Explore our resources that can help you find out more about the history of your house.
Researching the history of your house is a fun and easy task with our resources.
Council conservation studies and heritage reviews
Conservation studies are surveys of historic sites, with brief histories of significant buildings, often including houses. Many were undertaken by councils which now make up the City of Yarra in the 70s, 80s and 90s. Most have been digitised and are available on the City of Yarra website, some are available in printed form in our libraries' local history collections. To find them, search the library catalogue, or ask staff for assistance.
The digitised Carlton Conservation Study from 1984 is available through the Yarra Libraries' catalogue.
Primary resources
The two major resources available in our libraries are post office directories and Council rate books.
Post office directories
Post office directories were the equivalent of telephone books. These directories may be useful for researching who lived at your address.
Search the Sands and McDougall postal directories
Richmond and Fitzroy libraries hold microfiche copies of the Victorian directories from 1839 to 1974.
The following books may also be helpful:
- Jackson, R (1997) The streets of Richmond, Richmond & Burnley Historical Society, Richmond.
- Cummings, K (1997) Streets of Collingwood, Collingwood Historical Society, Abbotsford.
Council rate books
Council rate books were used to record Council rates collection. They include information about the owner and the occupier of a property, a brief description of the dwelling and the valuation.
The rate books are set out by ward, then by street. Maps are available for checking the ward as boundaries and names have changed over the years. There is a street index at the beginning of each ward listing which will tell you which page to look for.
Accessing rate books
- Fitzroy rate books 1858-1973 were digitised in early 2011 and an electronic copy of these are available for viewing at the Fitzroy Library in the Local History Collection.
- City of Melbourne rate books 1861-1900 are also available. These resources have been copied to microfiche and microfilm and can be read on machines at Fitzroy Library.
- City of Collingwood rate books are held at the Fitzroy library.
Online resources
Find your house
The Melbourne Metropolitan Board of Works created a series of maps showing Melbourne's drains and buildings.
Search for maps at the State Library of Victoria
Search old newspapers
The National Library has thousands of digitised Australian newspapers.
Council heritage studies
Heritage studies and reviews have been completed in the City of Yarra for many years.
Estimate the age of your house
The Heritage Council of Victoria has a book called What house is that? to help you identify architectural styles.
Researching historic homes
The Public Record Office of Victoria has a helpful guide called Historic homes.
Reference books
The following books may be useful and available for reference or in library reading only.
- Regan, D and Press, K (1990) How to trace the history of your house, Penguin, Ringwood
- Davison, G and McConville, C (ed)(1991) A heritage handbook, Allen & Unwin, North Sydney
- Kellaway, C (1991) How to research the history of a house, Allen & Unwin, North Sydney - Chapter 14 uses Richmond buildings as case studies
- Jackson, R (2001) Researching your house in Richmond, Burnley, Vic.
- Vines, M, Outhred, G and Leigh, J (1996) Identification of housing styles and faults, RMIT, Melbourne.
- Burchell, L (1991) Recognising house styles 1880s - 1990s, City of Coburg, Coburg.
- Stapleton, M and Stapleton, I (1996) Australian house styles, Flannel Flower Press, Yeronga.
Need help researching the history of your house? Ask one of our expert Local History Librarians for a History Help session.