The Victoria Police Gazette commenced in December 1853 and was initially published weekly by the Victoria Police. Originally the Gazettes for each state were not available to the public, but were produced for informing members of the police force and government officials. Today archival copies are a resource for historians because the Gazette provides early records detailing names members of the military and the police force, lists deserters from merchant ships, the armed forces and of wives and children. It also provides details of victims and felons, the names absconded convicts from Tasmania and New South Wales, along with reports of serious crime from South Australia.