Need help with starting your family tree or tracking down an elusive bit of local history?
Our libraries can help! We will take you through our records and advise on potential sources of information.
Bankstown Library and Knowledge Centre has research material to guide beginners and experienced people to trace their family tree and find out more about our area. There is no charge to use the Family History Collection.
Have you got a question for our Local Family and History team or seeking for answers? Submit an enquiry below and we will respond as soon as possible.
If you would like to provide feedback about an event or program you have attended, you can complete this form.
Interested in organising an Historical Tour of the Canterbury Bankstown area?
Please complete our online booking form. Or, for more information, please contact our Local and Family History Specialist on 9707 9728.
Kindergarten to High School - Want to organise a history talk for your students either in the library or at your school?
Please complete our online booking form. Or, for more information, please contact our Local and Family History Specialist on 9707 9728.
Looking for a speaker for your local club, group, school or nursing home? Contact the Local and Family History staff who are available to present a range of talks on different topics related to the local area and family history.
Please complete our online booking form. Or, for more information, please contact ourLocal and Family History Specialist on 9707 9728.
We have research material to guide beginners to trace their family tree as well as the more experienced. There are over 4,000 books, 20,000 microfiche, 700 microfilms and 200 CD-ROMs to help budding and experienced family historians including various kinds of records and archives.
These special research collections include information on our history and geography. The collection is housed in the Bankstown Library and Knowledge Centre and is available for use in the library only. Our staff at the Reference desk can provide assistance with using the collection, but they can't do the work for you!
'Remember Canterbury-Bankstown' is an interactive photograph database, presenting a large collection of historical images. The online database features a sophisticated search engine, intuitive arrangement of topics and subjects, and a mobile-friendly design.
To access 'Remember Canterbury-Bankstown', click on the link below.
Explore your family's history using local and international records including convict and free settler lists, passenger lists, Australian and New Zealand electoral rolls and military records. There are English, Welsh and Scottish records.
Get Started
Get full free access by visiting any of our libraries – log in to one of the library computers, or use your own device when connected to CBCity Public Wifi.
Trace your British or Irish family history with millions of records covering the UK, Australia and New Zealand, including travel and migration records, military records and newspapers.
Get Started
Get full free access by visiting any of our libraries – log in to one of the library computers, or use your own device when connected to CBCity Public Wifi.
Sourced from the extensive holdings of the British Library, British Library Newspapers delivers a wide range of irreplaceable local and regional newspapers covering UK, Ireland and Southeast Asia. Articles reflect the social, political, and cultural events of the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries.
British Library Newspapers is a great source for family history research and anyone researching historical primary sources.
Get Started
Log in using your library card. Search, click and read on your computer or tablet. Gale Databases do not save your links or articles after your session, so be sure to download or send links and articles to your email, Onedrive or Google account before you end your session.
Museums of History NSW offers a range of free webinars for you to view at your convenience. Each webinar is one hour in duration.
Webinars include: Early convict indents', 'School records', Tracing people by place' and many more. To access the webinars please click on the link below
As part of the ANZAC Centenary (2014-2018), the Watson Anzac website was established to reflect on local stories relating to World War 1. It also aims to encourage all members of our community to reflect upon and learn more about our local military history, its costs and its impacts on our community and nation. The website provides online access to a comprehensive range of existing local resources and materials.
The site was created by City of Canterbury Bankstown with the assistance of Federal Member for Watson, Tony Burke, under the Anzac Centenary Arts and Culture Fund.
Browse and search this free service from the National Library of Australia. Look for primary sources, images, newspapers, gazettes, journals, maps, magazines, and more. Search Trove to locate books and other physical items held in libraries and organisations around Australia.
Get Started
Head to their page and just start searching. Choose the type of source you want, to narrow down your search.
Have a question regarding local or family history? Contact our Local and Family History team via the phone or submit an online enquiry form.
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