Moonee Valley Family & Local History Blog

Contained in this database is a collection of Sand's directories for Sydney and New South Wales, Australia from 1861-1933. Available directories are for the years 1861, 1865, 1870, 1875, 1880, 1885, 1890, 1900, 1905, 1910, 1915, 1920, 1925 and 1930. Why use directories? Directories are useful for locating people in a particular place and time. The advertisements and professional or commerical sections of the directory can also help you learn more about your ancestor's occupation and may lead you to other occupational records. Published by John Sands, the Sands' Directories cover the Sydney metropolitan area and the rural country of New South Wales. This is a new database available on Ancestry.

Descriptions of NSW people, places and roads circa 1832 more 'travel guide' than early P.O. directory. This directory is a precursor to today's phone book which, more like a travel guide than a directory, provides a detailed snapshot of life in the earliest days of the colony. Drafted by James Raymond, Postmaster of New South Wales, it also includes a collection of vivid descriptions of early residents, roads - and even travel times - bringing the colony to life as it would have been in 1832.. Also included is a map of Sydney in 1831. The New South Wales Calendar and Post Office Directory, 1832 can be searched by first and surname, address and occupation, providing many with early New South Wales ancestors a chance to go back in time and gain a deeper understanding of the colony in which their ancestors lived. Some of the famous residents in this directory of early Australians include: William Charles Wentworth - The illegitimate son of convicts who became a poet, explorer,...