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The Parliament of New South Wales has launched an extensive new digital archive accessible to historians, students and anyone with an interest in learning more about the political, social and cultural history of NSW.

Available now on the Parliament’s website, the records cover the period of the First Legislative Council from 1824 to 1855 and include more than 60,000 tabled papers, Bills, minutes of proceedings, reports of debates, correspondence and more.

The First Legislative Council was the precursor to the current NSW Parliament and the records cover local matters such as the Census Bill of 1828: an Act for ascertaining the number, names and conditions of the inhabitants of NSW; and international affairs such as the Declaration of the Crimean War.

You can peruse other historic documents on the site and keep up to date with contemporary Parliamentary business via the Hansard function. In addition, the NSW Parliamentary Research Service regularly posts briefing papers relevant to the current state of NSW. Recent topics include Privatisation in NSW, NSW Economic Updates and the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

By making such resources available to the public, the Parliament is hoping to contribute to a deeper understanding of the role of the Parliament and Executive Government in NSW. For more information or queries, contact the Parliamentary Librarian, Deborah Bennett viadps.library@parliament.nsw.gov.au