elsewhere. In some instances the death notices give extensive details about the person's life and achievements - and sometimes his/her vices! Shipboard births and deaths are sometimes recorded. Also included are notices from the Adelaide Observer which were not in the Register. The Observer was the weekly organ of the Register, and generally (but not always) reproduced personal notices from the Register.
