The City of PAE has a rich and fascinating history that you can explore in library branches or online. We can help you with property or family tree research.
Are you interested in finding out about the story of your family? You can visit our Local History Collection at Port Adelaide Library for access to a range of other records and Ancestry (Library edition). You can make a local history enquiry and one of or team members will get in touch.
Or, these links to online resources are a good place to start your searching right now:
Ancestry (Library edition)
This site is available from any library computer. It offers significantly more records than the Australia + UK home version, including records from other countries such as New Zealand, US and Canada. You can start your family tree by accessing billions of genealogy records including Census, Births, Deaths and Marriages records as well as Military records.
National Archives of Australia
You can search here for records related to Citizenship, Defence and war service, First Nations peoples and Passenger arrivals (1898 – 1972).
AIF Project
This database will help you find Defence and war service records.
Passengers in History
This website was developed by the South Australian Maritime Museum. It includes entries for 328,000 passengers arriving in South Australia between 1836 and 1964.
Adelaide Cemeteries
Search the burial, cremation and memorial records for Enfield Memorial Park, Cheltenham Cemetery, Smithfield Memorial Park and West Terrace Cemetery.
Cemetery Index Page
This page links to incomplete index lists of a cemeteries across South Australia.
Gerald A. Savill Index of The Advertiser Funeral Notices
Search here for funeral notices (1971 to current day).
South Australian Integrated Land Information System (SAILIS)
If your family member owned property in South Australia, you can search through the previous titles to the property to find out more.
Sands & McDougall
If you have an address for the family member, you may search through digitised copies of the postal directories (Sands & McDougall) online at The State Library of South Australia to identify the period they resided at the property.
Trove
Search for your family member’s name using the digitised newspapers (to 1955) for articles, notices or advertisements related to your family member.
Births, Deaths and Marriages
Click on the Contact link to apply for a digital image of an historical certificate (Birth, Death, Marriage) which may help you find your family story.
Those Who Served 1853 - 2014
Search this list of the Elected Members and Town Clerks who served what is now the community of Port Adelaide Enfield.
Nunkuwarrin Yunti’s Link-Up SA Program
You can phone or email to get help with family tracing, reunion and counselling services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their families who have been separated under the past policies and practices of the Australian Government. Assistance is also provided to people over the age of 18 years who have been adopted, fostered or raised in institutions.
Centre for Indigenous Family History Studies
Here you can search the National Archives of Australia for names of family.
Are you interested in finding out about the story of your house?
You can visit our Local History Collection at Port Adelaide Library to search rate books and other records.
These links to online resources are a good place to start your searching right now:
Tracing the History of your House
This webinar by the National Library of Australia will show you how to trace the history of your house.
Australian Housing Styles
This five-page technical bulletin contains illustrations of architectural details from different periods that will help you estimate the age of your house.
Sands & McDougall
Search through the digitised copies of the postal directories online at The State Library of South Australia to see who used to live at your address.
Previous owners
To find the original or prior owners of your land, you will need to search through the previous titles to the property, many of which can be found via the South Australian Integrated Land Information System (SAILIS). SAILIS is a free online tool that provides up to date and historical information about land and property in South Australia. Anyone can use SAILIS as a guest by searching using a property address, title reference, plan/parcel reference or valuation number.
South Australian Property and Planning Atlas
This is a free online tool that has current and accurate information about land ownership, heritage status and property boundaries and includes a user guide.
SA Heritage Places Database
Search the South Australian Heritage Places Database for details of houses that have been listed.
Enviro Data SA
Search here for information about Heritage assessment reports, Heritage surveys and summaries.
Trove
Search here for your address or street using the digitised newspapers (to 1955) for articles or advertisements related to your house.
Street Names
The Manning Index of South Australian History includes information extracted from Adelaide newspapers for the period 1837-1937.
Architecture Museum
This museum preserves and manages architectural and related records produced by private practitioners based in South Australia. You can search their collection here.
If you need assistance in finding your story, consider meeting with one of our Local History team. Bookings are recommended. For more information or to book a session contact us on 8405 6580, visit the Port Adelaide Library or use the enquiry link below.
Donations
While the Local History team actively collects material we also rely on public donations and are always looking for photos and information about historical families, individuals, events, homes, and businesses. We welcome donations of local photos, memoirs, and memorabilia. All potential donations are assessed for relevance and suitability for inclusion in our collection.
Volunteering
We welcome volunteers to help us with preservation, digitisation, archiving and various projects. Training is provided. If you would like to donate a few hours of your time please contact the Local History team on 8405 6580 or email local.history@cityofpae.sa.gov.au.
If you need assistance in finding your story, researching a property or finding a historical document; consider meeting with our Local History team. Bookings are recommended.
To book a session contact us on 8405 6580, visit the Port Adelaide Library or use the enquiry link below.