New datasets in the Biographical Database of Australia

www.bda-online.org.au/

Join historian, author & Biographical Database of Australia (BDA) Board Member Michael Flynn for an introduction to the BDA & a discussion of the latest datasets added to this valuable research resource in 2024.

BDA is based on transcripts of mainly pre-1900 archival & print records of colonists, including convict, immigrant, military, muster, land, court, newspaper & census records & full transcripts of parish registers, including godparents & witnesses – all being progressively linked to create a timeline profile for each individual. With over 2.2 million records, BDA now includes a significant proportion of the settler population of Australian colonies to about 1841.

The site aims to provide research & fact checking tools for genealogists, local & specialist historians, students & academics wishing to explore family, social & employment networks, overseas origins, ethnicity, settlement patterns & the growth of towns & regions. Most of all BDA can help distinguish persons of the same common name (convict, immigrant, military or Australian born) & break down research brick walls.

2024 highlights include:

Convict Records:

· NSW Certificates of Freedom 1834-40,10,982 transcripts (1810-33 already online),

· Absconded Convict Notices: 1822-1823, 1840-1841 (1832-1839 already online).

Immigration Records:

· 10,000 Free unassisted passengers arriving Syndey 1838-1841,

· Ship Deserters, Sydney NSW 1852-1867, describing 6,100 sailors, Port of Sydney.

Parish registers, Melbourne VIC, Sydney & Wellington NSW 1837-1856:

· St James Melbourne VIC CofE baptisms, marriages, burials 1837-1842,

· St Lawrence Sydney NSW CofE marriages 1838-1856 (part of Sydney City, Eastern Suburbs & Inner West),

· St Andrew Sydney NSW CofE baptisms & marriages 1842-1856 (Sydney City pro-Cathedral),

· Wellington NSW CofE baptisms 1837-1856: spread across a region encompassing modern Dubbo, Dunedoo, Cassilis, Tambaroora, Molong, Orange, Hill End & Lake Burrendong. Includes Aboriginal children & parents.

Military Biography:

· 28th Regiment 1835-1842 pay list profiles, 1,272 soldiers Australia-wide,

· 80th Regiment 1836-1845 pay list profiles, 1,536 soldiers Australia-wide.

· Stationed in Sydney, Parramatta, Liverpool, Pennant Hills, Campbelltown, Emu Plains, Illawarra, Berrima, Towrang (near Goulburn) Maitland, Newcastle, Harpers Hill (Hunter Valley), Port Stephens, Port Macquarie, Bathurst, Hassans Walls, Coxs River, Mudgee, Norfolk Island, Hobart, Port Phillip, Moreton Bay.

Biographical Indexes

· Australian Almanack 1827: civil & military establishments in Australian colonies,

· List of Anglican clergy in the 1850s appointed to NSW parishes 1809-1858.

Skill level: All

Presenter: Michael Flynn

About the Presenter: Michael Flynn, author of The Second Fleet, Britain’s Grim Convict Armada of 1790, was employed as research officer, historian & genealogist by the NSW Crown Solicitor’s Office for 21 years up to his retirement in 2022. Having been involved with BDA on a voluntary basis since its inception in 2006, he now has more time to devote to this steadily expanding colonial database & website. He has been a member of the Society of Australian Genealogists since 1980