Quarter Sessions guide

Historical Overview

The Quarter Sessions Courts

Courts of General and Quarter Sessions (generally referred to as Quarter Sessions) were formalised in New South Wales in 1824 under the provisions of the Better Administration of Justice in New South Wales Act 1823. The Courts were given power to deal with all crimes and misdemeanours not punishable with death. In addition they were given a summary jurisdiction over offences committed by convicts not free by pardon, or whose sentence had not expired. It could extend a convicts' time or order transportation to another penal settlement. It could also hear appeals from local courts (that is, the Benches of Magistrates).The Courts also adjudicated ‘on appeals from summary convictions, or other decisions of single justices, or of the Courts of Petty Sessions, on road cases, and other matters referred to Quarter Sessions by various enactments of the Legislature’.[1]

Initially there was no district structure of the Court which met as required. In 1858 the Courts of General and Quarter Sessions were arranged into districts.

The court ceased on 1 July 1973 when the Quarter Sessions were abolished and the district courts took on the criminal as well as the civil jurisdiction. The Sydney Court of General and Quarter Sessions became a court in the District Court Criminal and Special Jurisdiction, Sydney and Central Division.

Records created by Quarter Sessions courts

Records generated by the Quarter Sessions (mainly Minute Books) are listed in our catalogue under the particular court.

The Clerk of the Peace

The Clerk of the Peace acted as registrar to the Quarter Sessions court and was responsible for prosecutions in criminal matters. The first Clerk of the Peace (the predecessor of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions) in New South Wales was appointed in 1817. The office lapsed in 1821 but after the abolition of the office of Judge Advocate and the institution of Quarter Sessions in 1825, it became necessary to revive the office.

From the 1830s onwards the Clerks of the Peace were appointed in country districts where Quarter Sessions were held. The title Clerk of the Peace changed to 'Solicitor for Public Prosecutions and Clerk of the Peace' in 1980 and in 1986 the Director of Public Prosecutions Act appointed a Director of Public Prosecutions to institute and conduct Crown proceedings.

Records created by the office of the Clerk of the Peace

The bulk of the records relating to cases heard by the Quarter Sessions were created by the office of the Clerk of the Peace. These records are listed together in our catalogue under the agency description of:

Agency 35: Clerk of the Peace (1817-1980) Solicitor for Public Prosecutions and Clerk of the Peace (1980-1987).

The depositions and papers for the period 1824-37 are largely complete. For most courts they commence with their first sitting — Sydney, Liverpool and Windsor in November 1824; Parramatta in February 1824; Campbelltown in July 1828, Maitland 1830 and Bathurst 1832.

Gaps in the records

From about 1837 onwards there are significant gaps in the records, with only one box of papers for the whole of New South Wales surviving for the period 1841-1901, and only 13 boxes for the period to 1920. The absence of these records can be partially overcome by using the various series of Registers and the newspapers of the time, many of which are available on TROVE. From 1921 to the present, most of the records have survived.

List of main record series

Clerk of the Peace

Appeals to Quarter Sessions

Related record series

• Judges Notebooks - Surviving records date from c.1828, but are not complete. Th records are arranged by name of the judge in the catalogue. Newspapers may give the name of the judge, as may the registers listed in this guide.
• Reports of Crime for Police Information, 1854-62 and Police Gazettes, 1862-1982 - These publications include details of crimes committed, criminals wanted, criminals apprehended, prisoners discharged.

Access to the records

District Court

Records up to and including 1955 are open to public access, unless they relate to children under the age of 18 as victims or perpetrators.

Records that relate to children under the age of 18 as victims or perpetrators of crime are closed to public access for 100 years.

For access to closed records please contact:

District Court Criminal Registry
PO Box A4
Sydney South NSW 2000
Telephone: (02) 9287 7314
Email: ag-sdc-crime@justice.nsw.gov.au