Enrollment options
Course image Research: Australian Ancestors
Intermediate Electives
Course Summary:
Optional Print Course Material:Research: Australian Ancestors
*Course material will only be sent to students who are registered in the course.
This course provides a detailed description of how to research
your family in Australian records. Learn about history, civil
registration, church records, immigration (both “free” and
convict), as well as the archives and other records you can use
to “add flesh to the bones” and turn a list of names and dates
into a family history. Learn how to use the online indexes and
find the digitized records that can help overcome the “Tyranny of
Distance”.
Course Length: 7 weeks
Contact Hours: 18
Grading Scale: 70% Tests/30% Assignments
Course Length: 7 weeks
Course Content
MODULE 1
INTRODUCTION
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Indigenous Australians
European Exploration
British Settlement and Colonization
Colonial Self-Government & Discovery of Gold
Federation of Australia
BIRTHS, DEATHS & MARRIAGES
Civil Registration & What it Means
New South Wales Records
Queensland Records
South Australian Records
Tasmanian Records
Victorian Records
Western Australian Records
Australian Capital Territory Records
Northern Territory Records
OTHER SOURCES FOR BDM
Cemetery Records
Wills and Probate
Newspaper BDM, Funeral Notices & Obituaries
MODULE 2
IMMIGRATION (FREE SETTLERS)
Background
Immigration to New South Wales
Immigration to Queensland
Immigration to South Australia
Immigration to Tasmania
Immigration to Victoria
Immigration to Western Australia
Immigration Sources to “All Australia”
Naturalisations
New South Wales Naturalization 1863
Additional Websites of Interest
MODULE 3
CONVICT RECORDS
Convicts
Background
Australian Joint Copying Project
Pensioner Guards
Prison Warders
Trial Records
Convict Indents
Assignments
Tickets of Leave
Tickets of Exemption from Government Labour
Certificates of Freedom
Pardons
Secondary Punishment Colonies
Newcastle
Port Macquarie
Norfolk Island
Moreton Bay
Port Phillip District
Van Diemen’s Land/Tasmania
Convict Central
1828 Census
Other Sources
MODULE 4
GOVERNMENT ARCHIVES
National Archives of Australia
New South Wales State Records
Queensland State Archives
State Records of South Australia
Archives Office of Tasmania
Public Record Office Victoria
State Records Office of Western Australia
Territory Archives - Australian Capital Territory & Northern Territory
Other Government Archives
MODULE 5
HISTORIES AND DIRECTORIES
Published Family Histories
Dictionary of Biography
Local Histories
eMelbourne and Dictionary of Sydney
Directories
Government and Police Gazettes
Electoral Rolls
Newspapers
Additional Websites of Interest
MODULE 6
MILITARY RECORDS & OTHER SOURCES
National Archives of Australia
Australian War Memorial
Colonial Australia
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Other Sources
Occupational Sources
Censuses in Australia
Library Digital Collections
National Library of Australia
MODULE 1
INTRODUCTION
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Indigenous Australians
European Exploration
British Settlement and Colonization
Colonial Self-Government & Discovery of Gold
Federation of Australia
BIRTHS, DEATHS & MARRIAGES
Civil Registration & What it Means
New South Wales Records
Queensland Records
South Australian Records
Tasmanian Records
Victorian Records
Western Australian Records
Australian Capital Territory Records
Northern Territory Records
OTHER SOURCES FOR BDM
Cemetery Records
Wills and Probate
Newspaper BDM, Funeral Notices & Obituaries
MODULE 2
IMMIGRATION (FREE SETTLERS)
Background
Immigration to New South Wales
Immigration to Queensland
Immigration to South Australia
Immigration to Tasmania
Immigration to Victoria
Immigration to Western Australia
Immigration Sources to “All Australia”
Naturalisations
New South Wales Naturalization 1863
Additional Websites of Interest
MODULE 3
CONVICT RECORDS
Convicts
Background
Australian Joint Copying Project
Pensioner Guards
Prison Warders
Trial Records
Convict Indents
Assignments
Tickets of Leave
Tickets of Exemption from Government Labour
Certificates of Freedom
Pardons
Secondary Punishment Colonies
Newcastle
Port Macquarie
Norfolk Island
Moreton Bay
Port Phillip District
Van Diemen’s Land/Tasmania
Convict Central
1828 Census
Other Sources
MODULE 4
GOVERNMENT ARCHIVES
National Archives of Australia
New South Wales State Records
Queensland State Archives
State Records of South Australia
Archives Office of Tasmania
Public Record Office Victoria
State Records Office of Western Australia
Territory Archives - Australian Capital Territory & Northern Territory
Other Government Archives
MODULE 5
HISTORIES AND DIRECTORIES
Published Family Histories
Dictionary of Biography
Local Histories
eMelbourne and Dictionary of Sydney
Directories
Government and Police Gazettes
Electoral Rolls
Newspapers
Additional Websites of Interest
MODULE 6
MILITARY RECORDS & OTHER SOURCES
National Archives of Australia
Australian War Memorial
Colonial Australia
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Other Sources
Occupational Sources
Censuses in Australia
Library Digital Collections
National Library of Australia