Sydney Benevolent Asylum

Once you have found an entry

Our index contains 78,000 records relating to the period 1857-1900.  The online index provides the date of admission and/or discharge, the full name of the inmate and age, if recorded.

If you find a POSITIVE match on this index complete the Request Form which is available on the Search Results page, providing the name and date of admission or discharge for the person you have found in the index. We will then provide you with the "notes" field from our database where available. This can provide further identifying information.

This service is only provided for private researchers and we reserve the right to limit the number of requests we will handle for each enquirer.

Note that this will only provide you with details we have in our database and takes the form of a one-line entry per admission/discharge.

There is no charge for this initial search on your behalf.

If you obtain a positive match from our database, either of the following next steps are available to you:

1. Obtain a reader's ticket from the Mitchell Library and a letter of permission from The Benevolent Society to inspect the records at the Mitchell Library. From 1 January 2010 this  will cost you $27.50 and provide you with access for ten years.  For an additional 27.50 (total $55) you can also obtain a copy of the excellent published Guide to the records of the Benevolent Society of New South Wales in the Mitchell Library State Library of NSW. Our database result listing will have provided you with a date of admission or discharge which will then allow you to search for further information yourself at the Mitchell Library.

Click here to download the Application Details required by The Benevolent Society. Complete this and send it to The Archivist, The Benevolent Society, PO Box 171, Paddington NSW 2031 along with your payment of either $27.50 or $55.00  (note the price on the form still shows $25 but this increased on 1 January 2010. 

or

2. We are able to undertake a search of the records on your behalf at the Mitchell Library.  A proportion of the fees earned from this service will be donated on an annual basis to The Benevolent Society to assist its charitable works. Please Contact Us for further details.

 

Please do not ask us to conduct searches for the period 1857-1900 if you have not found the person you are seeking in the online database.

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