--- title: Obituaries index, State Library of Western Australia resource: https://publicdata.au/d/wa-slwa-obituaries-index/ publisher: State Library of Western Australia licence: CC BY 4.0 licence_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ version: 2021-01-14 rows: 10561 fields: 10 source: https://catalogue.data.wa.gov.au/dataset/2f8c1a74-8b10-4b58-b3bf-be339fb0fd09/resource/10a5c9ff-0a35-4c97-8251-153efb70d66b/download/indexed-obituaries.csv source_sha256: feca267cea2ae8cf55c62f88c68c2d065fea01f14fab920fede1c3e3bd924193 language: en-AU operator: National Digital not_endorsed: true --- # Obituaries index, State Library of Western Australia More than 10,000 obituaries printed in Western Australian newspapers, newsletters and journals from the mid-1800s to the early 2010s, indexed by the State Library of Western Australia, one row per obituary. Published by State Library of Western Australia under CC BY 4.0 and republished here in other formats, with cells typed and suppressed values made null. State Library of Western Australia has not endorsed this site. Also called: Obituaries indexed by State Library of WA, SLWA obituary index, Western Australian newspaper obituaries index. ## Download Latest version, redirects to `https://publicdata.au/d/wa-slwa-obituaries-index/v/2021-01-14/`: - csv: https://publicdata.au/d/wa-slwa-obituaries-index/latest/data.csv (3.5 MB) - xlsx: https://publicdata.au/d/wa-slwa-obituaries-index/latest/data.xlsx (1.2 MB) - json: https://publicdata.au/d/wa-slwa-obituaries-index/latest/data.json (5.8 MB) - parquet: https://publicdata.au/d/wa-slwa-obituaries-index/latest/data.parquet (798 KB) - sqlite: https://publicdata.au/d/wa-slwa-obituaries-index/latest/data.sqlite (3.6 MB) - duckdb: https://publicdata.au/d/wa-slwa-obituaries-index/latest/data.duckdb (1.0 MB) - ndjson: https://publicdata.au/d/wa-slwa-obituaries-index/latest/data.ndjson (5.8 MB) - arrow: https://publicdata.au/d/wa-slwa-obituaries-index/latest/data.arrow (936 KB) - csv.gz: https://publicdata.au/d/wa-slwa-obituaries-index/latest/data.csv.gz (760 KB) Pinned version 2021-01-14: `https://publicdata.au/d/wa-slwa-obituaries-index/v/2021-01-14/data.`. Dated versions never change. ## Query 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. Rows: https://publicdata.au/api/v1/datasets/wa-slwa-obituaries-index/rows. Counts and sums: https://publicdata.au/api/v1/datasets/wa-slwa-obituaries-index/aggregate. - Rows: https://publicdata.au/api/v1/datasets/wa-slwa-obituaries-index/rows?limit=5 - Aggregate: https://publicdata.au/api/v1/datasets/wa-slwa-obituaries-index/aggregate?group=original_source_of_obituary&metric=count 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`. Operators: `eq.value`, `neq.value`, `gt.value`, `gte.value`, `lt.value`, `lte.value`, `like.*text*`, `ilike.*text*`, `in.(a,b,c)`, `is.null`. - `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//` before `rows` or `aggregate` for an answer that never changes. `/api/v1/datasets//versions` lists the loaded versions. 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 for this dataset: https://publicdata.au/d/wa-slwa-obituaries-index/openapi.json ## Explore Charts and dashboards in the browser: https://publicdata.au/d/wa-slwa-obituaries-index/explore/. A dashboard can be shared as a link or embedded. ## Fields | field | type | publisher's header | note | |---|---|---|---| | `record_obit` | string | RECORD # Obit | The library catalogue record number of the index entry. | | `title` | string | TITLE | | | `summary` | string | SUMMARY | | | `subjects` | string | SUBJECTS | Library subject headings, separated by a tilde as published. | | `date` | string | Date | Mostly a four-digit year, as the publisher typed it. A few rows carry a full date or are blank. | | `original_source_of_obituary` | string | Original source of Obituary | | | `reference_for_obituary` | string | Reference for Obituary | Volume, issue, date, page and library call number as published. | | `record_source_of_obit` | string | Record # source of obit | | | `link_to_obit_entry_on_slwa_catalogue` | string | Link to Obit entry on SLWA catalogue | | | `link_to_source_of_obit_on_slwa_catalogue` | string | Link to Source of Obit on SLWA catalogue | | ## Versions - 2021-01-14: 10561 rows, 10 fields, sha256 feca267cea2a. https://publicdata.au/d/wa-slwa-obituaries-index/v/2021-01-14/ Machine-readable: https://publicdata.au/d/wa-slwa-obituaries-index/versions.json, https://publicdata.au/d/wa-slwa-obituaries-index/changes.json, https://publicdata.au/d/wa-slwa-obituaries-index/datapackage.json, https://publicdata.au/d/wa-slwa-obituaries-index/schema.json, https://publicdata.au/d/wa-slwa-obituaries-index/history.tar.zst ## Same subject, other publishers - [Historic death index, ACT](https://publicdata.au/d/act-historic-death-index/) (ACT) - [Tasmanian deaths index, 1803 to 1939](https://publicdata.au/d/tas-deaths-1803-1939/) (Tas) - [Historic marriage index, ACT](https://publicdata.au/d/act-historic-marriage-index/) (ACT) - [Birth, death and marriage registrations by month, ACT](https://publicdata.au/d/act-bdm-registrations/) (ACT) - [Popular baby names by year and sex, New South Wales](https://publicdata.au/d/nsw-popular-baby-names/) (NSW) - [Top three names registered for girls by council area, New South Wales](https://publicdata.au/d/nsw-top-baby-names-by-lga-female/) (NSW) - [Top three names registered for boys by council area, New South Wales](https://publicdata.au/d/nsw-top-baby-names-by-lga-male/) (NSW) - [Births, deaths and marriages registered each month, New South Wales](https://publicdata.au/d/nsw-bdm-registrations-monthly/) (NSW) - [Registered deaths by method of disposal each month, New South Wales](https://publicdata.au/d/nsw-bdm-disposal-methods-monthly/) (NSW) - [Top 100 baby names by year, Queensland, 1960 to 2005](https://publicdata.au/d/qld-top-baby-names-1960-2005/) (Qld) - [Deaths registered by suburb, Queensland, latest year](https://publicdata.au/d/qld-deaths-by-suburb/) (Qld) - [Deaths registered by residential postcode and quarter, Queensland, latest year](https://publicdata.au/d/qld-deaths-by-postcode-and-quarter/) (Qld) ## Attribution and citation State Library of Western Australia, Government of Western Australia, Obituaries indexed by State Library of WA, https://catalogue.data.wa.gov.au/dataset/obituaries-indexed-by-state-library-of-wa, accessed 3 October 2026, licensed under CC BY 4.0. The licence requires the publisher's attribution. We ask that you also name publicdata.au and link to the version you used. Plain text: State Library of Western Australia, Government of Western Australia, Obituaries indexed by State Library of WA, https://catalogue.data.wa.gov.au/dataset/obituaries-indexed-by-state-library-of-wa, accessed 3 October 2026, licensed under CC BY 4.0. Serialised and versioned by National Digital at publicdata.au, https://publicdata.au/d/wa-slwa-obituaries-index/v/2021-01-14/ Harvard: State Library of Western Australia (2021) Obituaries index, State Library of Western Australia, version 2021-01-14 [data set], CC BY 4.0, sourced 3 October 2026. Serialised and versioned by National Digital at publicdata.au. Available at: https://publicdata.au/d/wa-slwa-obituaries-index/v/2021-01-14/ Markdown: Data: [Obituaries index, State Library of Western Australia](https://catalogue.data.wa.gov.au/dataset/obituaries-indexed-by-state-library-of-wa), State Library of Western Australia, [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), sourced 3 October 2026. Files: [publicdata.au](https://publicdata.au/d/wa-slwa-obituaries-index/v/2021-01-14/) by [National Digital](https://nationaldigital.com.au/). ## Questions ### How do I download Obituaries index, State Library of Western Australia as a CSV file? Open https://publicdata.au/d/wa-slwa-obituaries-index/latest/data.csv. It redirects to the newest dated version, which is https://publicdata.au/d/wa-slwa-obituaries-index/v/2021-01-14/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 Obituaries index, State Library of Western Australia in Excel? Yes. https://publicdata.au/d/wa-slwa-obituaries-index/v/2021-01-14/data.xlsx is a workbook with the 10,561 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/wa-slwa-obituaries-index/v/2021-01-14/data.csv.gz is the CSV at about a tenth of the size. ### What years does Obituaries index, State Library of Western Australia cover? The current version covers the years since 1838. Each release from State Library of WA becomes a new dated version here, and earlier versions stay online. ### How often is Obituaries index, State Library of Western Australia updated? State Library of WA no longer updates it. This site checks the portal every week and adds a dated version when the file changes. ### Can I use Obituaries index, State Library of Western Australia 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 Obituaries index, State Library of Western Australia? No. The publisher is State Library of Western Australia, and its page is https://catalogue.data.wa.gov.au/dataset/obituaries-indexed-by-state-library-of-wa. This site republishes the publisher's file without changing its content. The original sits beside every version as source.csv with its SHA-256, so the two can be compared. ### What is in each row? One obituary the State Library of Western Australia indexed, with its title, a short summary, the subject headings for the person, the year it was printed, the newspaper, newsletter or journal it appeared in, the volume, date and page, and links to the library catalogue record. ### Is the obituary text included? No. Each row is an index entry that points to where the obituary was printed. The full text is in the publication the row names, held by the library. ### Is the record number unique? No. A few record numbers appear on more than one row in the published file, so rows are kept as published and no key is declared. ### Will it grow? Library staff created the records between 1997 and 2014, and the file was last changed in January 2021. This site checks it for changes and adds a dated version if it changes. ## What this site did to the data Cells were typed, headers were renamed to snake_case and the encoding was made UTF-8. Rows were left alone. Nothing is derived. The publisher's file is beside every version as `source.csv`. ## Improve this dataset This page is built from [register/wa-slwa-obituaries-index.yaml](https://github.com/National-Digital/publicdata.au/blob/main/register/wa-slwa-obituaries-index.yaml) on GitHub, and a fix to it is welcome as a pull request. https://publicdata.au/contribute/ explains how.