Index to the Admission Books of the
Geelong Infirmary and Benevolent Asylum


by Fred Walter and Heather Cox


Locating an index entry in the Admission Books

1. The admission books have been microfilmed and are available at the Geelong Heritage Centre on film numbers 737 and 738 and at Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints family history libraries on film numbers 1494124 and 1494125. The original books are housed in the Geelong Heritage Centre.

2. The admission books are arranged on the films in chronological order and within each year by admission number. To locate an entry, find the year of admission on the film and then locate the admission number within the year. This process will find the name required together with all of the additional information.

3. Information given about each Infirmary patient varies slightly, but generally the following details are provided:

(a) 1861 - 1865 Admission Number, Name of Patient, Date of Admission, Date of Death, Disease, Number of Days in Infirmary, Sex, Age, Married or Single, Calling, Religion, By Whom Recommended, Where from: Country and Town, Last Place of Residence, How long in the Colony, Date of Arrival in Victoria: Month and Year, Name of Ship, Port of Arrival, Remarks.

(b) 1876 - 1880 add Yearly Number, Result of Treatment.
delete Date of Arrival in Victoria: Month and Year, Number of Days in Infirmary.

(c) 1912-1917 add Number of Days in Infirmary.
delete Date of Arrival in Victoria: Month and Year, How long in the Colony, Name of Ship, Port of Arrival.

For a complete example of the information the researcher can expect to find use the <Appendix> button above to view and print the two pages missing from the microfilm record of the Infirmary Admission Books.

4. Information given about each Benevolent Asylum patient is as follows:
Number in Infirmary Register, Admission Number, Name of Inmate, Date of Admission, Result of Treatment-Date Discharged or Date of Death, Number of Days in Asylum, Sex, Age, Married or Single, Calling, Religion, By Whom Recommended, Last Place of Residence, Where Born, How long in the State, Cause of Admission, Remarks.

5. The admission number sequence is not perfect. Many numbers have been duplicated and some are missing. If you have difficulty finding an entry on the films it will mean that the admission number has been duplicated in that year. If you peruse adjacent frames within the year concerned, the entry should be located. This problem applies particularly to entries for 1914.