Rate Books
A valuable resource for local and family history research, rate books list all the rateable properties in the three former municipalities.
Council rate books
The rate books are a valuable source of original research for both local and family history. They list all the rateable properties in the three former municipalities. The main requirement for searching is to have the full address of the property, including the property number.
The rate book for each year records the properties by:
- Name of tenant
- Occupation of tenant
- Name of owner
- Address of property
- Number of rooms
- Fabric of dwelling: brick, wood, iron
- Occasionally numbers of people residing in dwelling
- Nett annual value of property.
The following rate books are fully indexed and available on microfilm through the Local History Service.
- Emerald Hill rate books from 1855 to 1883
- South Melbourne rate books from 1883 to 1938
- St Kilda rate books from 1857 to 1961
- Sandridge rate books from 1860 to 1884
- Port Melbourne rate books from 1884 to 1965