Online resources for researching historical land records in NSW.

NSW Land Registry Services formerly The Land and Property Information: formerly the Land Titles Office

The primary registering authority over land in NSW was the Registrar General which included Land, Companies and Births Deaths and Marriages. The registration of Land is now administered by the NSW Land Registry Services a private company under a 35 year concession, however it is still done under the regulation of the Registrar General. Births Deaths and Marriages is now a separate organisation under the Customer Service Department

There are two land systems to administer, the Old System or Common Law and the Torrens Title. All Torrens titles are based on a Deposited Plan, these are also registered by the Registry Services. See the Basics page on Land Title History in NSW.

The resources of the NSW Land Registry Services are being digitised and the historical resources the office are now online. These resources can be defined into two categories Maps and Documents.

The research tools on the LRS site leads to a wealth of information on all aspects of title reasearch.

Just click on the Research tab and a whole set of submenus about all types of land research will appear.

You can also use the portal login, thats the blue Portal Login button. You can use the LRS online for both historical and current title searches, those you don't need to pay for that is.

LRS Online Portal

If you click on "Not Sure? View all types of land records" you get the whole list of whats available.

For your historical land research start with Historic Land Records Veiwer.

Historical Land Records.

LRS HLRV

It's the main source of digitised maps and historical Land Title records in NSW; formerly known as Pixel. Maps are also available at the State Archives and the State Library.

Maps.

The HLRV contains historic maps such as county maps, parish maps, pastoral maps , town maps and Crown Plans and maps by other authorities such as the Valuer General and the Lands Department. Through the HLRV you can see the Charting maps, these are maps used by LPI to note changes the map system such as subdivisions. The charting maps indicate information such as grant details, Torrens Title issue, estate names and subdivision details.

There are several other resources available through the NSW Spatial Services https://six.nsw.gov.au/

The main two are Six Maps which show the current survey information and some historical aerial survey maps and Survey Mark Sketches which are simple sketches of the permeant marks and state survey marks. That’s the little round metal tag located in the kerb. They reveal details of the surrounding area. You can find the number for these sketches in six maps under map contents.

SIX Maps https://maps.six.nsw.gov.au/#

The SIX Maps viewer provides access to a range of NSW primary spatial data through an intuitive public interface. Product for viewing on this site include: - Cadastral, Topographic, Imagery, Place Names and Addressing data.

Survey Mark Sketches https://six.nsw.gov.au/survey-mark-sketches

Survey Mark sketches show the physical position of numbered Survey Control Marks. These marks constitute the State Control Survey Network.

Land Title Documents

The documents which deal with land fall into three categories; Old system deeds, the Torrens register and related dealings and plans of land (diagrams) also known as Deposited Plans. See the basics page.

The Torrens records consist of the Purchases Index, the register which is all the titles to land and the dealings which are the actions taken on the title. The Purchases Index and the old form titles are available in the veiwer. These are the old bound registered numbered volumes 1 to around 8000.

The Old System documents available in the viewer are, the grant indexes and the grant register. The deeds indexes, are the Vendors and Purchases Indexes and the deeds themselves are found under the General Register of deeds.

You can search the HLRV online or at the NSW Land Services Regitary Office or the State Archives. To see the dealings you need to pay a fee.

Other Resources

There are several comprehensive guides on the NSW Land Registry Services Web Site, which are free. See search guides under Publications. They give a great rundown on how to search a property. There are three main Titles

A few other online resources;

State Records (Archives)

Much broader searches can be undertaken at the State Records.
There they have collections such as Probate records, Valuation records, Water Board maps and census and electoral rolls Below is a link to the full list.