Tasmanian deaths index, 1803 to 1939
liveThe deaths and burials records of the Tasmanian Names Index kept by Libraries Tasmania, covering 1803 to 1939, one row per index record. Each row carries the record number and address, the name of the person, the year and date of death, the age, gender, place and year of registration, the burial date and cemetery where known, and, for some records, the parents, spouse, ship of arrival, military rank, will number or remarks. The publisher's XML file is read one row per record.
Also called: Tasmanian Names Index deaths, Tasmanian Deaths 1803-1939, Tasmania death index, Tasmanian burial records.
- What is in each row?
- One record from the deaths and burials part of the Tasmanian Names Index, with the person's name, the year and date of death or burial, the age, gender, place and year of registration, and the names of parents or spouse where the source gives them. Each row links to the record on the Libraries Tasmania site.
- Why do some cells hold two values?
- Where a record names a person more than once, or gives two years, the values are kept in the publisher's order and joined with a vertical bar.
- Where are the links to the scanned pages?
- The publisher's file nests the archive reference and the address of the scanned page inside each record. They are not carried here. The record address in each row leads to the same record on the Libraries Tasmania site, which shows the scanned page.
- Is it complete?
- The publisher describes it as people who died in Tasmania including some burial records, with burials for 1900 to 1939 only. Some records were compiled by the Tasmanian Family History Society, and the remarks say so on those rows. The series is closed.
Made for agents
Connect your AI agent
Any agent that connects to publicdata.au/mcp can find this dataset, read its 27 fields, count and filter across all 205,806 rows and diff its versions. Every answer names the version and carries Libraries Tasmania's attribution. No key.
Then ask it: What does Tasmanian deaths index, 1803 to 1939 hold, and what changed in the newest version?
claude mcp add --transport http publicdata https://publicdata.au/mcpOne command. No key, no account, no sign-up.
Settings, then Connectors, then Add custom connector, and paste https://publicdata.au/mcp.
On the web and in the desktop app.
https://publicdata.au/mcpStreamable HTTP. Cursor, VS Code or any client that connects to a remote MCP server.
Using https://publicdata.au/llms.txt, how many people died on Queensland roads in 2025, by month?For an assistant that reads the web and has no connector.
A dashboard over every row. Click to filter, add panels, share a link or embed a frame.
Query APIFilter and count from a URLaggregate?group=reg_place&metric=count®_place=neq.Not%20stated
Deaths registered by place of registration where place of registration is not Not stated: 42,895 Hobart, 20,749 Launceston, 3,467 New Norfolk, 3,388 Longford.
Download it as Excel, CSV, JSON and 6 more formats
Pick a format and a version. Excel is picked first because it opens in the tools most offices have. The URL is yours to keep. A dated version never changes.
In your own tools
Use it in Excel, R, Python and more
Excel and Power BI read the CSV from its address and refresh from it. The R and Python packages take any dataset on this site by its slug, so a new dataset needs no new release. The DuckDB file attaches read-only over HTTPS, and a query reads only the blocks it touches.
The dated URL in the code never changes. https://publicdata.au/d/tas-deaths-1803-1939/latest/ redirects to the newest version.
https://publicdata.au/d/tas-deaths-1803-1939/latest/data.csvIn Excel choose Data, then From Web, and paste this address. Excel keeps it, so Refresh All reads the newest version. A sheet holds about a million rows; past that, load the query to the Data Model.
https://publicdata.au/d/tas-deaths-1803-1939/latest/data.csvIn Power BI Desktop choose Get data, then Web, paste this address and choose Anonymous when asked how to sign in. A scheduled refresh reads the same address, so the report follows each new version.
library(publicdataau)
df <- pd_read("tas-deaths-1803-1939")
pd_attribution(df)install.packages("publicdataau"). pd_read() fetches the version's Parquet file; pd_rows() and pd_aggregate() ask the query API instead, and pd_connect() attaches the DuckDB file.
import publicdata_au as pd_au
df = pd_au.read("tas-deaths-1803-1939")
df.attrs["publicdata"]["attribution"]pip install "publicdata-au[pandas]". read() fetches the version's Parquet file; rows() and aggregate() ask the query API, and connect() attaches the DuckDB file.
INSTALL httpfs; LOAD httpfs;
ATTACH 'https://publicdata.au/d/tas-deaths-1803-1939/v/2024-11-28/data.duckdb' AS tas_deaths_1803_1939 (READ_ONLY);
SELECT record_id, count(*) FROM tas_deaths_1803_1939.records GROUP BY 1 ORDER BY 2 DESC;The DuckDB file attaches read-only over HTTPS and only the blocks a query touches are read. Parquet works the same way: FROM read_parquet(url).
const res = await fetch("https://publicdata.au/api/v1/datasets/tas-deaths-1803-1939/aggregate?group=reg_place&metric=count®_place=neq.Not%20stated");
const { rows, publicdata } = await res.json();
console.log(rows, publicdata.attribution);The query API answers a page on any site as well as Node, with no key. It returns the rows and the attribution the licence asks for.
What is in it
Column names are made snake_case and the publisher's original header is kept beside each one. Blank cells are null. Nothing is added, removed, ranked or summarised. Headers were made snake_case. The publisher's element names are kept beside every field in schema.json. Rows were left alone.
| Field | Type | Publisher's header | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| record_id | integer | @id | The publisher's number for the record in the Tasmanian Names Index. |
| record_url | string | RECORD_URL | |
| name | string | NAME | Surname, then given names. A second name the record gives follows a vertical bar. |
| year | string | YEAR | The year of death or burial as the index gives it. A few records give two. |
| death_date | string | DEATH_DATE | As the source gives it, which may be a full date, a month and year, or a year. |
| age | string | AGE | As recorded, which may be in years or a phrase. |
| gender | string | GENDER | |
| reg_place | string | REG_PLACE | |
| reg_year | string | REG_YEAR | |
| burial_date | string | BURIAL_DATE | |
| property | string | PROPERTY | |
| property_index | string | PROPERTY_INDEX | |
| where_died | string | WHERE_DIED | |
| desc | string | DESC | |
| desc_sr | string | DESC_SR | |
| remarks | string | REMARKS | |
| father | string | FATHER | |
| mother | string | MOTHER | |
| spouse | string | SPOUSE | |
| name_see_also | string | NAME_SEE_ALSO | |
| name_see_also_sp | string | NAME_SEE_ALSO_SP | |
| name_rank | string | NAME_RANK | |
| ship | string | SHIP | |
| ship_native_place | string | SHIP_NATIVE_PLACE | |
| admiss_date | string | ADMISS_DATE | |
| birth_date | string | BIRTH_DATE | |
| will_no | string | WILL_NO |
Download this table as a data dictionary (Excel), or read it as a Frictionless Table Schema at schema.json. The key is record_id.
A sample of 10 rows
Records from the newest year in the index, in the publisher's order, with every field. A blank cell is shown as null.
| record_id | record_url | name | year | death_date | age | gender | reg_place | reg_year | burial_date | property | property_index | where_died | desc | desc_sr | remarks | father | mother | spouse | name_see_also | name_see_also_sp | name_rank | ship | ship_native_place | admiss_date | birth_date | will_no |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1537531 | https://stors.tas.gov.au/NI/1537531 | Abbott, Barry | 1939 | null | 7 | null | null | null | 31 Aug 1939 | Cornelian Bay Cemetery | Cornelian Bay Cemetery | null | Last known residence: 10 Yardley St, North Hobart | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | BU 36048 |
| 1537547 | https://stors.tas.gov.au/NI/1537547 | Abbott, Madeline Louisa | 1939 | null | 72 | null | null | null | 22 Dec 1939 | Cornelian Bay Cemetery | Cornelian Bay Cemetery | null | Last known residence: Stowell Hospital, Battery Point | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | BU 36350 |
| 1537565 | https://stors.tas.gov.au/NI/1537565 | Abel, Bridget | 1939 | null | 81 | null | null | null | 20 Jun 1939 | Cornelian Bay Cemetery | Cornelian Bay Cemetery | null | Last known residence: St Johns Park, New Town | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | BU 35811 |
| 1537587 | https://stors.tas.gov.au/NI/1537587 | Abrahams, Iris Moyna May | 1939 | null | 16 | null | null | null | 02 Aug 1939 | Cornelian Bay Cemetery | Cornelian Bay Cemetery | null | Last known residence: Launceston | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | BU 35963 |
| 1537589 | https://stors.tas.gov.au/NI/1537589 | Abrahams, Samuel Richard | 1939 | 14 Jul 1939 | 74 | null | null | null | Cremated 17 Jul 1939 | Cornelian Bay Cemetery | Cornelian Bay Cemetery | null | Last known residence: Lindisfarne | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | CR 35898 |
| 1537677 | https://stors.tas.gov.au/NI/1537677 | Adams, Thomas | 1939 | null | 74 | null | null | null | 30 May 1939 | Cornelian Bay Cemetery | Cornelian Bay Cemetery | null | Last known residence: 39 Church St, North Hobart | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | BU 35754 |
| 1537690 | https://stors.tas.gov.au/NI/1537690 | Adcock, Walter | 1939 | null | 69 | null | null | null | 04 Nov 1939 | Cornelian Bay Cemetery | Cornelian Bay Cemetery | null | Last known residence: Royal Hobart Hospital, Hobart | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | BU 36220 |
| 1537720 | https://stors.tas.gov.au/NI/1537720 | Agnew, Louis L | 1939 | 11 Jul 1939 | null | null | null | null | Cremated 30 Sep 1939 | Cornelian Bay Cemetery | Cornelian Bay Cemetery | null | Last known residence: Sydney | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | CR 36133 |
| 1537799 | https://stors.tas.gov.au/NI/1537799 | Alcock, Annie Angelina | 1939 | null | 88 | null | null | null | 10 Jan 1939 | Cornelian Bay Cemetery | Cornelian Bay Cemetery | null | Last known residence: 31 Mary St | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | BU 35434 |
| 1537826 | https://stors.tas.gov.au/NI/1537826 | Aldred, Isaac | 1939 | null | 88 | null | null | null | 18 Feb 1939 | Cornelian Bay Cemetery | Cornelian Bay Cemetery | null | Last known residence: 65 Barrack St, Hobart | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | BU 35522 |
The first row as JSON
As it appears in data.json.
GET https://publicdata.au/d/tas-deaths-1803-1939/latest/data.json
{
"record_id": 470662,
"record_url": "https://stors.tas.gov.au/NI/470662",
"name": "Knowles, Edward",
"year": "1873",
"death_date": "Jan 1873",
"age": null,
"gender": null,
"reg_place": null,
"reg_year": null,
"burial_date": null,
"property": null,
"property_index": null,
"where_died": null,
"desc": "Master of the 'North Fleet' - lost at sea January 1873",
"desc_sr": null,
"remarks": null,
"father": null,
"mother": null,
"spouse": null,
"name_see_also": null,
"name_see_also_sp": null,
"name_rank": null,
"ship": null,
"ship_native_place": null,
"admiss_date": null,
"birth_date": null,
"will_no": null
}
Query it without downloading
The query API returns only the rows you ask for, as JSON, NDJSON or CSV, from the same typed rows as the files. It needs no key. Build a query here and run it, then copy the URL or the code into your own work.
How filters work
Each filter is field=operator.value in the query string, and every filter must match. A number or date field compares as a number or date, and a text field compares as text. Values are case-sensitive except with ilike. Prefix not. to negate a filter, as not.eq.value.
| Operator | What it matches |
|---|---|
| eq.value | Equal to the value. |
| neq.value | Not equal to the value. A blank cell does not match. |
| gt.value | Greater than the value. |
| gte.value | Greater than or equal to the value. |
| lt.value | Less than the value. |
| lte.value | Less than or equal to the value. |
| like.*text* | Matches a pattern where * stands for any run of characters. Case-sensitive. |
| ilike.*text* | The same as like, ignoring case. |
| in.(a,b,c) | Equal to any value in the list. A value cannot contain a comma. |
| is.null | Blank in the source, or suppressed by the publisher. |
| Parameter | What it does |
|---|---|
| select | Fields to return, comma-separated. Every field when absent. |
| order | field.asc or field.desc, comma-separated. The publisher's row order when absent. |
| limit | Rows per page, 1 to 10,000. 100 when absent. |
| offset | Rows to skip. The next URL in each answer sets it for you. |
| group | On aggregate, fields to group by, comma-separated. |
| metric | On aggregate, count, sum.field, avg.field, min.field or max.field, comma-separated. count when absent. |
| format | json, ndjson or csv. JSON carries the provenance header, and the others carry it in response headers. |
Without a version the API answers from the newest loaded version, and that answer changes when the publisher releases again. Put versions/<date>/ before rows or aggregate for an answer that never changes. /api/v1/datasets/<slug>/versions lists the loaded versions. The 1 newest version is loaded; versions lists them.
The API allows 60 requests in 10 seconds from one address. Above that it answers 429 for 10 seconds with a Retry-After header, a RateLimit-Policy header and a JSON body that gives the limit. Every API answer carries the same RateLimit-Policy. A client should wait the Retry-After seconds, or read the files, which have no limit. openapi.json describes this dataset's query paths for client generators and agents.
https://publicdata.au/mcp is a remote MCP server over Streamable HTTP with the same tools, defined in the same place, so a tool added to the pages is added here too. It needs no key and no account. The row tools are held to the query API's limit of 60 queries in 10 seconds from one address, and each call is two queries because it also counts the matching rows. Add it to Claude Code with claude mcp add --transport http publicdata https://publicdata.au/mcp, add the URL in Claude as a custom connector, or give it to any client that connects to remote MCP servers. Each queryable dataset is also a resource at https://publicdata.au/d/<slug>/fields.json, which lists its fields with their types, the publisher's descriptions, their ranges and the values they hold, so an agent can read a dataset's shape before it writes a query.
What changed
One version for every release the publisher has made since this site started following the dataset. The date is the day the file changed on the portal.
- 2024-11-28 205,806 rows27 fieldsutf-8-sigfa067a1367ec
versions.json · changes.json · history.tar.zst (3.6 MB, every version's Parquet and manifest)
Questions
How do I download Tasmanian deaths index as a CSV file?
Open https://publicdata.au/d/tas-deaths-1803-1939/latest/data.csv. It redirects to the newest dated version, which is https://publicdata.au/d/tas-deaths-1803-1939/v/2024-11-28/data.csv today. The same path serves Excel, JSON, Parquet, SQLite, DuckDB, NDJSON, Arrow. A dated URL never changes, so use it when the file must stay the same.
Can I open Tasmanian deaths index in Excel?
Yes. https://publicdata.au/d/tas-deaths-1803-1939/v/2024-11-28/data.xlsx is a workbook with the 205,806 rows on a records sheet, the field list on a second sheet and the provenance on a third. The CSV also opens in Excel. https://publicdata.au/d/tas-deaths-1803-1939/v/2024-11-28/data.csv.gz is the CSV at about a tenth of the size.
What years does Tasmanian deaths index cover?
The current version covers the years since 1803. Each release from Libraries Tasmania becomes a new dated version here, and earlier versions stay online.
How often is Tasmanian deaths index updated?
Libraries Tasmania no longer updates it. This site checks the portal every week and adds a dated version when the file changes.
Can I use Tasmanian deaths index commercially?
Yes. CC BY 4.0 allows commercial use, redistribution and derived works as long as the attribution is kept. The attribution string is in this page's side column and inside every file.
Is this the official source for Tasmanian deaths index?
No. The publisher is Libraries Tasmania, and its page is https://data.gov.au/data/dataset/tasmanian-deaths-1803-1939. This site republishes the publisher's file without changing its content. The original sits beside every version as source.xml with its SHA-256, so the two can be compared.
What this site did to the data. Cells were typed, headers were renamed and the encoding was made UTF-8. Rows were left alone. The publisher's file sits beside every version as source.xml so the change can be checked.