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Court Records

Perth Police Court c1928 211004pd
Perth Police Court c1928

AN 17 contains an alphabetical listing (by place of court) of the records of various courts in Western Australia. Records deposited since 1989 and records transferred from AN 17 can be located in the Series Registration System and The State Records Office Catalogue. Records which may prove useful are the Minutes of Evidence of the Police Court, Local Court, Court of Petty Sessions and the Court of Quarter Sessions, which can provide information on the trials of criminals for a variety of offences.

Also useful are the records of the various Licensing Courts, which provide information on people applying for different types of licences, such as liquor, sandalwood, timber, dog, cart, billiards, confectioners, board and lodging, firewood, pawnbroker, hawkers, pearling etc. The court records include plaints (accusations, charges, complaints), which are kept for many court houses and some mining warden records relating to goldmining and other leases.

The State Records Office holds extensive Supreme Court, Local Court and Police Court records, some records of the lower courts, but no records of the District and Family Courts. The records of the Supreme Court are explained under the heading Supreme Court of Western Australia.