Intermediate Australian Records

Optional Print Course Material: Australian: Newspapers and Biographies

*Course material will only be sent to students who are registered in the course.

Newspapers are a wonderful research tool as they can provide background information on our ancestors that may not be found in official documents. As well as the expected notices of births, engagements, marriages, deaths, burials and obituaries we may also find reference to their sporting activities or involvement in community events. References to insolvencies, bankruptcies, other misdemeanours or more serious crimes can lead to court and criminal records at the archives. This course focuses on using both historical and current newspapers to flesh out our knowledge of our ancestors and the communities in which they lived.

 A useful companion to newspapers are biographical resources and these can be for an individual or a defined group and based on a local, state or national level. Often referred to as biographical dictionaries or pioneer registers these resources can provide a quick background on an individual which can then be followed up in newspapers and official records.

 By using these two types of resources, you will be able to add substantially to your knowledge of your ancestors. As more and more of these resources are digitised and placed online making them easier to access and to search, there is a constant need to go back and revisit your research to find any new material on your ancestors.

 By undertaking this course on Australian newspapers and biographies you will find lots of additional material on your families as we make our way through the modules. In the course of writing this module and undertaking the assignments, I even added to my own family knowledge which was a bonus for me.

Course Length: 7 weeks

Optional Print Course Material: Australian: Church Records

*Course material will only be sent to students who are registered in the course.

This course examines religious resources that are available in Australia. Major emphasis has been placed on Christianity and the various church records available for the main Christian denominations in Australia. Parish records such as baptisms, marriages and burials and other lesser known church records are examined. Religions other than Christianity are also looked at briefly as Australia has been a multicultural country since the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788.

Course Length: 7 weeks

Optional Print Course Material: Australian: Local History and Regional Sources

*Course material will only be sent to students who are registered in the course.

This course includes newspapers, maps, directories & almanacs, electoral rolls, government records, local council records, sewerage and utilities, libraries, universities and museums, cemeteries, local area studies, including regional histories, business records, membership records, and records relating to land and its uses.

 A study of local history informs us about how our ancestors lived as part of a community as well as where they lived. This course first examines the records that can identify those locations, and then proceeds to the regional sources that allow us to see ancestors in the context of where they lived and who lived near them and what that can tell us about their lives. Some of these sources include lists of names, while others provide background information about places as well as the lives of the people who lived and worked there.

Course Length: 7 weeks

Optional Course Reading Material: Australian: Military Records

*Course material will only be sent to students who are registered in the course.

This course discusses available documents and the information included about those who served in British regiments in Australia as well as Australians who served in military forces in Australia and overseas. Military records from the earliest days of the colonies through various twentieth century conflicts are included.

 Various types of records created by the military are discussed, including service records, muster rolls, campaign documents, pension records and draft registration. The content of the records and their usefulness for genealogy is described. The course includes historical background as well as some background to the changing social perceptions towards the military.

Course Length: 7 weeks

Optional Course Print Material: Australian: Occupational Records

*Course material will only be sent to students who are registered in the course.

Genealogy and the study of family history are more than just collecting names, dates and places. This course focuses on occupations and how someone’s occupation could change over time, have a significant role in a community and even impact on a family’s lifestyle. Miners, for example, often moved around following the gold or other minerals and their families moved too. Tracing them can be difficult but occupation records may provide clues.

 To determine someone’s occupation usually means that we need to use more than one kind of record to build a complete picture of their working life. As we gather the pieces of information we can then analyse what it is telling us about the person, their family and community life. There are lots of ways to discover someone’s occupation including BDM certificates, directories and almanacs, electoral rolls and newspapers.

Occupational records can provide additional information on our ancestors. By knowing an occupation, we can then look for supporting information in staff records of businesses and governments and if they work as farmers and graziers then land records may be useful.

 Knowing where to look is the key issue and this course will help you to discover a person’s occupation and then to follow up where there might be additional information in government archives, libraries and other resources. Where applicable, guides and other finding aids are listed together with any indexes, databases and digitised records.