Lands and mining

Queensland State Archives holds archival records of maps, land orders, sales and leases, acquisitions and mining records. We also hold records on buildings built or used by the government.

How do I find the records?

You can search our indexes if you know the name and location of the person you are looking for. The links below will take you to an item’s description where you can gather more information such as the Item ID or microfilm number. Copies of most items (unless they have restricted access) can be supplied for a fee using our order form. For more information, find out how to start your research.

Building and land records

• Read Research guide describing records about buildings constructed, owned or occupied by the government.
• Read Research guide to the history of your house at Queensland State Archives
• Read Research guide to land codes (or abbreviations) of land types used for land selection.
• Read Research guide to the main series of maps including cadastral maps, topographic maps, survey plans and thematic maps.
• Read Research guide to records of town commons files from 1866 to 1918.
• Read Research guide to Soldier Settlement about the soldier settlement scheme
• Search Soldier Settlement Ledger 1917-1929—index to ledgers for soldier settlers from Coominya, Cecil Plains, Maria Creek and Mount Gravatt that provide details of money allocated to each settler, and its use.

Lands sold, purchased or leased

• Read Research guide to Alienation and sale of Crown lands describing records about the alienation of land from the Crown, and the subsequent sale of the land after auction.
• Read Research guide to land agents’ records of registers from 1855, including land transactions, leases, purchase and licences.
• Read Research guide describing records about land exchanges and commonwealth acquisitions from 1868.
• Read Research guide to records describing the form of land tenure such as pastoral lease, occupation license, selection, special lease or freehold.
• Read Research guide to registers and files from each Land Agent District that includes name of locality or run, name of licensee, application date, land size and location, rent paid and forfeiture of land.
• Read Research guide to records of special leases for a period not exceeding thirty years.
• Read Research guide to occupational licence records for a period not exceeding one year.
• Search Land orders 1865-1866—index to records regarding the disposal of crown lands issued under the provisions of a Non-Transferable Land Order. Includes a general description of the land includes measurement, location by county and parish and portion number. Created by the Lands Department.
• Search Land selections prior to 1884—to locate records about land which was subsequently purchased or forfeited, as well as applications which were rejected, cancelled or withdrawn. Search for a Name of a selector for land selected prior to the Crown Lands Act of 1884 is available in Queensland State Archives' online catalogue ArchivesSearch.
• Search Applications by Selectors 1868-1885 (LAN/P54-56) LAN/P57 – index providing details of land taken up under the "Crown Lands Alienation Acts, 1868 and 1876", and amending acts. The registers give the selector's name and the selection numbers and details of any selections taken up.
• Search Register of land sold 1842-1859—index to registers divided into volumes and sections for town purchases, land purchases and pre-emptive right including date of sale, place, purchaser and residence. Lists supplied by the NSW Lands Department of lands sold in what became the Colony of Queensland.
• Search Register of lands 1861-1868—index to registers of land listing lands open for selection and their purchase as wells as leases for agricultural reserves under the Leasing Act 1866. Created by the Surveyor General’s Department.
• Search Register of lands sold 1849-1861—index to registers of lands sold or selected that include date of sale, place, area, purchaser and residence etc. Created by the Surveyor General’s Department.
• Search Registers of Lessees of Agricultural and Grazing Farms 1885-1908 [LAN/P518 Index] - Registers of lessees of agricultural and grazing farms under the Crown Lands Act, 1884 and the Land Acts, 1897 and 1902.

Pastoral holdings and runs

• Search Register of pastoral holdings 1860-1880—index to registers that records early pastoral holdings (known as Stations) in Queensland and includes names of the Runs that incorporated them. Created by the Lands Department.
• Search Rents payable on pastoral runs 1860-1911—index to registers showing rent payable on the resumed parts of runs as well as ledgers kept by Treasury of rent paid.
• Search Transfer of runs 1848-1874—index to papers and correspondence relating to the transfer of runs and selections in the Moreton District kept by the Crown Lands Office.

Mining

• Read Research guide to miner's homestead lease records and Research guide to mining records for Mining Warden mineral and gold field homestead records, lease applications, maps and registers administered under various acts from 1869–1990.
• Read Research guide to mining records provides a list of the main series of records at Queensland State Archives from the Queensland Mines Department and Mining Warden's Offices including separate series of records for the three main types of mining; gold, coal and base metals.
• Search Mineral leases 1871-1940—index to mining leases created by the Mines Department and the Mining Warden in Cloncurry includes gold, mineral, coal and water race leases.
• Search Miners rights 1874-1880—index to registers of miners’ licenses and business licenses issued mainly between 1 November 1874 and 31 May 1876. Created by the Warden’s Office at Maytown however also includes Edwardstown, Palmerville and Kingsboro.

Search the catalogue

ArchivesSearch provides access to QSA’s collection of records, including documents, letters, land orders, maps, plans and images. For help searching, read the ArchivesSearch help guide.

Why can’t I find what I’m looking for?

There are several reasons why you may not find a record at QSA.

• Some records have not survived.
• Some records are restricted or closed to public access and may not be immediately available to view.
• The name may have been written in the record phonetically as the clerks wrote the names as they heard them. Think about how it could be spelt as it was heard. Also, spelling of all names was not as consistent as it is today.
• The name may have been incorrectly indexed as the handwriting is sometimes difficult to read or the ink has faded. The capital letters L, T, F and S are often confused as are lower case letters n, m, u and w. Taylor may be indexed as Laylor or Brum may be indexed as Bruin.  Also, the use of double ‘s’ (ss) often looks like fs, so Ross will be indexed as Ross but may appear in the record as Rofs.
• Many miners may have held a sub-lease on a mineral claim and did not hold the mineral lease in their own name.

Contact us

Contact us if you need further help.