NRS-345 | Coroners' inquest papers (Files concerning inquests, magisterial inquiries and inquests dispensed with)

Full description

These papers relate to inquests and inquiries held throughout New South Wales. The 1851 papers refer to inquests held in the towns of Dubbo, Wollongong, Bathurst, Queanbeyan, Camden, Maryborough and the City and District of Sydney.

Prior to the implementation of the Coroners' (Amendment) Act 1963, the depositions of witnesses appearing before Coroners were required to be transmitted to the Under Secretary, Department of Justice.

Each file was given a number on registration by the Department of Justice and stored numerically according to whether it was a Report of Death, Fire Report, Inquest dispensed with or an Inquest held. Reports of Death were arranged separately only if an inquest followed, with the date of the Inquest annotated. If no inquest was held, the Report of Death became the basis for the Inquest dispensed with papers and the date of the decision (to dispense with an Inquest) is annotated.

Each file includes: particulars of the deceased and the circumstances of death; copies of testimonies and of statements by the police, medical officers or others concerned with the reporting of the death; a list of witnesses; and a copy of the coroner's finding as to the cause of death. Where the inquiry concerns a fire, information includes the address of the dwelling, the names of the occupants and owners, a list of witnesses and the coroner's finding as to the cause of the fire. In some cases a list of exhibits, and exhibits such as photographs of premises, are included.

Because the papers have been registered at the Department of Justice, the numerical order only approximates the chronological order. This is particularly so with inquest papers from country areas which may have been held in the Court for months before being registered in the Head Office.

1851 (19/8450 part), 1916 (2/10481), 1918 (7/5548 part), 1919-20 (7/5550 part-5552, 7/6492 part-6494 part), 1921-38 (2/10482-540), 1939 (2/10562.1), 1940-49 (19/3632-820, 13/8052-98), 1950-Mar 1963 (13/8099-793). 998 boxes (part), 1 bundle.

For a numerical only list see NRS 345 Surviving Inquest Papers 1916-1939.

Note:
This description is extracted from Concise Guide to the State Archives of New South Wales, 3rd Edition 2000.