There are many stories of home owners and renovators who have found the original nameplate, or part of it, under the house or buried in a pile of rubble somewhere around the house. Glass nameplates or panels may have been used originally and been broken and either replaced with a plain glass panel or not replaced at all. The common theme in all these stories is that the nameplates have either rotted or broken in such a way that they can't be used again.

There are countless houses that have had as many names as they've had owners. New owners would move in, bringing with them their own name and disregarding the previous one. Others moved out, taking their nameplate with them for sentimental reasons.

Fortunately if a name is not readable or totally unknown, there is much that can be done to retrieve the original name. You will probably find that houses belonging to well-known people have been well documented in newspapers, books, journals and other publications. There are, however, many documents, texts and public records available that can enable you to find your house's original name. Generally people in capital cities have a greater access to more public records than their country counterparts.

In the major libraries of each state you can find the Sand's and McDougall directories and, in some instances, Post Office Directories stored on microfiche, which are an invaluable source for anyone tracing a house or family name. These directories were produced for the Sydney district between 1858 and 1933 and in Melbourne between 1856 and 1977 before becoming too costly to print. Published each year, the directories contained an amazing amount of information including the occupants, occupation of the 'head of the house', house number, street, suburb and, in many cases, the house name.

Before using these book, it is best to check the Certificate of Title of your house to find an approximate building date or even the name of the original owner. Titles often contain some interesting and valuable information and will give you a good starting point for choosing a particular year book.

Select your suburb and then your street. These lists are found at the front of the book. The second half of the book contains lists of surnames, addresses and occupations. These entries can often confirm your existing information. During your research you may find no house name existed. Move forward several years to see if a name appears because names were not always placed on house as soon as they were built. Sometimes houses had names which do not appear in these directories at all, which is very frustrating for the researcher.

Conservation studies are another great source of information. Many suburban councils have carried out these studies which contain information on individual buildings. Contact your local council for a possible inclusion. Not every house is listed, but is an avenue worth checking.

Sewerage and water authorities in each state can also hold a treasure chest of interesting information held by archive sections at their head office. However, in some cases these authorities have off-loaded their old records to government archives and these are held in such places as state libraries. So check with the authority first.

Documents to look for include "Property Sewerage Plan" or "Plan of Drainage" which were procured by plumbers when there were major changes to plumbing on the property. After works were carried out, these sheets were altered and inspected by the sewerage authority, and sometimes left with the owner or perhaps copies of the documents. These sewerage plans will often, although not always, contain a house name if one originally existed.

Other documents that are held and used by state water departments include "Field Notes" and "Detail Plans" which were large maps used for street work mainly and showed house names for the neighbourhood. These are not confidential papers and should be available upon request.

Electricity and gas suppliers can also have documents containing useful information. In fact Commonwealth, state and local government departments all have interesting documents such as electoral rolls, maps,plans, surveys, valuation listings and rate books. Rate books can be particularly useful. These may be at the local council if they haven't already been stored on microfiche and sent to the Public Records Office. Contact your local council to establish their whereabouts and the necessary permission to see them.

I was once given a will belonging to my great-great grandfather, which had been stored at the Public Records Office. A friend who had been researching some family history for me handed "the last Will and Testament" to me, which made reference to the family house by name. Family "Wills" are often forgotten as a reference for many things including house names.

Electoral rolls, like the directories, can sometimes be found at local councils and in larger libraries. These can also assist in locating descendants of a previous owner who may have an old family photo album. Family photographs have always been a great source of information with regards family history, the home's architecture and, of course, its house name.
If a house was occupied by a notable person, there may have been photos or newspaper stories regarded as significant and therefore held by libraries. Photos such as these may even be in private collections by related families.

Local historical societies can also help with information, particularly through some of their older members who may have known your house many years ago. These community groups often have large photographic collections, so becoming a member could be worthwhile.
Try your own neighbourhood. There is often someone who has lived in the area for many years and seen the comings and goings of different families and may well know the name on you house.
If your house had an original name and it's missing, it should be replace. This not only enhances its character but makes a contribution to local history. It can also add a little extra value to the house. If it never had a name, you can add a piece of character that it wouldn't otherwise have, and perhaps create a family heirloom.