Now&Then 57 - August 2012
- Online News
- City (The Rocks) Reading Room closed on 29 June
- 0.4% surcharge on credit card payments
- Treasures found in the records
- Digital Archives milestone - completion of design and implementation
- Managing local collections - Useful resources
- History Council Event - History and Australia, a foundational past?
- Archives Outside blog update
- Flickr update
- Spotlight on Divorce records
- Stay up-to-date with State Records
- Exhibition
- Upcoming talks and tours
Online News
More probate and divorce records arriving
The Supreme Court NSW is regularly transferring probate packets (NRS 13660) and divorce records (NRS 13495) to State Records. As they arrive we adding the lists to Archives Investigator (AI). We now have over half a million probate packets listed! The most recent transfer is Probate Packet Series 4, Probate No. 705057 (Jan 1971). To locate a probate conduct a simple search in AI adding the name of the person and the word 'death' in the title.
There are now have over 80 000 divorce files listed dating up to 1951. To see if we hold a divorce file, again just use the simple search option in AI and type in the words 'Divorce' and surname of the petitioner or respondent.
Research Topics page - an A-Z list to help you into our collection
We have developed a popular 'Research Topics' page in order to make it quicker and easier for you to locate information on a specific topic. Currently listing 16 broad subjects this page is an ongoing project. The webpage is easy to navigate with an A-Z listing of topics.
Research Topics is available on our homepage (under Quick Links).
City (The Rocks) reading room closed on 29 June
The city reading room closed it's doors for the last time on Friday 29 June.
Excerpt from State Records NSW 1788-2011 by the late Peter J. Tyler
At the end of 1978, the Archives Authority moved from the State Library into its purpose-built six storey building at The Rocks. When the city search room opened, the Archives Office for the first time had its own reading room and exhibition area. Location of the building was appropriate for housing the official records of early Australia, as it was very close to the place where Captain Arthur Phillip raised the Union Jack to mark the beginning of the colony of New South Wales on 26 January 1788. From the beginning, the Archives Office had gained a reputation for focussing on the needs of researchers, as shown in the preparation of the various Guides to the early records. It was a practice that contrasted with attitudes that were said to prevail in other archival institutions at this time, where public access was often resented rather than facilitated.
Lindsay Allen (left) and Fabian Lo Schiavo closing the door of the City Reading Room for the last time on Friday 29 June 2012.
The City (The Rocks) reading room was a home away from home for many researchers over the years. We hope that this transition and adjustment period will continue to go smoothly and we feel confident that this new phase of State Records history will be as exciting, challenging and adventurous as the previous years.
In the tradition of providing a solid public access service, the reading room staff at the Western Sydney Records Centre at Kingswood will continue to provide expert and professional advice to researchers accessing NSW State archives in person and over the telephone. We also provide a copy service from many of our online indexes and for divorce and probate records through Archives Investigator.
Much of the microfilmed material previously available at the Rocks reading room is being relocated to various libraries and societies in the metropolitan area and regional centres, including the State Library of New South Wales, the City of Sydney Archives and the Royal Historical Society. The National Archives of Australia, Passenger lists inwards - Sydney, Jan 1923-Dec 1966 on microfilm reel are now accessible at Kingswood.
Fabian Lo Schiavo one of our Public Access Archivists is on a temporary placement at the NSW State Library (2 July - 31 August) to train the Library staff in the copied records that have been relocated from the city reading room, and also to assist with enquiries relating to the State Records collection.
0.4% surcharge on credit card payments
Treasures found in the records
The volunteers in the reading room work tirelessly on indexing records in State archives collection. Often they come across gems and unusual items whilst working on an indexing project. We would like to share an interesting discovery made by Beverley Malone. Recently Beverley who is working as part of a team of volunteers indexing the large series (237 boxes) of Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area - MIA files (NRS 14511) came across information relating to a particular school - Leeton Public School. Within the bundle [17/469 file number 12/1027/183] Beverley found a census of children in the area resident in camps dated 1912 and correspondence relating to the establishment of the school including plans - valuable information for the local or family historian. The great thing about this discovery is that we don't seem to have admission registers (which list pupil names) for Leeton School in our main School holdings. Well done Beverley!
Also to be found in the MIA files are a number of gorgeous advertising fruit labels:
NRS14511 [17/524, file 15/4509]
Apart from the fruit labels to be found in the series the volunteers have also found other interesting items including: a sample of butter wrappers [17/513 file16/5143], a brochure for a steam wagon [17/585, file 22/3651], a sample of a cap worn by women in the cannery [17/633] and pamphlets issued by the Immigration Section of the Department of Labour and Industry advertising New South Wales as the 'most attractive outpost of the Empire' - includes a visitor's guide to Sydney [17/563 file 20/6032] - to name a few.
You never know what you might find when researching in the State archives!
Digital Archives milestone - completion of design and implementation
Work has recently been completed on the implementation of the ICT (Information Communications Technology) platform for the Digital Archives project. This is an important milestone in the project and represents a considerable investment by State Records NSW in the development of the new Digital State Archives infrastructure for NSW.
This ICT solution consists of integrated server, storage and virtualisation technologies and is the platform upon which the Digital Archives system will operate. The solution, procured through tender has been installed in the purpose built Digital Archives server room at Kingswood. The server room has been purpose built to provide a secure, closed and clean environment for the installed ICT equipment. Redundant air-conditioning units ensure that the temperature and humidity for the space is maintained at optimal levels and fire protection is provided by a local argonite fire suppression system. The ICT equipment has been installed in three equipment racks and power is supplied by a redundant APC UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) system. The ICT solution itself comprises integrated server, storage and virtualisation technologies that provide capacity growth and expansion of the digital archives into the future. At present its capacity is about 24 Terabytes - or enough storage to keep over 3000 copies of the whole of Wikipedia!
The team has also been working on the software, tools and procedures for accepting, preserving and making available 'born digital' government records as archives, and for helping government agencies with a range of digital continuity challenges. They will be working on pilot projects with the NSW Government agencies in the coming months.
Managing local collections - Useful resources
In partnership with the Royal Australian Historical Society, we will be holding a series of free workshops on Managing Local Collections in regional NSW between July and December 2012.
A pilot workshop was conducted in mid-June and covered: storage; developing collection policies; arranging and describing collections; conservation and preservation; databases; digitisation and access policies.
Sample documents
Feedback from the Evaluation Sheets asked for copies of sample forms and documents used in the pilot workshop.
- These are now available on the Archives Outside blog
Check the Activities program for a dates and locations of the workshops.
History Council Event - History and Australia a foundational past?
| When | Aug 08, 2012 from |
|---|---|
| Where | The Mint, 10 Macquarie Street, Sydney |
| Contact Name | Kate Laing |
| Contact Phone | 92528715 |
| Add event to calendar |  vCal iCal |
Craving historical tradition, longing for a deeply rooted past, and uncertain of the place of Aboriginal Australia within both its past and present, Australia has long struggled to reconcile its colonial history with an increasingly confident, optimistic and patriotic self image. The rise of Anzac Day as a focal point of national communion in recent decades has occurred at the same time as fiercely contested public debates over frontier history and the stolen generations. In this lecture Mark McKenna asks whether the anxiety over Australia’s search for a foundational history has finally come to an end.
Archives Outside blog update
After three years online we’ve had a facelift. You’ll find we look a bit different, we have a new tagline and there are more ‘social web’ icons to be found but the same good content is still there.
Like, for instance, Tips for Reading Old Handwriting
Social Media Strategy
Also, we now have a social media strategy for what we do, how we do it and for setting our goals. *And* it's only 60 seconds long.
View our social media strategy on Flickr
Moments in Time – Can you date this photo?
The latest batch are all Sydney-based:
International Archives Day
Celebrated every year on 9 June we marked the occasion with a collaborative post with our Future Proof bloggers.
Our top 5 – Why Archives Are Awesome
was complemented by the Future Proof post - Our Top 5 – Why recordkeeping in Awesome.
Posts included Should I post this update? - handy info for public servants. More interesting archival-related links can be found on the June Link post
Flickr update
These are some of the latest additions (note that some of the paintings have been identified in the Adelaide Art Gallery by one of our Flickr friends):
Cleansing the streets - Plague |
Batlow Soldier Settlement |
Adelaide Art galley |
Spectators in Cennential Park |
Mobile Buffet Service (Central Station) |
Staff during 1917 Railway strike |
If you don't have a Flickr account you can still browse these photos on Flickr, many of which are also available on Photo Investigator.
Spotlight on Divorce records
Many of you may have read the article in the Sydney Morning Herald on Sunday 1 July featuring Divorce records held as State archives. With the progressive transfer of divorce files from the NSW Supreme Court there has been an influx of enquiries and interest in this series of records. To date we hold over 80 000 divorce case papers and this will continue to increase. The files are a great source of information for the family historian - providing extra details which may not have been discussed or known within the family. Official records can often give a more impartial account than a family story. Researchers have been known to locate marriage certificates, handwritten letters and occasionally photographs in the files.
An example from the records:
The notorious Matilda (Tilly) Divine nee Twiss - known as the ‘Queen of Woolloomooloo’ met James (Jim) Devine in 1916 and they married in 1917.
After years of physical abuse Tilly filed for divorce from Jim in 1942. Their opposite personalities and hedonistic lifestyle took a toll on their relationship. The divorce case papers for Tilly and Jim Devine [NRS13495, item 2743/1942] include a certified copy of the marriage certificate. See part below:
Part of the marriage certificate James (Jim) Edward Joseph Devine & Matilda (Tilly) Twiss 1917 [NRS13495, item 2743/1942]
Some of the divorce files may include photographs and letters.
The divorce case of Jules and Sybil Busch includes a wonderful photograph [NRS 13495, Item 3438/1944].
Please note that not every divorce file contains a photograph.
[NRS 13495, Item 3438/1944]
Searching for a reference
To locate a divorce file conduct a Simple search in Archives Investigator with the surname and the word 'divorce' in the title field. If you locate a relevant divorce reference you have the option to either preorder the record to view in person in the reading room or purchase a photocopy.
For further information relating to divorce records see Archives in Brief 77.
- Search Archives Investigator
Stay up-to-date with State Records
On our website
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Our social media channels
On Facebook we post updates, events and much more.
Google+
Just new. You can now find us on Google+
If you like to tweet or just read tweets follow us on Twitter where we post news items and links of interest to genealogy and archival resources.
YouTube
On YouTube we have added some in-house videos such as “The Criminal Underworld of Sydney in the 1840s” and “Family History at State Records NSW” and other archival films from our collection.
Exhibition
The In Living Memory exhibition of photographs at State Records Gallery in The Rocks came to a close on Thursday 28 June 2012.
A suitcase version of the exhibition will be on display from 6pm, 10 August until 3pm, 14 August 2012 at Cootamundra Arts Centre to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the Cootamundra Girls' Home.
The NSW touring version of the exhibition will be on display from 4-27 September at Fountain Court Gallery, Parliament of NSW.
For any enquiries please ring Rhonda Campbell ph: 9673 1788
About the Exhibition | 18 venue tour of NSW
Upcoming Talks and Tours
Using deaths, probate and coroner's records in your family history
Tips and tactics on using death, probate and coroner's records when conducting your family history research. Gail Davis will present.
1 August 10:30am-12:30pm
Tuggerah Library Westfield Shopping Town, Tuggerah
Contact: Michelle Goldsmith
Phone: (02) 4350 1560
Getting to know State Records' new catalogue search and Searching the NSW State archives on Ancestry
Gail Davis will present:
- Getting to know State Records' new catalogue search - This presentation will look at the new search tool that has been developed to make it easier for you to search State Records' online catalogue
- Searching the NSW State archives on Ancestry - This presentation will look at ways of making the best use of the extensive resources such as arrival, convict, ticket of leave or land grants held in the NSW State archives collection, that are currently available on Ancestry.
3 August 10:30am-12:30pm
Wollongong City Library
Contact: Eileen Smith
Phone: (02) 4227 7693
Society of Australian Genealogists 80th Anniversary Seminar
This event is for Society of Australian Genealogists members only. It is fully booked.
4 August 10:00am-4:00pm
Western Sydney Records Centre, 143 O'Connell Street Kingswood
Contact: Heather Garnsey
Phone: (02) 9247 3953
History Council Event - History and Australia, a foundational past?
Presented by the History Council of NSW. In this lecture, Mark McKenna will explore the direction of his new work. Refreshments included.
8 August 6:00pm-8:00pm
The Mint, 10 Macquarie Street Sydney
Contact: Kate Laing
Phone: (02) 92528715
Cost: $50.00, Concession: $45.00
Refreshments included
Managing local collections workshop
In partnership with the Royal Australian Historical Society, we will be holding a series of free workshops on Managing Local Collections in regional NSW between July and December 2012.
8 August 10:30am-1:30pm
799 Pacific Hwy, Gordon, NSW 2072
Contact email: khs@khs.org.au
Phone: (02) 9499 4568
Changes at State Records
Gail Davis will present this session which will look at what's new at State Records.
21 August 1:30pm-3:30pm
Bankstown Library
Contact: Fred Gentle
Introduction to State Records NSW
Lindsay Allen will speak about making the best use of State Records' online and reading room resources (including guides, finding aids, indexes and digital copies of records) for family and local history research.
22 August 10:30am-12:30pm
Richmond Villa, 120 Kent Street, Sydney
Contact: SAG
Phone: (02) 9247 3953
Managing local collections workshop
In partnership with the Royal Australian Historical Society, we will be holding a series of free workshops on Managing Local Collections in regional NSW between July and December 2012.
25 August 10:30am-1:30pm
Eden Killer Whale museum & Historical Society
184 Imlay Street, Eden NSW 2551
Contact email: promo@killerwhalemuseum.com.au
Phone: (02) 6496 2094
Chasing teacher and pupil records
Emily Hanna will present Chasing teacher and pupil records to the Ryde Family History Group meeting.
8 September 10:00am-11:00am
'Wilandra' 770 Victoria Road, Ryde
Contact: Maureen Copley
Managing local collections workshop
In partnership with the Royal Australian Historical Society, we will be holding a series of free workshops on Managing Local Collections in regional NSW between July and December 2012.
15 September 10:30am-1:30pm
Moree Community Library, Corner of Balo Street and Albert Street, Moree NSW
Contact: Michael McNamara
Phone: 0429 608 244
