Gone But Not Forgotten NSW | Forgotten Burials & Heritage Research

Archival Collections

Search digitised records, indexes, and finding aids illuminating burial places and remembrance practices.

A carefully excavated archaeological test trench cut into reddish-brown soil on a grassy hillside, its straight, clean edges revealing distinct soil layers and a faint linear stain indicating a possible historic grave cut. Numbered context tags, a scale bar, and a north arrow are precisely arranged at the trench edge, while a gridded planning frame lies nearby. Overcast daylight produces even, shadow-free illumination that clearly defines each stratigraphic layer in photographic realism. Captured from a slightly elevated, diagonal angle for depth, the trench fills most of the frame with the surrounding paddock and distant tree line softly receding, conveying a meticulous, professional mood centered on methodical forensic archaeology.
A detailed overhead view of a researcher’s wooden worktable displaying an organized spread of archival materials about historic New South Wales cemeteries: folded parish maps, sepia-toned survey plans, neatly labeled manila folders, a magnifying glass, and a modern tablet showing a georeferenced digital map with faint cemetery outlines. Soft studio lighting from the upper left creates gentle, directional highlights on the crisp paper edges and tablet screen while leaving muted shadows in the corners. The composition uses a flat-lay, photographic realism style with sharp focus across the entire frame, conveying a meticulous, professional atmosphere of careful archaeological and historical investigation without showing any people.

Archival Sources Underpinning Our Research

Digitised parish registers, cemetery plans, coronial files, newspapers, photographs, and council records reveal where people were buried, how landscapes changed, and whose stories were omitted, directly supporting our archaeological interpretation and community memory work across New South Wales.

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Collections

Browse document sets with notes, downloads, and repository links.

A close-up, oblique view of an old, hand-drawn parish map of coastal New South Wales spread out on a dark archival table, showing delicately inked cemetery symbols, winding roads, and shaded topography. Transparent tracing paper overlays part of the map, bearing modern, color-coded annotations that highlight “burial reserve” and “unmarked graves” areas. A metal archival ruler aligns with the map’s scale bar. Warm directional light from a desk lamp creates gentle highlights on the slightly wavy paper texture and pronounced shadows under the ruler. Photographic realism with a shallow depth of field keeps the map’s central annotated area razor sharp, while edges fall into a soft blur, suggesting focused, analytical heritage research.

Using Archival Material Responsibly

Our research guides explain how to interpret historical documents, cite archival sources accurately, and request higher‑resolution files. Learn ethical approaches to Aboriginal burial records, privacy, and community consultation before incorporating materials into reports, artworks, or public history projects.

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