Family History Research
Are you researching your family history? Bayside Library has a large collection of tools to help you!
Attend a class at the Library
Bayside Library runs regular sessions to help you explore your family history, including using library resources like Ancestry and Find My Past as well as specific author talks.
View current Family History events at the Library
Beginning Your Family History Research
If you are just beginning to research your family history, start by downloading a Family History Chart template from Ancestry. Always start with yourself and work backwards.
Download a family history chart
Passenger Records & Immigration
The Public Records Office of Victoria (PROV), maintains passenger records that contains records of passengers arriving or departing Victoria, mostly as ship passenger lists.
Find My Past
Find My Past is a family history and genealogy resource covering Australia, New Zealand, England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.
Family Search
Search for your ancestors in Australia and around the world using the free online database www.familysearch.org.
Sands & McDougall
Brighton Library holds microfiche copies of Sands & McDougall Directories. You can also access them online via the State Library of Victoria.
Explore Sands & McDougall Directories
Births, Deaths and Marriages
Search for birth, death and marriage certificates from the State of Victoria.
Explore Births, Deaths and Marriages
Public Records Office
Public Record Office Victoria holds an extraordinary array of records created by the Victorian Government from the mid-1830s to now.
Explore Public Records Office Collections
Ancestry
Discover your family history and start your family tree. Access billions of genealogy records including Census, BDM & Military records.
Explore Ancestry (in Library Access only)
The Ryerson Index
The Ryerson Index is a free index to death notices appearing in Australian newspapers. The date range covered extends from the Sydney Gazette of 1803 up to newspapers published within the last week or so. The Index also includes many funeral notices, and some probate notices and obituaries. Explore Ancestry (Library Edition)
Preserve your Family Memories
Make use of one of the library slide and negative film strip converters to preserve and store your family photos.