There are many fascinating historical certificates among the Registry's 18 million records. These include certificates relating to prominent (and sometimes notorious) Australians.

The first marriage

• Thomas Parr and Mary MacCormick were the first couple to be married in the colony of NSW on 10 February 1788 in Port Jackson.
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Famous women

• Dame Nellie Melba was Australia's foremost opera singer. She was born Helen Porter Mitchell in 1861 in Richmond, Victoria. She even had a dessert named after her: the Peach Melba.
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• Mary Reiby (nee Haydock) was born in England in 1777, and was transported to the colony for horse stealing in 1790. By 1820, she had become one of the most successful businesswomen in the colony, running a shipping company and buying property throughout NSW.
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Bushrangers

• Ben Hall was born in February in Breeza in 1837. He was the son of ex-convicts, though there is no official record of his birth. Hall was one of the most notorious bushrangers in NSW history, known for outracing police on stolen racehorses.
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• Frederick Ward (Captain Thunderbolt) was born in Wilberforce, near Windsor, in 1835, though there is no record of his birth. He was arrested several times for horse stealing and was known for carrying out armed robberies near Bourke, Moree and Gunnedah.
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Famous Men

• Victor Trumper was born on 2 November 1877 in Sydney. Touring with the Australian cricket team in 1899, he became the first Australian to score 300 in England and was also the first batsman to record a century before lunch in a Test at the Old Trafford.
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• Henry Lawson was born on 17 June 1867 at Grenfell in NSW. Lawson was one of Australia's premier poets and writers. Partially deaf and unable to find a job or succeed in his studies, Lawson turned to writing.
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Unusual Certificates

• Thomas Snell
  Died: 7 July 1856 at Bendolba
  Cause of Death: "Visitation of God"
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• Doris Frances Glover
  Married: 24 March 1924 at Taree Police Station
  Age at marriage: 11 years
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