Police Gazette Inquests 1875-1885
State Library of Queensland

Explanatory Information
This open dataset contains an index of information from the Queensland Police Gazette Inquests records.
About the dataset
Inquests were conducted by the coroner to gather information about the cause and circumstances of a death. Reports relating to deaths were compiled by police officers and forwarded to the coroner, who decided whether an inquest was necessary. For more on inquests: https://www.courts.qld.gov.au/courts/coroners-court/coroners-process/inquests
This dataset was created from an index of those reports of deaths about which an inquest was held, corrected and enhanced in 2021. The reports include name or surname and given names of the deceased, location of death, a note of other details (i.e. cause of death, date of death, age at death, occupation, etc.), the date and page of gazette in which it was reported and the citation of any other published resource consulted to enhance the entry.
The Queensland Police Gazette is held on microfilm at MFL 363.209943 and on CD-ROM at QCFS 363.209943 2007 on Level 3 of State Library’s South Bank building.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander material is accessed and used in accordance with State Library's Protocols for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Collections. 
Members of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities are advised that collections and records may contain names and images of deceased people. 
Users should also be aware that certain words, terms or descriptions may be culturally sensitive and may be considered inappropriate today but may have reflected the author's/creator's attitude or that of the period in which they were written.
About the data files
This index was prepared by volunteers transcribing the original gazette records from microfilm into a database. The data has been extracted from the database and some records have been edited for clarity and consistency. Edits include:
•	corrected missing and incorrect transcription values. Where it was apparent the data in the Police Gazette, was missing or incorrect, and required for identification of person or place, correct or missing values has been included in [square brackets] (e.g. Gavin's Hotel [Paddington])
•	replaced blank or null values with “-“
•	added corresponding numerical date columns for date text strings
•	added corresponding decimal coordinate columns for location text strings 
•	added additional columns to separate, standardise, and manipulate categories of content found within ‘Full details’ text strings (e.g. Occupation / Status, Cause of death, etc.)
•	abbreviations of given names have been expanded to their full spelling (e.g. Chas. is now Charles).
The data is provided in a comma separated values (CSV) file. The file can be opened as a text file, or in spreadsheet software such as Microsoft Excel. Please note that if you are using Excel, it is best to use the Text Import Wizard and import all columns as ‘text’ rather than ‘general’ format. This will prevent Excel making changes to numbers or dates in the file.
Fields in the dataset
Name or Surname 1
Text – The name or surname or the only name, including nickname, of the individual who died. E.g. ‘Ah Sing’ or ‘McIvor’ or ‘Sally’ or ‘Bob the Sawyer’. Where a person is known by more than one name or surname, these values appear in dataset fields Name or Surname 2 and Name or Surname 3.
Given Names 1
Text – First names or initials identifying the individual who died, when there is an accompanying Surname. E.g. ‘Joseph’. Where a person is known by more than one name or surname and these have accompanying first names or initials, these values appear in dataset fields Given names 2 and Given names 3.
Alternate Name
Text – The name in its entirety as written in the Police Gazette and sometimes including aliases or explanatory text. E.g. Marmaduke (supposedly) or Worgon (alias Charles Bell). If the name is unknown then ‘Unidentified person’ appears here, with no values recorded in Name or Surname 1-3 or Given Names 1-3 fields.
Location
Text – Location where the deceased was found. This may be the name of a town, general directions from the nearest town, or a specific location like hospital, property, ship or creek.
E.g. ‘Port Douglas’ or ‘near Ballo river, about 50 miles from Thargomindah’. For places which were not an identifiable location, additional information is provided in [square brackets], e.g. Harvey's Siding [Wide Bay Police District] or Gavin's Hotel [Paddington].
Latitude
Decimal coordinates – Latitude coordinates matched using bulk data manipulation based on the location text string. For text strings with no exact match, coordinates are matched more generally on city or region. E.g. ‘-27.597553’ or ‘-10.5675529’. No value is given when the state of Queensland only is identifiable.
Longitude
Decimal coordinates – Longitude coordinates matched using bulk data manipulation based on the location text string. For text strings with no exact match, coordinates are given for a more general match on city or region. E.g. ‘137.683333’ or ‘153.067689’. No value is given when the state of Queensland only is identifiable.
Geographic Area
Text – Geographic area where the deceased was found. This may be the name of a town, or region around a town, or river. E.g. Palmer River Region.
Date of Death
Textual date – Death date when recorded in the ‘Full details’ of the original report in the format ‘D Month YYYY’. Some are date ranges or estimates. 
E.g. ‘28 June 1881’ or ‘middle of December 1884’.
Date of Death YYYYMMDD
Numerical date – Date of Death field translated to the computational format YYYYMMDD. Ranges and estimates are translated with a range of earliest to latest date. 
E.g. ‘18810628’ or ‘18841210-18841220’.
Cause of Death
Text – Death cause when recorded in the ‘Full Details’ of the report. Standardised across the dataset into similar categories. On some rows, multiple causes are recorded (separated by ‘;’) to accommodate varying levels of specificity in the ‘Full details’ column. E.g. ‘Run over by a vehicle or Apoplexy’; ‘Apoplexy, Cerebral’ or ‘Shot ; Accident’. Not all entries contain a value.
Occupation / Status
Text – Occupation or status in the community when recorded in the ‘Full Details’ or name fields of the report. Standardised across the dataset into similar categories. On some rows, multiple occupations are recorded (separated by ‘;’) to accommodate varying levels of specificity in the ‘Full details’ column. E.g. ‘Farmer’ or ‘Analytical chemist; Chemist’ or Infant or Wife. Not all entries contain a value.
Ethnicity
Text – Ethnicity when recorded or implied in the ‘Full Details’ or name fields of the report. Standardised across the dataset into similar categories. E.g. ‘Aboriginal Australians’, ‘Australian South Sea Islanders’.
Full Details
Text – Transcribed notes from the report in a full text string. Usually includes date of death and brief description of cause of death. May include age at death, occupation or status in the community, ethnicity, gender or other descriptive information. 
E.g. ‘Died 19 June 1875 - aged 50 - killed by a log falling on him – laborer. 
Gazette Citation
Textual date and number – The formal reference to the Police Gazette issue and page which provided the data for the transcription reporting this death, in the format ‘D Month YYYY’. E.g ‘5 January 1876, page 19’.
Gazette Date
Textual date – The date of publication for the police gazette inquest reporting this death. In the format ‘D Month YYYY’. E.g. ‘6 October 1875’.
Gazette Date YYYYMMDD
Numerical date – Gazette Date field translated to the computational format YYYYMMDD. E.g. ‘18761006’.
Other Citation
Textual date and number – The formal reference to another published source that was consulted and obtained information from, with the name of the published source, date, in the format ‘D Month YYYY’, and page x, with explanatory information, if applicable. E.g Commercial, Rockhampton Bulletin, 9 February 1875, page 2, where his name appears as Ben Rotumna’, or ‘Queensland registry for births, deaths and marriages with name Geike’.

Please send any questions or feedback about any of the datasets released publicly by State Library to opendata@slq.qld.gov.au.