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| Register of old age pension applicants |
Most people listed in the source I am about to describe were
born in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany or Scandinavia. A few were born in other parts of the world, including
Australia. All of them later lived (at least for a while) in Queensland.
Pensions were only under the control of the State Government for a short time, but Queensland State Archives hold records of more than 9,000
applicants for the old age pension 1908-1909. The records give information about people who
received the pension plus hundreds whose applications were
rejected. Most rejections were on the basis of age, period of residence or annual income, but some of the other reasons provide a clue to the applicant's character (
eg, 'intemperate' or 'deserted his wife'). Although many applicants were under the required age, pensions were only granted to those aged at least 65 years (that is, born before about 1843-1844).
In 1908-1909, electoral enrolment was not yet compulsory in Queensland. Old age pension registers give the place of residence of many
people who were not on electoral rolls. This includes some applicants who were not British subjects and not naturalised (and thus not eligible to vote) but who applied (though in vain) for a pension.
The vast majority of register entries give the claim date; surname; given name; country or Australian State of
birth; alleged
age; total number of
years in Queensland; town or suburb of current
residence; whether the application was approved or rejected; if approved, the amount of pension payable, date payment commenced and town where paid; if rejected, the
reason for rejection; and sometimes other
remarks such as 'sent to Dunwich Benevolent Asylum'. For many residents of
Ravenswood and
Townsville, a second register gives extra details (marital status, spouse's name, full address and exact birth date).
All names from my
index to old age pension applicants are on
my Web site, with an explanation of the
Old Age Pensions Act of 1908 and its implications for family history research, advice about pension records and related sources
before and after 1908-1909, and details of the copying service for original pension records.
The names, with full
source references, are also on
FindMyPast.
