Australian Joint Copying Project (AJCP)

The Australian Joint Copying Project (AJCP) is a collection of historical material relating to Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific dating from 1560 to 1984.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander visitors are kindly advised that this website includes images, sounds and names of people who have passed.

All users should be aware that some topics or historical content may be culturally sensitive, offensive or distressing, and that some images may contain nudity or are of people not yet identified. Certain words, terms or descriptions may reflect the author's/creator's attitude or that of the period in which they were written, but are now considered inappropriate in today's context.

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Muster and Pay Lists (WO 12)

Muster and Pay Lists

Muster and Pay Lists (WO 12) are the starting point for those researching military ancestors.

The lists provide:

  • location of regiment
  • rank of soldier
  • pay received in the respective quarter
  • the 3 monthly musters in each quarter with details of where a soldier was stationed
  • remarks detailing desertions, promotions, discharges, illness and death.

By going through each successive quarter you can build a picture of a soldier’s career, which can then be fleshed out with information from other War Office Classes.


Muster and Pay Lists: Descriptive List (Microfilm reference book)

Only available in the Library, this microfilm reference book breaks down the contents of the reels, providing more detail than the War Office handbook – for each reel, piece numbers are provided for each quarterly muster. 

Look up the Regiment of your soldier to find:

  • where and when he was stationed in the Australian colonies
  • piece numbers on the microfilm where the musters and pay lists can be found.

Micro Ref Books

The AJCP handbooks aren't the only guide to accessing the AJCP microfilms. In the Special Collections area of the Mitchell Library Reading Room, Librarians can help you to browse and search AJCP "Micro Ref Books" 

These provide a greater level detail to the contents of the reels, providing frame numbers on the microfilm. Nevertheless, for most AJCP films there is no detailed alphabetical or subject index and many of the finding aids do not provide access to document level.

Librarian in special collections