Search Help

The index lists headstone inscriptions that have been recorded by the authors and contributors over several years.

If you cannot find a person, they may be in an unmarked grave or in a cemetery that has not been recorded.

Find a Name

To find a person enter their surname and optionally their first name(s). Partial names can be used. eg. Joh Smi
Enter cemetery or town also if you know it
You can search all records or just those with photos by changing the Show box
Records without photos may be less accurate than those with
Click "Other Sources" in individual inscription records for automatic lookup of BDM etc.
(NB. It simply does a lookup based on name. It may not find the right person.)
To view the most common surnames in a cemetery, click the link at the top of that cemetery's inscriptions to display the main cemetery page

To list all cemeteries just click Search
To list cemeteries for one state, select the state then click Search
To find a specific cemetery, enter the cemetery name or town where indicated. Partial names can be used. eg. Woron
To only display cemeteries with inscriptions or photos change the "Show" box
To view a cemetery main page, click on its address in the list of cemeteries or on the link at the top of its inscriptions
Use the map link on the left to locate cemeteries in a particular area.

Enter as many or as few fields as you wish
For Spouse, Father and Mother search, ticking the "Include Empty" box (the default) will include records with that field blank. (75% are blank). It will at least eliminate people who cannot be the right one. Untick the box to ignore empty values
The Radius search finds a person in cemeteries within X kms of the specified cemetery

On the right of inscriptions in the search list there can be 3 icons, which are clickable.

A camera icon means there is a photo of that headstone
A red Google placemark icon means latitude and longitude of the grave is recorded and will display on a map at the bottom of the inscription display.
A black family tree icon means a family tree for the person is available. Click the icon or click the Family Tree link when displaying the inscription.

The entire NSW BDM database is online and searchable
Thousands of records have been updated, to move data from Mother/Father to its own fields, correct obvious errors etc
To find a person enter their surname and optionally their first name(s). Partial names can be used. eg. Joh Smi
To increase speed middle names are not searched for. eg. a search for John Smith will not find William John Smith.
Searching on Regn. no. may list variations on the name or other details. (All other fields are ignored for Regn no search).
To look for a person's cemetery record click their surname in the BDM search results
Corrections can be requested using the links on the right