When you wake up one morning with the bright idea that you want to research your family history, little do you realise where the journey will take you!
A little curiosity can lead to a major, time-consuming obsession that spans decades of your life and introduces you to far-flung cousins.
But how to get started?
In Australia, the best way to get up and running is to check out the Birth, Death & Marriage (BDM) websites (see links below). Many of them have search facilites with options to buy certificates.
It is easy to get caught up in side branches and it is easy to mix up generations and cousins.
Many early Australian families used the same family names generation after generation as well as across generations. So be wary of making assumptions!
And keep your notes well organised, so that you know which information has been confirmed by certificate and which information is based on specualtive searches.
NSW: BDM NSW
Victoria: Justice Victoria BDM
South Australia: Geneology SA
Western Australia: Dept of Attorney General BDM
Queensland: Justice Services BDM
Tasmania: Justice Family History (unfortunately they do not have an online search facility)
Northern Territory: Justice Historical Mircofiche Indexes
ACT: ACT Government Indexes
There is also a specific site for people of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage wishing to trace their family history called Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS).
The National Library of Australia has a fabulous website where the avid family historian can search newspapers, books, pictures, maps, diaries, organisations and other archived materials.
It is called Trove.
You can search for names in the hope of finding BDM notices in the papers and if you're lucky, other news articles (i.e. sporting achievements, political activism, business openings, criminal activity etc) if they were active in their local communities.
Searching for an address can reveal a lot about a house - who lived there in the past, old pics and neighbourhood issues.
Recently the naming of a local bridge had me stumped. I searched Trove and found the most incredible information about the woman concerned. Numerous newspaper articles about her life, her obituary and then a whole list of pics from a local museum where her family had donated many of her items for prosperity. It was amazing to have all this information at my fingertips. And I now use her bridge with far greater appreciation and respect!
If you're fortunate enough to have ancestors who left journals, diaries and letters behind then Trove is the place for you.
I'm very excited and pleased to promote this book about the Dawson Family from my (distant) cousin Helen Laidlaw.
Helen has devoted over 20 years to researching, collating and writing this wonderful story of our ancestor John Dawson.
As a 15 year old, John emigrated to Australia with his family on board the Canton. Lucky for us, he kept a journal which Helen has used as the bedrock for her family history research.
"This story is true and has never been told before....The life-stories of the children of a Lincolnshire gardener and his wife, who migrated in 1835 to Australia, explore the social history of the colony in the 19th century. The varied histories of the four brothers and five sisters range from employment by the Macarthurs of Camden NSW to the goldfields of Victoria; from pardoned convicts to the most selsct circles of Sydney; from a Melbourne merchant's mansion to a selector's property in the Riverina; from the Quaker community to the lawyer who defended Breaker Morant during the Boer War; and from Federation to World War I." (Introduction pg 7)
My direct line of descendants, Mary & George Coker are featured in chapter 11.
Helen has generously included hundreds of colour photos, copies of certificates and artwork in her beautifully presented book.
The book was launched in January 2011. Susan Gervay has kindly written a blog to celebrate the occasion.
The Gardener's Gamble can be purchased through Helen's webpage or from
Camden Historical Museum, 40 John St, Camden NSWDymocks, Shop 27 The Grove, 174 Military Rd, Neutral Bay NSW
Dymocks, 68 Kinghorn St, Nowra NSWFullers Bookshop, 131 Collins St, Hobart TAS
Fullers Bookshop & ABC Centre, 93 St Johns St, Launceston TAS
Gleebooks, 49 Glebe Point Road, Glebe NSWJennie's Book Nook, Centrepoint Arcade, Kiama NSWLady Denman Heritage Complex, Huskisson NSW National Library of Australia Bookshop, Parkes Place, Canberra ACT
The Museum of Sydney Bookshop, Bridge & Phillip Sts, Sydney NSWOur Bookshop and Cafe, 103 Queen St, Berry NSWState Library of NSW, Library shop, Macquarie St, Sydney NSW
An interesting idea from a fellow blogger Wealth for Toil
"To participate, choose someone who lived in Australia
(preferably one of your ancestors) and tell us how they toiled. Your post should
include:
- What was their occupation?
- What information do you have about the individual’s
work, or about the occupation in general?
- The story of the person, focussing on their occupation;
or
The story of the occupation, using the person as an example.
Responses may be as long or short as you like, and as
narrow or broad as you wish."
