Genealogy Australia

Gazettes are published by governments and their agencies as a means of communication to officials and the general public. As such they are useful, not only to monitor the actions of the government, but also as far as family historians are concerned, they are valuable primary source documents.

Police gazettes provided information and instructions to members of the police force. You can expect the Tasmanian Police Gazettes  (in the earliest years called Reports of Crime) to include the following information that will usually list names and sometimes personal details, descriptions with photograph, addresses and/or occupations as an added bonus for the researcher:

• apprehensions
• convict returns
• disciplining of police
• escapees and absconders from custody
• housebreakers and burglars
• licensed carriers, hawkers, oyster fishers, and tanners
• deserting wives, families, etc
• deserting from military service
• deserting from merchant vessels
• inquests
• missing friends
• murderers and their victims
• police resignations
• prisoners discharged from gaols
• prisoners released on tickets of leave
• property and stock recovered
• rewards—names of persons offering a reward
• victims of arson
• victims of horse and cattle stealing or straying
• victims of lost or stolen property
• victims of sheep stealing or straying

Example entry taken from the 18 October 1875 issue:

Return of Paupers Discharged from the Invalid Depots, Tasmania Name Ship From what District Admitted Date Admitted Date Discharged Remarks - why discharged, and if able to earn their living Smith, John D. of Richmond Hobart 31 Dec. '73 2 Oct. '75 To service Halliday, Thomas Lord Auckland Ditto 7 Jan. '75 Ditto At own request. Unable to work. Shields, Francis Lord Dalhousie Ditto 11 May '75 4 Oct. '75 Ditto. Ditto. Connor, Michael Dawson Ditto 25 June '75 Ditto Ditto. Able to work. Brennan, James F. Fish Ditto 4 May '75 7 Oct. '75 Ditto. Unable to work. Sutton, John Nile Ditto 10 April '75 8 Oct. '75 Ditto. Ditto. Graves, Joshua M. Soames Ditto 10 July '75 11 Oct. '75 Ditto. Able to work Parry, Evan Moffatt 2 Ditto 29 April '75 Ditto Ditto. Unable to work. Cochrane, Samuel E. & Henry Launceston 13 May '75 Ditto Ditto. Able to work. Burke, James Salween Hobart 25 Sept. '75 13 Oct. '75 To Police

High quality scanned images of the whole years worth of issues. This CD has been bookmarked for easy navigation, and pages can be searched, browsed, enlarged and printed out if required.