Aboriginal & former wards records -
FINDING OUT ABOUT YOUR PAST
In the past, many people were separated from their families due to policies and practices which reflected the social attitudes of those times. As a result many people do not know their relatives, their own background, childhood or family history. The Department for Child Protection’s Family Information Records Bureau (FIRB) provides historical family and personal information to Aboriginal people, former state wards, and British and Maltese child migrants.
The Department’s FIRB team and the Department of Indigenous Affairs Aboriginal History Research Unit are working together to help Aboriginal people access their personal records and family history. This information has been gathered from former Department of Native Welfare files and other government files, with some records going back to 1920.
The available information for former state wards and child migrants can be limited to entries in volumes of birth records or registers of prior state wards. However, in the majority of cases, the records have been preserved on micro-film, electronic imaged files or, more recently, physical files and virtual files.
Files are limited in the amount and type of information they hold. This is because the information which was recorded depended on the extent of contact with the person or the family. Sometimes records are incomplete, have pages missing or the writing has deteriorated and is unreadable, and some files have been destroyed. The Department is making every effort to preserve the remaining records.
Applications for information can be made by completing the forms contained in the following brochures:
Finding out about your past
Finding out about your Aboriginal family history
Contact details for the Department of Indigenous Affairs Aboriginal History Research Unit can be found on their website at: www.dia.wa.gov.au.
Further information is available from:
Family Information Records Bureau
63-69 Abernethy Rd, BELMONT WA 6104
Telephone: (08) 9259 3536 (Aboriginal Clients); 9259 3526 (Former Wards & Child Migrants) & 1800 000 277 (free call in WA)
Facsimile: (08) 9259 3566
Email: adoptions@dcp.wa.gov.au
Postal Address:
PO Box 641
BELMONT WA 6984