RELATED LINKS
CHECK THE DATES
Before Victoria separated from New South Wales in 1851 government notices, regulations, forms and orders relating to the Port Phillip District were published initially in the New South Wales Government Gazette, then the Port Phillip Government Notices, and later in the Port Phillip Government Gazette (from 1843).
The dates covered by the various titles are:
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New South Wales Government Gazette 1836 - 1851
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Port Phillip Government Notices January - 12 July 1843
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Port Phillip Government Gazette January 1844 - July 1851
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Victoria Government Gazette July 1851 - December 1986
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Since 1987 the Victoria Government Gazette is in three series: General, Periodical, and Special
Not sure where to start?
Current
The Victoria Government Gazette from 16 January 1998 can be accessed online. The gazette is published in three series:
- General (uses the prefix G, published weekly)
- Periodical (uses the prefix P, lengthy non-urgent notices, irregular)
- Special (uses the prefix S, irregular).
To view gazettes from 1998 onwards, select Gazette Archives, and use the drop-down list to find the date you need.
Historic
The online archive of the Victoria Government Gazettes cover 1836 to 1997 only. This database contains images of every relevant page in the Victoria Government Gazette produced since 1836, as well as searchable indexes for each publication.
Please note: No copies are known to exist for the period 19 July-December 1843. Gazette information for this period may be in The Port Phillip Herald newspaper under the 'Melbourne Government Gazette' column.
Before Victoria separated from New South Wales in 1851, government notices, regulations, forms and orders relating to the Port Phillip District were published initially in the New South Wales Government Gazette. The historical gazette, the Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (1803 to 1842), can be read online at Trove.
Where can you find Victorian Gazettes in print?
Use the Australian Government Publications Guide, GovPubs, to help locate Victorian gazettes in Australian libraries.
- Select the link which shows the date you need
- Select the link for the library you are using ('NLA' for the National Library of Australia)
- Use the 'Amicus Number' or call number you need to find it in the Catalogue.
Case Study
A town's early history
I am compiling a book on the early history of Haven. Where can I find information about the very early years of Horsham Common (including how it was created) before 1910?
We can find official references to the Horsham Common are in the online Victoria Government Gazette. For example, see the results of a search for Horsham Common.
The Town Common's initial proclamation was dated 18 February 1861 according to Gazette 115, Tuesday, November 17th 1863
Horsham, County of Borung / photo-lithographed at the Department of Lands and Survey Melbourne by J. Noone http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-232019998/
FEATURED RESOURCE
Port Phillip Government Notices
January 4, 1843
Source: Victorian Government Gazette Online Archive
The Port Phillip Government Notices started publication in 1843, and became the Port Phillip Government Gazette in 1844. It became the Victoria Government Gazette in 1851, when the Colony of Victoria was established.
COPIES
In the Library, you can photocopy or photograph printed pages. Microfilmed gazettes can be printed or saved to a USB drive.
If you can't visit the Library, you can use the National Library's Copies Direct service to request a copy and have it sent to you via mail or email.
To place a Copies Direct order, simply click on the Order a Copy button located at the top of the catalogue record, and complete the online order form. Add as much information as you have:
- gazette date
- gazette number
- page number
- position number if applicable
- title of proclamation or the name of the person concerned
INDEX
The index is normally found with the gazette itself and is published:
- 1851–1853: half-yearly
- 1854–1864: annually
- 1865–1888: half-yearly
- 1889–1933: three a year
- 1934–1940: half-yearly
- 1941–1943: three a year
- 1944–1947: half-yearly
- 1948–1959: quarterly
- 1960+: three a year
For the years 1987 - 2006 the index is bound separately
