Family History

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Curious about your family tree?

We can help you with your family history searches using both online resources and programs only available in the library. Each month we also offer free interactive ‘hands-on’ family history help sessions in the Heritage Room at Shellharbour City Museum.

This index provides a searchable database of cemetery inscriptions for over 1,100 Australian cemeteries and over 1.7M inscriptions. Particularly strong in regional NSW cemeteries, each index entry is accompanied by a digital image of the headstone.

Go to Australian Cemeteries Index.

A searchable database of the transportation registers of British convicts to Australia between 1787 and 1867. 

Go to Convict Records.

Findmypast provides millions of family history records – births, deaths, marriages and parish entries. Travel & migration, military and newspaper records covering a wide range of countries.

Go to Find My Past.

Library Access Only

They offer a great variety of family history resources to explore. 

Go to National Library of Australia.

Free access to records of births, marriages and deaths in NSW that date back to 1788.

Go to website.

Over 30,000 pages of online records and images of historical documents, containing information which can help you trace people who lived and worked in New South Wales during the period 1850 – 1930.

Go to NSW Family History Resources.

Discover their collection of family history resources.

Go to State Library of NSW.

Digitised and searchable records hosted by the National Library of Australia. Explore Australian newspapers, government gazettes, maps, magazines, books, music, images, archived websites and more.

Go to Trove.

Ancestry

Library Edition

This website provides access to more than 5 billion names in over 4,000 collections of genealogical information with suitable for tracing your ancestors and historical records. 

Library Access Only

Discover Shellharbour

Showcasing over 9000+ cultural heritage items including photographs, objects, maps and more. Celebrating the people, places and events that shape our great City!

Find out more

Shellharbour City Libraries acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Dharawal Country and recognises their continued connection to the land. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging and the contribution they make to the life of this City.

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Warrigal Care

Shellharbour City Libraries partnered with Warrigal Care to deliver Bee Connected, an intergenerational program aimed at forming meaningful connections between young people and seniors in the community through songs, games, reading, and crafts. 

University of Wollongong

Shellharbour City Libraries partners with UOW on a range of Paint Shellharbour REaD initiatives. Paint Shellharbour REaD is part of the Paint the Town REaD network, dedicated to promoting early childhood literacy. 

The Man Walk

Shellharbour City Libraries partners with The Man Walk to deliver the Tall Tales program. This program aims to make connections with local, social, hobby and information organisations who appeal to male audiences and bring them into our library programs space. 

Smith Family

Shellharbour City Libraries partners with Smith Family to promote early childhood literacy through the Paint Shellharbour REaD initiative. Paint Shellharbour REaD organises reading days and kids events throughout the year dedicated to fostering a love of reading. 

QBD

Shellharbour City Libraries have worked with QBD Shellharbour as the preferred bookseller at all of our Author Talk events. 

Project Bucephalus

Shellharbour City Libraries sponsors Project Bucephalus in their facilitation of the Shellharbour Robo Club. The club teaches youth to form robotics teams and particulate in the FIRST LEGO League tournament. 

Paint the Gong REaD

Shellharbour City Libraries collaborates with Paint the Gong REaD in conjunction with the Paint the Town REaD network. This partnership promotes early childhood literacy across the Illawarra through multiple reading events and activities. 

NSW Health

Shellharbour City Libraries has partnered with NSW Health to facilitate Independent Living Skills sessions aimed at teaching foster children health and wellbeing skills, in collaboration with the William Campbell Foundation.

Multicultural Communities Council Illawarra

The Multicultural Communities Council Illawarra attends Warilla library to utilise the 2528 community room. This is used for exercise and light physio sessions with senior community members.

Living Connected

Shellharbour City Libraries partners with Living Connected to offer drop-in Tech Help sessions to our customers at Warilla, Albion Park and City Libraries. These short one-on-one sessions are designed to assist customers in their digital skills development. 

Legal Aid NSW

Shellharbour City Libraries partnered with Legal Aid NSW to bring free community talks across our branches discussing a range of legal topics and how people can access help and resources as a part of the Libraries Law Week celebration.

Kiama Community College

Shellharbour City Libraries partners with Kiama Community College to deliver Tech Savvy Seniors sessions at our libraries. Tech Savvy Seniors is a NSW Government and Telstra partnership coordinated by the State Library of NSW. The program aims to teach seniors digital skills and knowledge.

Junior Einsteins

Shellharbour City Libraries partners with Junior Einsteins to deliver Bee Connected, an intergenerational program aimed at forming meaningful connections between young people and seniors in the community through songs, games, reading, and crafts. 

Judi Sandilands - Cincotta

Shellharbour City Libraries partners with Judi Sandilands-Cincotta to bring Ollie and Shiko the therapy dogs to a range of children’s and youth programs. These programs aim to promote positive mental health and social connection.

Illawarra Legal Centre

Shellharbour City Libraries partnered with Illawarra Legal Centre to bring free community talks across our branches discussing a range of legal topics and how people can access help and resources as a part of the Libraries Law Week celebration.

HARS Aviation Museum

Shellharbour City Libraries partners with HARS to deliver the Tall Tales program. This program aims to make connections with local social, hobby and information organisations who appeal to male audiences and bring them into our library program space. 

Greenacres Disability Services

Shellharbour City Libraries organises Sensory Experiences with Greenacres Disability Services at Warilla Library.

Fitness Cartel Albion Park

Shellharbour City Libraries and the Youth Services team partnered with Fitness Cartel Albion Park to deliver a Youth Fitness program at Warilla Library. This program engaged local youth and taught them about health, personal fitness, and respect.

Ed U Play Illawarra

Shellharbour City Libraries partners with Ed U Play to facilitate programs and activities that bring young people together. These programs support social and emotional wellbeing amongst youth. The libraries support the Girls Only Project which aims to provide young women with knowledge of and access to positive activities in their own communities. Ed U Play are funded by the Communities for Children Program.

Bunnings

Shellharbour City Libraries partners with Bunnings to deliver free monthly Craft Workshops at City Library. In these sessions, experts from Bunnings teach our customers a range of crafting skills. These workshops include, Kokedama Balls, Painting Art Canvas and much more!

Belladonna Book Club

For Library Lovers Day, Shellharbour City Libraries partnered with Belladonna Book Club to produce a series of Book Review videos. 

These reviews were released on the Libraries’ Facebook and Instagram pages, as well as on the Belladonna Book Club’s social media channels.

Barnardos

Shellharbour City Libraries partners with Barnardos to promote early childhood literacy through the Paint Shellharbour REaD initiative. Paint Shellharbour REaD organises reading days and kids events throughout the year dedicated to fostering a love of reading.

Aruma Disability Services

Shellharbour City Libraries partners with Aruma Disability Services to deliver Library Links. Library Links is a program that aims to invite disability services groups into their local branches to utilise craft and puzzle kits as well as getting to know our collections. Aruma is the first group at the Warilla branch and comes monthly to utilise space, kits and collections with their joined organisation library card.

Warrigal Care

Shellharbour City Libraries partnered with Warrigal Care to deliver Bee Connected, an intergenerational program aimed at forming meaningful connections between young people and seniors in the community through songs, games, reading and crafts. 

William Campbell Foundation

Shellharbour City Libraries partners with the William Campbell Foundation to deliver the Independent Living Skills Program. This program involves teaching foster children integral health and wellbeing skills and knowledge. Additionally, the City Library hosts WCF’s fortnightly Homework Club.

Sydney Writers Festival

Sydney Writers Festival

Every year, Shellharbour City Libraries partners with the Sydney Writers Festival to deliver author panel livestreams and local events as part of the festival’s Live and Local programming. 

Paint the town read

Paint the Town REaD

Shellharbour City Libraries leads Paint Shellharbour REaD, which is part of the Paint the Town REaD network. This initiative aims to promote early childhood literacy by connecting local early childhood education stakeholders and providers and collaborating with them to deliver reading events and activities. 

Little Zaks Bee connected

Little Zaks

Shellharbour City Libraries partnered with Little Zaks Academy to deliver Bee Connected, an intergenerational program aimed at forming meaningful connections between young people and seniors in the community through songs, games, reading and crafts. 

Frasers Property

Frasers

Shellharbour City Libraries partners with Frasers Property Australia to deliver Toddler Tales, a weekly childhood reading program, at The Waterfront Shell Cove. The libraries have also partnered with Frasers Property Australia to deliver a term of Tech Savvy Seniors at Shell Cove.

Frasers Property

Frasers

Shellharbour City Libraries partners with Frasers Property Australia to deliver Toddler Tales, a weekly childhood reading program, at The Waterfront Shell Cove. The libraries have also partnered with Frasers Property Australia to deliver a term of Tech Savvy Seniors at Shell Cove.

Paint Shellharbour REaD

Big Fat Smile

Shellharbour City Libraries partners with Big Fat Smile to deliver Transition to School programs to prepare pre-schoolers for their move into primary school. Big Fat Smile is also a part of the Paint Shellharbour REaD initiative, which organises events that promote early childhood literacy.