• SRO Shelf Location

• Data Extracts
• Full Online Access

• ABS (Archive)

• ABS (Archive)

• 1848-1901 HCCDA PDFs
• 1848-1901 Selected Formatted Data
• 1911 onwards ABS

• 1863-1932

• 1842-1914

Early bound 'Blue Books' were produced from 1834-69 and consist of standard printed forms which were hand-completed in copperplate by the Colonial Secretary's Office. Each volume provides an annual summary of information relating to the Swan River Colony, as well as a list of officers employed. The information spans return on:

• Taxes
• Duties and Feeds
• Revenue and Expenditure
• Statements on Public Debt
• A List of Laws Proclaimed
• A List of the Civil Establishment
• Population Returns
• Summaries of Land Grants
• Criminal Statistics
• And more... 

Triplicate volumes are held at the WA SRO, and originals in the UK National Archives: neither have been scanned or digitised to date and must be viewed in person via the State Records Office/SLWA. From 1879 the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Western Australian Office published the Blue Books incorporating tabulated data, until 1905. Original hard copies also held in the Barry Marshall Library at UWA. Selected Blue Book data (1870-1905) was partially processed and digitised for open access in 2012 as part of the Western Australia node of the Australian Data Archive Project. The Excel database includes spreadsheet pages for: 

• Cultivated Land
• Crops
• Stock
• Imports/Exports
• Population
• Shipping
• Labour
• Marriages 

With incomplete data for other subcategories such as: 

• Population by district
• Import/Export by country 
• Factors and Mills
• Education 
• Convicts

The Registrar General's Department combined with the Government Statisticians Office upon federation in 1901 was responsible to the Colonial Secretary's Office until 1957. At this time the two functions of providing statistics and a record of personnel was split, with details of the civil workforce then published in the Public Service lists (Q 351.209941 WES), up until 1987. 

Statistical Register volumes produced from 1900 include statistics on: 

• Trade 
• Rural Industries
• Demography/Population 
• Finance
• Local Government 
• Social Statistics 
• Transport and Communication 
• Non-Rural Primary Industries 
• Labour and Prices
• Building and Housing 

These are available to view in SLWA. 319.41 [WES]. Copies also held in the Barry Marshall Library (2nd Floor ABS1301.5). From 1960 onwards, the title became known as the 'Year Book of Western Australia'. 

Digitised versions of the registers/yearbooks 1901-1998 are available to view in PDF format via the Australia Bureau of Statistics (Archive Portal) 'Year Books and other multi-subject products' as a collection of 'WA Year Books 1300.5'. Each document is up to 1000 pages/50M. 

WA Census Data (1848-1901) has processed and made available as Excel files (also SPSS and Nesstar files) available via open access via the UWA research repository. Shelf copies of original census reports (1859-1901) are available to view at the State Library of Western Australia, (Q 312.94 WES). 

Online PDFs of the census':

• 1848
• 1854
• 1859
• 1861
• 1870
• 1881
• 1891

Are available via the Historical Census and Colonial Data Archive (HCDA). An archive of Australian colonial census publications and reports covering the period 1833 to 1901 Historical Census of the Commonwealth of Australia reports after that time are available via the Australian Bureau of Statistics archive portal, commencing from the 1911 census. The Australian National University's School of Demography has produced the Australian Demographic Database designed to provide up-to-date easy to understand historic information about Australia's population, however information specific to WA is limited. 

In 2021 the RBA made public selection of archive records, including some relating to the State Savings Bank of Western Australia for the period 1863-1931 (opening as the Post Office Savings Bank in 1863 to amalgamation with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in 1931). The records cover a range of documents relating to the Bank's activities including depositor's ledgers, signature registers, declarations and legislation. The depositor's ledgers and signature registers, declarations and legislation. The depositors' ledgers and signature registers include accounts from the Head Office in Perth and the branches at Claremont, Collie, Cottesloe, Fremantle, Katanning and Moora. The majority of the records in this series were created after 1900 and deal with the everyday business of the Bank in the form of depositors' ledgers, pass books, specimen forms, instructions and staff records. 

Of archival interest, the records are mainly of an everyday nature and require user processing and input for any macro-level analysis. 

The ABS has an ongoing program of digitising a wide range of publications. The Historical Publications webpage provides access to a wide range of historical data (both online and catalogues) colonial statistics and historical census data. 

For example, The Catalogue of Australian Statistical Publications, 1804 to 1901, provides an outlines of the publications and statistical compilations produced by Australia's six colonial statistical bureaus. The Catalogue accompanies the Colonial Microfiche Series, 1804 to 1901, a collection of over 3000 microfiche which are available at ABS and other libraries. The Colonial Microfiche Series, 1804 to 1901, represents most of the statistics published by the various colonial bureaus and their precursors, and also includes the 1901 Census. This publication has been scanned and provides a full text searching capability, available to download from the ABS. 

A more contemporary tool from the ABS (established in 2015) worth noting is the Multi-Agency Data Integration Project. MADIP is a secure data asset combining information on: 

• Health
• Education
• Government Payments
• Income and Taxation
• Employment
• Population Demographics 

It provides whole-of-life insights about various population groups in Australia, such as the interactions between their characteristics, use of services like healthcare and education, and outcomes like improved health and employment. 

This dataset (UKDA study number: 5435, 2006) publishes new statistics of Australian colonial and state debt, and of capital raised by all Australian public borrowers (including corporation) in London, until 1914. Three types of tables are presented.

The first disaggregates, and where necessary corrects, the official annual statistics of stocks of outstanding debt of each Australian colony, distinguishing between the place of original sale, long and short-term securities, and gross new issues (i.e.) the nominal value of all securities sold) and repayments.

The second shows the stock of long and short term debt held in Australia and the United Kingdom. These are taken principally from Statistical Registers and include debt (e.g. stock issues by Savings Bank) omitted from the official statistics in the early years. 

The final type of table summarises the principal annual flows in London of capital created (including as a result of conversions and exchanges), subscribed, received, and amortised for each colonial government and for public corporations as a single group. 

The data is presented in 18 spreadsheets are of seven borrowers: New South Wales (3 spreadsheets), Victoria (3), Queensland (3), South Australia (3), Tasmania (2), Western Australia (2), and public corporations (1). Access is free but requires registration with the UK Data Service.