SAG-E - July 2004 newsletter of the Society of Australian Genealogists

	An electronic newsletter for family historians from the Society of Australian Genealogists 120 Kent St, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia website − www.sag.org.au Tel: (02) 9247 3953 Fax: (02) 9241 4872 July 2004

Check the facilities on State Records' site!

New South Wales' State Records web site has been steadily adding to its online indexes in recent years, but they don't all need to be searched independently.

State Records' 'Quick Search' facility conducts a name search across all of the Concise Guide and Archives Investigator, plus its various online indexes to particular series of records. This certainly speeds the overall search task.

New on the State Records site is an online index to its insolvency records − included in Quick Search. It is intended to add bankruptcy records 1888-1928 as well.

Also worth checking is the site's Photo Investigator − a search engine that provides access to tens of thousands of photographic images in State Records' collections. Ranging from the late 19th century to the present, they illustrate the richness and diversity of many aspects of life in NSW over that period.

The original formats of the images vary widely, from glass plates and lantern slides to 35mm negatives, colour transparencies and prints. On the web site they can be explored in thumbnail form, then expanded to about 600x400 pixels − not print quality, but certainly good enough to tell whether you'd like to order a good quality print.

NEWS	• Work in progress at Richmond Villa • Stop Press - An opportunity for Irish researchers • Yarns for ABC TV's Rewind program • FreeBMD Indexes • Australasian Genealogical Computer Index
COURSES etc	• Collective Memories 4-part course • Reunion for Macintosh • Irish Databases Online • Preparing your Family History for Publication • Special Interest Groups
WEB TIPS	New or interesting sites to help you: • UK's National Archives • Baedeker's Old Guide Books • Goldfields Life • Geelong & District Cemeteries • Ancestry.co.uk
SHOP	Check these out: • A Dictionary of Saints Days, Fasts, Feasts and Festivals • Single & free: Female migration to Australia, 1833-1837 • My Ancestors were Jewish • My Ancestor was a Coalminer • Kaivalagi ni Viti: Census of Europeans resident in Fiji 1874-5
SUBSCRIBE	Subscribe or alter your subscription to these newsletters

Work in progress at Richmond Villa
Recent visitors to our headquarters Richmond Villa can't have helped but notice we are in the middle of major building works - our landlord is giving us a new shingle roof.

Rest assured it is 'business as usual' even though the building is surrounded by scaffolding and looks like a construction zone. Inside everything is 'as normal' albeit a bit noisy at times while the shingle roof is nailed into place.

We expect the work to take about another 3-4 weeks, weather permitting, so please bear with us while this is done.

Stop Press − An opportunity for Irish researchers
Fintan Mullen, Executive Officer of the Ulster Historical Foundation, will be at SAG's Rumsey Hall, 24 Kent Street, Sydney, on Tuesday, 3 August, from 10am to 12.30 pm.

It's an opportunity to hear from the horse's mouth about family history research in Ulster. The price, just $10, includes morning tea.

This opportunity has become available at very short notice so we're taking phone bookings only − see above for details.

Yarns for ABC TV's Rewind program
ABC TV's new history programme Rewind (Sunday evenings around 9:30pm) features SAG's collections in several stories − one is about Quong Tart and another on researching the history of a house in The Rocks, so keep an eye out for us!

Meantime, Rewind is keen to hear from you if you have a quick yarn about a genealogical or historical oddity from our Australian past. They're looking for stories that can be told in around 30 seconds and with a bit of a sting in the tail!

So this is definitely not an opportunity to tell your family history − but if you have a favourite quick yarn, they'll be pleased to hear from you at rewind@your.abc.net.au.

FreeBMD Indexes
The FreeBMD site's indexes to English and Welsh civil regristrations of births, marriages and deaths keep growing, with over 83 million distinct records now online, up 12 million since last December. Coverage is almost complete for a good range of years, making it the site of choice for many users wanting to obtain BMD references.

Like any index, it is not infallible, and − since it is a transcription from the original indexes, in some of which the script is notoriously difficult to interpret, even in the original! − you may want to check out the interpretation before spending money. Fiche copies of the original indexes are available in many major Australian libraries and family history societies, SAG included.

Online images drawn from the fiche are also available, on a "pay per view" basis, at www.1837online.com. However, the means of access there is only via the first three letters of the surname, so be prepared for a lot of viewing, unless your target has a very unusual three-letter surname start!

SAG members (only) can order English and Welsh certificates through our UK courier service.

Australasian Genealogical Computer Index
A pre-publication offer for the first volume of the CD version of this index was announced last month. For just $99.50 (including postage within Australia), individuals and non-profit societies can order this CD of records indexed over the last 20 years by family history societies throughout Australasia.

Expected to be available around the end of September, the CD is in the final stages of testing and preparation. The result of thousands of hours of volunteer effort, the new index will be searchable by last name, first name, event, source, place, state/county, country and year − with wild card searching thrown in. A far cry from the "alphabetic on last name" searching available on the present fiche version!

The CD includes over 3.9 million records − the present fiche version has just half that. The records indexed include cemetery transcripts, newspapers, books lacking an index, obituaries, electoral rolls, petitions, transportation records, and many more. If you identify a record of interest, the CD makes it easy to write to the indexing society, most of which are prepared for a small charge to provide more information from (or a copy of) the original record.

The pre-publication price applies ONLY to orders received by SAG (the project manager) by 30 August 2004, and these can be placed online. From 31 August the price (for individuals etc) rises to $125 plus p&p. Separate pricing applies to other users. NB: Pre-publication order CDs will not be mailed out before the end of September!

Our seminars for the second half of 2004 are booking well! Check out the full programme online. Here's a taste of the next few weeks:

Collective Memories 4-part course − Wednesday 11, 18, 25 August and 1 September, 10:00am-1:00pm
Practical hands-on workshop (limit 9 people) in making a family history album to preserve treasured family photos. You'll learn simple techniques to create your own heirloom, using copies of your own family photos. Materials included for first week.
$90 ($75 for SAG members).

Reunion for Macintosh − Saturday 14 August, 10:00am-12:30pm
Join Joan & Tony Healy as they demonstrate this family history software package.
$20 ($15 for SAG members).

Irish Databases Online − Tuesday 7 September, 11:00am-1:30pm
Join Terry Eakin for an expert tour of Irish research online - Otherdays, HistoryFromHeadstones, the Ulster Historical Foundation website and more.
$20 ($15 for SAG members).

Preparing your family history for publication − Saturday 11 September, 10:00am-12:30pm
If you're thinking of publishing your family history, you can't miss this seminar. Teri Kempe explores some tricks and tips for word processing and general computer management. If you need clues on getting your research ready for a publisher, we'll cover everything from footnotes to indexes.
$20 ($15 for SAG members).

Special Interest Groups
In addition to the above courses, most of our interest groups are meeting over the next few weeks - German & Irish groups (7 Aug); Family Tree Maker group (14 Aug); Scottish & TMG groups (21 Aug); London/Home Counties & South Asia groups (28 Aug); DPS (11 Sep). No bookings necessary − small charge at door − a great way to find out more about the area that's absorbing your time, meet others of like mind, discuss your problems, etc. [More details]
$10 ($5 for SAG members).

Bookings are ESSENTIAL for all these activities other than the interest groups! Payment required with bookings. Click here to book and pay! Or telephone us at (02) 9247 3953. Or visit our website for details of all our courses and other activities, refund rules etc. All sessions held at Rumsey Hall, 24 Kent St, Sydney, unless otherwise indicated.
Acrobat Reader is necessary to view any of the linked items - click if not already installed.

Check out these spots on the web!

New web site for UK's National Archives
The National Archives launched its new website last month, incorporating content from the former Public Record Office and Historical Manuscripts Commission websites. If you have bookmarked the old sites you will be automatically diverted to the new site, at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk. There's a range of new features including special "Getting Started" sections for family historians and military historians, etc. Well worth a bit of exploration − and updating your bookmarks or favourites!

Baedeker's Old Guide Books
This website makes a valuable addition to the range of old maps available to family and other historians. Scanned from Baedeker's Great Britain, Handbook for Travelers by Karl Baedeker, 7th edition (1910), there are 28 maps, 65 plans and a panorama, all scanned in excellent detail.

Published at a time before the automobile was commonplace, the maps give a view of Great Britain before the urban spread of the 20th century. Each map of a town show details such as major buildings, major roads and streets (some named), and railways. Maps of the environs show less detail.

At this stage the site has about 75 maps, spread across England, Scotland and Wales. The site plans to add maps from others in the Baedeker Guide Book series − Paris and its Environs 1924; Switzerland 1922; Central Italy and Rome 1909; Southern Italy and Sicily, with Sardinia, Malta and Corfu 1912.

Goldfields Life
Further to last month's snippet about Village Games of Yesteryear, a reader has drawn to attention a useful set of notes on the web site of historic goldmining town of Sovereign Hill, Ballarat, Victoria, covering issues such as 1850s school life, women on the goldfields, the Chinese in Ballarat and many more.

These pages are aimed primarily at schoolchildren, but they are certainly more than adequate to give a wide ranging, albeit basic background to the dates, names and places of any goldfields ancestors lurking in your family tree. The pages aimed at secondary students also each provide a useful list of books for further reading on the subject, and are supplemented by a range of pertinent photographs and drawings. This is a site that is well worth exploring.

Geelong & District Cemeteries
There's a great searchable database of more than 10,300 entries to these cemeteries at www.zades.com.au/geelong/. It's coupled with a page of links to other pages or sites which have variously the burials, headstone transcriptions, maps, plans and photos for the individual cemeteries.

The site is a credit to Susie Zada, as well as the societies and other transcribers who have made their work available to her.

The impressive list of cemeteries either in the site's database or on-line from its link page is:

Ballark Station, Bambra (Deans Marsh), Bannockburn (Murgheboluc, Wabdallah, Leigh Road), Beeac (Ondit, Cundare), Bellbrae (Jan Juc / Torquay), Birregurra (Whoorel), Cape Otway, Cressy, Drysdale (Bellarine), Freshwater Creek (St David's Lutheran, Waldkirch), Golf Hill Station (The Leigh), Leopold (Kensington), Lethbridge, Little River (Rothwell), Lone Burials (Geelong & District), Lone Burials (Bellarine Peninsula), Moonlight Heads, Naringal Station, Newington Private, Portarlington (East Bellarine), Rokewood, Shelford, Steiglitz (Old & New), Sutherlands Creek (Yowang), Teesdale (Native Hut Creek), Truganina, Warncoort (Irrewarra), and Werribee (Wyndham).

Ancestry.co.uk
And in a brief update, indexed images to 26 English counties are now available at Ancestry.co.uk for the 1901 Census of England. Welsh counties are coming soon. Meanwhile, 1871 images are now available for 21 English counties, and 6 Welsh. 1891 images are now complete.

Access to Ancestry.co.uk is free to SAG members visiting our premises at Rumsey Hall, 24 Kent Street, Sydney - bookings advisable!

Check out these items from our shop!
But don't forget that they're only a small part of a great collection of family history book titles available on-line, as well as local histories, CD-ROMs, charts and genealogical software − all at competitive prices!

A Dictionary of Saints Days, Fasts, Feasts and Festivals by Colin Waters − just $23.50 plus p&p.
Lists over 1400 Saints Days, fasts, feasts and festivals, setting them briefly in an historic, religious or social context. A5, 160 pages, softback. [more detail]

Single & free: Female migration to Australia, 1833-1837 by Elizabeth Rushen − just $39.95 plus p&p.
Explores the first scheme for female migration to Australia, showing the women were drawn from a wide cross-section of 19th century society. 17x25cm, softback, 228 pages. [more detail]

My Ancestors were Jewish by Dr Anthony Joseph − just $9.50 plus p&p
3rd edition of this guide to tracing Jewish ancestors in England, with a useful bibliography, internet guide and other lists to assist in research. A5, 60 pages, softback. [more detail]

My Ancestor was a Coalminer by David Tonks − just $22.00 plus p&p
A comprehensive guide to researching coalminer ancestors in England. A5, 136 pages, softback. [more detail]

Kaivalagi ni Viti: census of Europeans resident in Fiji 1874-5 by Rondo B B Me − just $22.00 plus p&p
Transcriptions from Fiji's National Archives of census returns of Europeans resident in Fiji 1874-5. A5, softback, 96 pages, index. [more detail]

All the above items available on-line, or by mailing, calling or faxing us with your name and credit card details − contact details at top.

Or visit us at 24 Kent Street and see our whole range.

Charges for postage and packing vary with destination and weight − minimum $6.00. For detail, see here.

Subscribing and Unsubscribing
Have you got friends or relatives who've expressed an interest in family history? Why not give them a nudge to join SAG? Go on, forward this email to them!

If you've been forwarded this email by a friend or relative and have at last been inspired to explore your family's history and want to subscribe, just email us and we'll be glad to subscribe you to future newsletters. Make sure you give us your full name − and, if you're a member, please let us know your membership number and renewal date − it'll help a lot!

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Alternatively, get more detail about becoming a member.

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© Society of Australian Genealogists 2004 − all rights reserved