Enrollment options
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
MODULE 1
INTRODUCTION
Searching Tips
Sources for Local History
Historical Background
Federation
1901 to 1945
After World War II
MODULE 2
DETERMINE WHERE THEY LIVED
Suggested Book
Birth, Death and Marriage Records
Divorce Records
Inquests
Probate: Wills and Intestacies
Cemeteries
Directories and Almanacs
Electoral Rolls
Census
Immigration and Naturalisation Documents
Convicts and Criminals
Military Records and Soldier Settlement
MODULE 3
STATE & TERRITORY GOVERNMENT RECORDS
Suggested Books
Government Gazettes
Colonial Secretaries
Transport
Education
Health and Welfare
Occupations
Law and Order
Indigenous Records
MODULE 4
MUNICIPAL AND COMMUNITY RECORDS
Suggested Books
Local Government Authorities and Libraries
Regional Archives
Community Centres
Public Utilities
Clubs, Societies and Charities
Places of Worship
Business Records
Resources within the Home
MODULE 5
LOCAL HISTORIES
Suggested Books
Historical and Genealogical Societies
Local Museums
Local Histories
School Histories
Images
Oral History
MODULE 6
PLACES
Suggested Books
Land Records
Suggested Reading
APPENDIX
Tasmanian Archive and Heritage Office - Private Researchers
South Australian District Registers