Tasmania Police Gazettes

Police gazettes, which in the earliest years were called Reports of Crime, provided information and instructions to members of the police force, but also included information about many members of the community – be it because they were interrogated or convicted of a crime, or because they had reported or were victims of a crime.

The gazette will usually have names and personal details, such as occupation and address. Many times there are also detailed descriptions with photographs that cannot be found elsewhere.

The following information and topics are included in the gazettes:

• Convict returns
• Disciplining of police
• Escapees and absconders from custody
• Housebreakers and burglars
• Licensed carriers, hawkers, oyster fishers, and tanners
• Deserting wives, families, etc.
• Deserting from military service
• Deserting from merchant vessels
• Inquests
• Missing friends
• Murderers and their victims
• Police resignations
• Prisoners discharged from gaols and released on tickets of leave
• Property and stock recovered
• Rewards—names of persons offering a reward
• Victims of arson
• Victims of horse and cattle stealing or straying
• Victims of lost or stolen property
• Victims of sheep stealing or straying

Police gazettes are wonderful genealogy tools for anyone with ancestry in Tasmania. If you're exploring your family history or building a family tree, these police gazettes are a must.

The digital images in this collection are presented in PDF form. Searching through a PDF can be different from searching through other record sets.

• The search feature uses direct search: it will only search for the exact words you write in the search field. 
For example, if you search for John Smith, the results will give you pages with John and Smith.
• All search results will bring you to the page on which your search word has been found and not to an individual transcript. You can then read through the page to find your result.
• To search for your ancestor by their name, write it as it would appear in the original record; for example, if your relative was known as Will, it is likely that the name used in official documents was William.
• If you are unable to find your relative on your first search, you can try different name variations; for example, if your search for William Smith yields zero results, try searching for W Smith.
• Page numbers correlate with the individual pages of the images rather than the page numbers printed in the publication. Therefore, page one pertains to the first page of a volume.

You can also narrow your search by year or page number.