61
Courts and Criminal Justice – Divorce Records
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The first Victorian divorce legislation was the Divorce
and Matrimonial Causes Act 1861 and was administered through the Victorian
Supreme Court. Prior to this a very few Victorian residents obtained divorces
under English Ecclesiastical Law. Records relating to some of these cases
may be found in VPRS
282 Equity Case Files, Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction.
Records relating to divorce in Victoria: a select list
The dates shown next to each series indicate the date range
of records that can be accessed through PROV. Consult the following Series
pages on PROV's online catalogue for more information about these records and
the administration of divorce in Victoria. See the contact details at the
end of this PROVguide if you are seeking divorce case files created after 1917.
The Progress of a Divorce Case
Divorce proceedings commenced when the husband or wife (the
petitioner) or their legal representative (known as a proctor) lodged a
petition for divorce at the Prothonotary's Office of the Supreme Court. The
Prothonotary was, and still is, responsible for the administration of the
Supreme Court and its records. Along with the petition, the petitioner submitted
a statement outlining their reasons for seeking a divorce.
Once the petition was lodged the other party in the case and
any other person accused of adultery in the case were required to lodge and
answer to the petitioner's charges. The petitioner could also present
additional evidence in support of their case before it went to hearing.
Much of the documentation of divorce cases held at PROV, including most of the content
of the case files (VPRS
283), relates to this pre-hearing process.
Once a case was ready to be heard in the Supreme Court it
was entered in the Divorce Cause Books (VPRS
5334) which monitor the progress of each case. In the latter
part of the nineteenth century the Supreme Court sat in its Divorce and
Matrimonial Causes Jurisdiction every three months, each time for a period of
one month. At the commencement of each sitting a number of cases due to
be heard were listed and then heard progressively over the course of that
sitting. (See VPRS
5515 Divorce and Matrimonial Causes Jurisdiction Court Books for the
period 1890 to 1917.)
When a judgement was handed down it was recorded in the
Divorce Court Minute Books (VPRS
5336) for the period 1866 to 1888 and in the Divorce and Matrimonial
Causes Jurisdiction Court Books (VPRS
5515) from around 1890. If divorce was granted, a decree or
order was filed with the case papers (see VPRS
283).
Terminology
Divorce Cause: A
"cause" is a Supreme Court proceeding or action. A divorce cause can
be thought of as a divorce case.
Decree Nisi and Decree Absolute:
Every decree for dissolution of marriage granted by the Supreme Court was in
the first instance a Decree Nisi, that is a "provisional"
divorce. After a certain period of time had elapsed, the petitioner was
required to apply to the Court in order for a decree absolute to be
granted. The parties were not free to remarry until a decree absolute had
been granted.
Finding Records about a Divorce
Step One: Obtaining the Divorce Case Number
For the period 1861 to 1900 consult
the Macbeth Divorce Index Victoria, a microfiche record which is available in
PROV reading rooms and does not need to be ordered. Entries in the
microfiche index are arranged alphabetically and provide the case number required
to locate the divorce file. Note the number of the case you are
researching and the year in which it commenced.
For the period 1901 to 1924 use
the digitised microfiche index, VPRS 5335
Index to Divorce Cause Books. Entries in this index are grouped
alphabetically by surname, but not in strict alphabetical order, and provide the
case number (also called the suit number). Note the number of the case you are
researching, and the year it commenced. A microfiche copy of VPRS
5335 can also be accessed in PROV Reading Rooms, and does not have to be
ordered. See PROV's guides to Microfilm, Microfiche and Online Resources at the
Victorian Archives Centre, and Microfilm, Microfiche and Online Resources at the
Ballarat Archives Centre for more information about accessing
records on microfilm and microfiche.
Step Two: Ordering a Divorce Case File
Most of the information to a divorce will be found on the
case file located in VPRS
283, Divorce Case Files. Once you have obtained the case number, and
the year it commenced if after 1890, you can order the case file from PROV’s online catalogue:
Go to Search
Within a Series and enter the series number, 283, in the first field and
the case number in the second field, eg 23.
From the search result select
and order the Item you wish to access. For cases that commenced after
1890 the year of the case forms part of the case number eg. 1891/23.
Please note: a number of
records in the earlier part of this series are closed under section 11 of the Public
Records Act 1973 due to the fragility of the records, and cannot be
ordered.
Step Three: Related Records
The following records were created during the administration
of a case and may be of interest:
Divorce Cause Books (VPRS 5334) are a summary
record created to monitor the progress of divorce cases at the Court and to
record the receipt of some case papers. You will need
to know the year in which the case commenced to order the appropriate volume
from this series. To find an entry in the Cause Books use the case number
(or suit number). Both the year and case number can be obtained from the
indexes mentioned in Step One above. Please note: for the period 1872
to 1876 no suit numbers are recorded in the Cause Books.
Information in the Cause Books includes the names of the two
parties and their proctors, the date the case was set down as ready to go to
trial, the date the case was heard, the judge's name, the grounds upon which
the petition for divorce was made, the page in the Court Book upon which the
judgement is recorded (see below) and sometimes the judgement itself.
Divorce and Matrimonial Court Minute
Books (VPRS 5336) record the
judgement delivered in a case, and cover the period 1866 to 1888. A page
reference to the appropriate Court Minute Book can be obtained from the Cause
Books (VPRS
5334) by noting the "page in court book" reference in the
Cause Book. Alternatively, if you know the date that the case was
held you can order in the appropriate volume and consult the alphabetical index
at the front of the volume.
From 1890 the Divorce and Matrimonial
Causes Jurisdiction Court Books (VPRS 5515) serve a similar
purpose to the Court Minute Books. If the entry in the Divorce Cause Books (VPRS
5334) for the case you are researching does not include the
judgement, note the date upon which the case was heard and order the
appropriate volume from VPRS
5515 Divorce and Matrimonial Causes Jurisdiction Court Books (or
obtain the date from an index following Step One above). Entries within each
volume are arranged by the date in which the hearing commenced.
Please note: records in VPRS 5515 for the period 1920 to
1938 were not transferred to PROV.
Divorce records 1918 - 1975
Researchers seeking access to Victorian divorce records
created between 1918 and 1975 can contact the Registry of the Victorian Supreme
Court for advice about access:
Supreme Court of Victoria
Level 2, 436 Lonsdale Street
Melbourne VIC 3000
Phone: (03) 9603 9297
Divorce records created after 1975
In 1976 the administration of divorce was transferred from
Victoria to the Commonwealth. Researchers seeking access to Victorian
divorce records created after 1975 can contact the Family Court (Victoria) for
advice about access:
Family Court (Victoria)
Phone: (03) 8600 3763
Email: enquiries@familylawcourts.gov.au