Several attempts were made to maintain indexes of the inward despatches, and this series is therefore a collection of several distinct indexes. The volumes are each complete in themselves, not divisions of the alphabet. The first two were used as a draft for the third (1825-46). The technique used is not first-class, though it improves with the years. The details always given are: subject, volume, page, date and number. The volume numbers quoted, though not the same by which the volumes are now known, still appear, but it is easier to rely on the date given. Cross-references are few, and though it is probably true to say that every despatch is entered under one or another heading, the problem is to guess the heading used. Secret and confidential despatches are not usually noticed. Details of the Governor's reply are given in the indexes for 1882 and 1884-5.

These records are part of the holdings of the Tasmanian Archives