  Gigahertz Peaked Spectrum (GPS) radio galaxies are generally thought to be
the young counterparts of classical extended radio sources. Statistically
complete samples of GPS sources are vital for studying the early evolution of
radio-loud AGN and the trigger of their nuclear activity. The 'Parkes
half-Jansky' sample of GPS radio galaxies is such a sample, representing the
southern counterpart of the 1998 Stanghellini sample of bright GPS sources. As
a first step of the investigation of the sample, the host galaxies need to be
identified and their redshifts determined. Deep R-band VLT-FORS1 and ESO 3.6m
EFOSC II images and long slit spectra have been taken for the unidentified
sources in the sample. We have identified all twelve previously unknown host
galaxies of the radio sources in the sample. Eleven have host galaxies in the
range 21.0 < Rc < 23.0, while one object, PKS J0210+0419, is identified in the
near infrared with a galaxy with Ks = 18.3. The redshifts of 21 host galaxies
have been determined in the range 0.474 < z < 1.539, bringing the total number
of redshifts to 39 (80%). Analysis of the absolute magnitudes of the GPS host
galaxies show that at z > 1 they are on average a magnitude fainter than
classical 3C radio galaxies, as found in earlier studies. However their
restframe UV luminosities indicate that there is an extra light contribution
from the AGN, or from a population of young stars.
