South Australia Naturalisations 1849-1903

Each record includes a transcript. The amount of information listed varies, but the South Australia Naturalisations 1849-1903 usually include the following information about your ancestor:

• Name

• Age

• Address

• Estimated birth year (which is calculated from the age and the oath year)

• Occupation

• Length of residence in South Australia prior to naturalisation

• Origin

• Memorial date

• Date of the oath

• Date of issue of naturalisation certificate

This is an index of naturalisations in South Australia.

In 1846, the Governor of South Australia passed an act that formalised the naturalisation process for non-British immigrants. This required the payment of a fee. Before then, there was no provision for naturalisation in South Australia, although a number of Prussian Lutherans proclaimed their allegiance before the governor during the Queen’s Birthday celebrations in 1839.

A further Act in 1847 recorded the names of those seeking naturalisation. The process began when the paperwork was finalised in England, and those naturalised were recorded in the government gazettes from 1850 until 1891. After Federation, the responsibility for this process passed to the Commonwealth and was ratified in a 1903 Act.

This collection was compiled from lists in the South Australian Government Gazettes, with additional information from files at the National Archives of Australia and State Records of South Australia.

The records are found in the following locations:

• Government Gazettes

• Acts of Parliament

• Parliamentary Papers

• National Archives of Australia (Series: A711, A712, A729, A733, A821, A822, A823, A824, A826)

• State Records of SA (Series: GRG 24/55 & GRG 59/7)