Sands Directories: Sydney and New South Wales, Australia, 1858-1933

Contained in this database is a collection of the 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, 1910, 1920, and 1930. There are usually several sections in each directory including an index of alphabetical names, street addresses, and commercial addresses. Although the alphabetical name section is the most useful part of the directory to the genealogist, other information can be gleaned from these directories such the names of each head of household, their districts of residence, and often their occupation.

Why use directories? Directories are extremely useful for locating people in a particular place and time. They are excellent census substitute records. If you have traced an ancestor through several years of directories and they then disappear, it likely means that the individual either moved or died. The advertisements and professional or commercial sections of the directory can also help you learn more about your ancestor’s occupation and may lead you to other occupational records. You do want to exercise some caution in your research, however, as some street names and numbers may have changed and a property may not have been listed for several years if it was previously vacant.

Published by John Sands, the Sands’ Directories cover the Sydney metropolitan area and the rural country of New South Wales. Information was collected by Sands’ agents calling door to door so it may not be as accurate as legal documentation. Other things to be aware of are that street numbering was often absent during the earlier years of the directory, listings only include the head of the household rather than owners or boarders, house names could change regularly, and unoccupied premises were not recorded.

Information in this database:

• Alphabetical name directory
• Advertisements
• Commercial directory
• Street directory
• Index