The St John's Archives
The full collection of our early registers can be viewed at www.ancestry.com.au

Extensive church records from 1789 are kept on-site at the Cathedral under appropriate environmental conditions. The original records are held for baptisms (1789 to present), marriages (1790 -1823, and 1828 to present) and burials (1790 to present). Unfortunately the St John’s Cemetery trust and the archives hold no information regarding unmarked burials in the cemetery.

Due to the fragile nature of these registers they cannot be photocopied or photographed and are not available for public viewing. However, for a very reasonable monthly fee, the full collection of our early registers, in high definition images, can be viewed online at www.ancestry.com.au. If required though, on application our honorary archivist is able to provide a transcript of a particular entry.

It is important to note that information from our registers can only be provided in accord with the provisions of the Federal Government Privacy Act (1988) and the NSW Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act (1998).

For more information, view our Archives policy for release of information and Archives application documents.

ARCHIVES POLICY ARCHIVES APPLICATION

Frequently asked questions

Microfilm copies of the early registers, up to at least 1856 when registration of births, deaths & marriages was made compulsory, are held by many public libraries, historical and genealogical societies. These can normally be consulted at no cost. On these microfilms each entry is shown in its entirety. There is no additional information to be obtained by consulting the original registers.

City of Parramatta Council has a Local Studies/Family History Library located in the PHIVE building.

Address: Level 2, PHIVE, 5 Parramatta Square, Parramatta
w: History and Heritage
p: 02 8839 3322 or 1300 055 555  
e: localstudies@cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au

The full collection of our early registers, in high definition images, can also be viewed on-line at www.ancestry.com.au.

The full collection of our early registers, in high definition images, can be viewed online at www.ancestry.com.au. Microfilm copies of the early registers are held by many public libraries, historical and genealogical societies.

The Archivist can provide a transcipt of a particular entry, with the following fees applying:

  • Transcription of each entry (including an initial 2 year search)   $15.00
  • Search for each additional 2 year period                                         $10.00

Applications should be in writing, preferably on the application form available (CLICK HERE). Payment must be received prior to any search being conducted. The archives need to be self funding, and these fees are used to maintain the archives to a high standard.

Unfortunately extensive searches to compile detailed family trees cannot be undertaken. If you cannot carry this out yourself you will need to consult with a genealogical society or a professional genealogist. Two and three generation family trees are provided in a number of publications. For arrivals before 1828 see The Pioneer Register (Vol 1-6), and for Parramatta families The Parramatta Pioneer Register (Vol 1 & 2). 

Our Archivist is an experienced professional, but carries out her duties at St. John's in a voluntary capacity in her own time. She receives many requests because of the historic nature of our Church. Please be patient. It may take up to a month to receive a reply to your request. If transcripts are required sooner than this, then an additional $10.00 priority fee, per entry will apply.