Schools, hospitals and orphanages

• Read Brief guide to school records—referring mainly to state schools (primary and high schools) and state rural schools, and also includes some departmental records about administration of grammar, mission and church or non-vested (private) schools.
• Search Teachers 1860–1905—Index to records of teachers’ careers and brief information about each teacher compiled from registers of the Board of General Education, and Department of Public Instruction.
• Read Brief guide to government buildings—Schools—which includes schools.

Hospitals and healthcare

QSA holds limited information about hospital patients, as many of these records are not permanent or haven’t survived. We do not hold any records from private hospitals. Also, many of the records are subject to restricted access periods of 100 years.

• Search Cases & treatment Moreton Bay Hospital 1830-1862 These registers of cases and treatment kept by the Moreton Bay Penal Settlement Hospital, later Brisbane Hospital, include entries for the patient's name, age, date admitted, disease and treatment. Under the headings for disease and treatment there may be chronological entries relating to the patient's on-going condition and treatment. Dates of discharge or death may also be included.
• Search Brisbane hospital admissions 1872–1887—Index to registers of personal and medical details of patients admitted to the Brisbane Hospital.
• Search Brisbane Gaol Hospital Admission registers 1889-1911- Details given varies and may include name of prisoner/patient, date admitted, date discharged, disease and treatment, occupation, ship in which arrived and address.
• Search Brisbane hospital registers of deaths 1899–1913—Index to registers kept by the Brisbane Hospital recording deaths and special removals between 1899 and 1913.
• Search Brisbane hospital registers of deaths 1933–1963—Index to registers kept by the Brisbane Hospital recording deaths and special removals between 1933 and 1963.
• Search Consumptive patients 1897–1902—Index to correspondence and applications regarding patients at Roma and Dalby sanatoriums, including medical assessments, accommodation and travelling allowances for patients with Phthisis (Consumption or Pulmonary Tuberculosis).
• Search Mackay hospital admissions 1991–1908—Index to registers of patient admissions created by the Mackay District Hospital, later known as the Mackay Base Hospital. The last date of admissions recorded is 31 December 1908 whilst the last date of discharge is recorded as 16 April 1910.
• Search Brief guide to mental asylum—records providing an overview of the records for mental health patients from 1860 onwards. Some records are subject to restricted access periods.
• Search Brief guide to Dunwich Benevolent Asylum and Eventide Home records. Many of these records are subject to a 100-year restricted access period.

Records of nurses

• Read Brief guide to nurses—providing an administrative history of nursing agencies in Queensland and lists the major series of nursing records held by QSA.
• Search Nurses examinations 1915–1925—Index to registers recording the results of written examinations and registration of general, mental health and midwifery nurses.
• Search Dental Board 1903–1932—Index to records of dentists, the Dental Board and dentists’ apprentices in Queensland from 1903 to 1932.
• Read Brief guide: Government building records which includes hospitals.

Orphanages and children’s homes

• Read Brief guide to orphanages and children’s homes Overviewing some of the records held by QSA on behalf of the Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services. Some records about children admitted to orphanages and homes may be subject to a restricted access category.
• Search Toowoomba Girls Reformatory Admissions 1881–1903 Index to register of each girl entering the school, including the name of the ship on which the girl arrived in Queensland, year of arrival, and date and place of birth.
• Search Toowoomba Girls Reformatory Discharges 1882–1903 Index to diary entries of each girl discharged from the school, including date, number, name and remarks.
• Search Westbrook Reformatory Admission Registers 1871–1906 Index to admission registers for the industrial and reformatory school, providing a record of boys who were admitted to the industrial and reformatory school for neglect or on conviction for a crime committed in Toowoomba and Brisbane.
• Search Orphanage Admissions 1865-1909 Index to admission registers to St Vincent's Home, Nudgee; Diamantina Orphanage and the Diamantina Receiving Depot; Rockhampton Orphanage, later Rockhampton Receiving Depot; and Meteor Park Orphanage, Neerkol near Rockhampton
• Read Brief guide to government building records including orphanages and children’s homes.

Asylums

• Search Dunwich Benevolent Asylum 1859-1927 for inmates admissions and discharges, deaths and burials for the Dunwich Benevolent Asylum

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.

Search tips

1. 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.
2. 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.

Please note: All school admission registers are subject to a 15 year restricted access period and many hospital records are restricted for 100 years.

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

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

• There is limited information about patients in state hospitals.
• Many records have not survived.
• Some records are restricted or closed to public access and may not be immediately available to view.

Contact us

Contact us if you need further help.