NRS-20001 | Vendors Index

Full description

This series consists of the Vendors Index, an index to the General Register of Deeds from 1825 to 1992. It is also the index for entries in the Miscellaneous Register between 1950 and 1976.

The General Register of Deeds commenced on 16 November 1825 with the introduction of the Registration of Deeds Act, 1825 (Act No. 22, 1825) which formalised the recording of deeds for all registered land transactions. Each deed is identified by a unique Book and number reference with each book containing 1000 deeds. (1)

The Vendors Index enabled searching of the General Register of Deeds by the principal party in the registered deed and is not exclusive to land deeds.

On 1 July 1896 a second index called the Purchasers Index was introduced.

The Vendors Index contains the names of the parties to the deed, with the surname alphabetically listed; the type of deed, with abbreviations used such as ‘C’ for ‘conveyance’; the book and number reference of the deed; and a summary of the land description.

The series consists of both the original handwritten versions, until 1904, and typewritten or photocopied copies where the original versions became damaged. Some of these original handwritten versions were also accepted for transfer, so in some cases there may be two versions of the one book.

The format of a typewritten Vendors Index entry differs from the original by being extended across two pages. The left hand page shows the vendor’s name, purchaser’s name, type of deed and book and number reference. The right hand page contains a summary of the land description.

From 1904 to 1971 entries are shown on a single page. The pages are divided into columns for the transferring parties; a Book and number reference; and deed description.

From 1972 to 1992 the format of the entries was changed to a more compact style. Deed details are written one after the other and not separated under headings. The use of abbreviations in index entries is commonplace, including first or middle names, localities, towns, sections, parishes, counties, streets, allotments, roads and rivers as well as executors, trustees, administrators and attorneys.

Since 2 November 1992, indexes to the General Register of Deeds have been maintained electronically through the Automated Deeds Indexing System (ADIS). (2) Deeds registered into ADIS from this date commenced at Book 4000.

Endnotes
1. Land & Property Information, General Register of Deeds http://www.lpi.nsw.gov.au/land_titles/public_registers/general_register_of_deeds (accessed 27 October, 2015)
2. Ibid.