In New South Wales a great many records exist that pertain to public servants such as teachers, police, railway workers and the military. These records can tell you a great deal about the working life of your ancestor if he or she was employed in one of these occupations.
Other documents such as records of publicans’ licenses are also available.
State Records New South Wales has information sheets about the records for many occupations they hold, such as:
Doctors – Archives in Brief No. 72
Firefighters – Archives in Brief No. 113
Police – Archives in Brief No. 20
Publicans – Archives in Brief No. 61
Railway workers – Archives in Brief No. 54
Ships’ crew – Archives in Brief No. 21
Sydney Harbour Bridge workers – Archive in Brief No. 112
Teachers – Archives in Brief No. 19
It is important to remember that most records have a period of closed access before they are available to the public. For many personnel records this period may be up to 100 years. This period is determined by the originator of the records, not State Records NSW. It may not be possible to access the records for your ancestor without requesting permission from the originator.
Please enquire about the information available for the occupation of your ancestor.