State Records and Archives has announced that its records of the 1828 Census of NSW have been inscribed on the UNESCO Australian Memory of the World Register.
The 1828 Census was the first official census undertaken in NSW after it was found the Governor had no authority to compel free men to come to a muster – the previous means of counting the colony’s population.
The Census covers around 36,500 inhabitants, both convict and free, and captures a social and economic picture of the Colony of NSW in November 1828, 40 years after the Colony’s establishment.
It covers all settlements within the jurisdiction of the then colony of NSW including Moreton Bay and Norfolk Island.
The Census records detailed information for each person including name, age, if free or convict, if born in the colony or ship and year of arrival, sentence if arrived as a convict, religion, employment, residence, district, total number of acres, acres cleared, acres cultivated, horses, horned cattle, sheep, and remarks.
State Records and Archives said it was in the process of digitising the material which will be made available on its website soon.
It is also embarking on an 1828 Census regional tour so that more people can view the documents.
The archives census records from 1828 can be accessed at this PS News link.
