Australia and New Zealand, Newspapers.com™ Marriage Index, 1800s-current

General collection information

This collection contains marriage announcements from Australian and New Zealand newspapers for couples who were married from the 1800's through present day. Newspapers are among some of the best family history research tools available. The information available is very thorough and often frames your family member’s history within a broader context.

Using this collection

Records in this collection may include the following information:

This collection is presented index only, with a link to the digitized page on Newspapers.com™. The original images may have more information, such as the names of guests, names of the bridal party, name of officiant, a description of the wedding, and even photographs. Clicking on the link will open the image on the Newspapers.com™ site, which may require an additional upgrade or subscription.

If you are searching the collection by the names of the couple and can't find a record, consider searching for their parents. Some marriage announcements don’t list the names of those getting married and instead reference their parents. For example, "the son of Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Smith to wed the daughter of J.D. McCall" may be how the couple is listed. This is especially true of older publications.

If your ancestors were recent immigrants to Australia, you may also wish to check newspapers from your ancestor's homeland. Announcements would often be duplicated by local newspapers in the person's hometown to help keep separated families connected.

Collection in context

Australia's first newspaper, the Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, debuted in 1803. It would be the only newspaper published until the launch of The Australian in 1824. Within the next 20 years, Australia would see a newspaper boom, gaining over 20 new newspapers.

Most newspapers at this time were published weekly, as it was hard to distribute newspapers to rural areas. Daily newspapers, such as the Sydney Morning Herald, were first available in larger cities. Towards the end of the 19th century, photographs began appearing in newspapers. Australia began publishing national newspapers in the mid-20th century.

Bibliography

Ashcraft, Jenny. "Newspaper Marriage Announcements: Using the Language of Love to Break Down Genealogical Walls." Fishwrap: The Official Blog of Newspapers.com. Last modified 14 October 2020. https://blog.newspapers.com/newspaper-marriage-announcements-using-the-language-of-love-to-break-down-genealogical-walls/.

National Library of Australia. "History of Newspapers." Last modified 2 January 2014. https://www.nla.gov.au/australian-newspaper-plan/for-researchers/history-of-australian-newspaper.

Recent Updates:
27 Sep 2023: Added 8,421 new records from hundreds of newspapers.
11 Dec 2023: Added 197,596 new records from hundreds of newspapers.
28 Mar 2024: Added 850 new records.