Government Gazettes and Police Gazettes are an enormously rich
source of information for family historians. They can be useful
for filling in some of the detail about the lives of our
ancestors, and in many cases can solve mysteries. Government
gazettes contained all the administrative detail that affected
the lives of ordinary citizens going about their daily lives –
such as laws and regulations, licenses, land auctions and sales,
unclaimed mail, and much, much more. Records of convict
assignments and absconding may appear nowhere else but here.
Sailors who deserted their ships are listed, as are government
employees. Court notices of probate and bankruptcies, livestock
brands, and petitions. Your ancestor should be in a government
gazette if he or she: - leased, purchased, forfeited land -
worked for the government - tendered for public works - went
bankrupt or insolvent - had unclaimed mail - was a convict - was
assigned a convict - had a livestock brand - had a license to
run a pub, sell liquor, cut timbe