~ April 2006 ~  

MEETING DATES 2006

Meeting held 2nd Wednesday of the month at 10am in the Tebbutt Room, Windsor Library

INFORMATION

INFORMATION

'IN SEARCH' IN THE DAILY TELEGRAPH

Anne Wymark has kindly provided the following information about the ‘In Search’ section of the Daily Telegraph, which was mentioned at the last meeting. She has written a brief article which will appear in the next Crier, as well. In the meantime for those with Internet access check out the Daily Telegraph Website www.dailytelegraph.news.com.au & click on ‘contact us’ or send an email to news@dailytelegraph.com.au and put “IN SEARCH” in the subject line. The address for people without Internet access is…The Daily Telegraph, 2 Holt Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010 Ph: (02) 9288 3000 / Fax: (02) 9288 2300

LIBRARIES AUSTRALIA

The national database (Australian National Bibliographic Database) provided by the National Library of Australia, to check where items are held by other libraries, used for many years by librarians, is now available to the public. Check it out at http://librariesaustralia.nla.gov.au. The national database lists over 40 million books, maps, pictures, microfilm, newspapers and more, in over 800 Australian libraries. Where the libraries know about a free online version of an item, you'll be able to click through from the catalogue record to the item. In other cases there's a list of libraries which hold the item, and you can click on the library name to find out more about that library and the terms upon which you can access the item. There are also links to online bookshops, and to loan and copy services. Visit www.nla.gov.au/librariesaustralia/ for more information about Libraries Australia.

This complements the National Library's PictureAustralia www.pictureaustralia.org Researchers might be interested the Flickr site, A new initiative between Yahoo! & PictureAustralia. where anyone can add images. Go to www.pictureaustralia.org/Flickr.html to learn more about how you can upload images of people, places and events which may be selected for PictureAustralia. Over 2000 images have been loaded by members of the public in a short period. Make use if these sites as they will assist you with adding to your family history research.

CENSUS

The following is supplied by Don Weston. "The next Australian census will be conducted on the night of Tuesday 8 August 2006 and will cost in the order of 300 million dollars. It will contain 61 questions, of which all will be compulsory except the ones on religion and census retention. The retention question (Q60) reads:

"Does each person in this household agree to his/her name and address and other information on this form being kept by the National Archives of Australia and then made publicly available after 99 years?"

If this question is ignored, it will be treated as a NO.

The Census Information Legislation Amendement Bill (2005) was introduced into the House of Representatives of the Australian Parliament on 3 November 2005 and passed later that month unopposed. It was passed by the Australian Senate on 27 February 2006 and awaits Royal assent to become law. The Bill amends the Census and Statistics Act (1905) and the Archives Act (1983) relating to the retention of identified census information by the National Archives of Australia. The Bill ensures that name identified information collected in all future Australian censuses will be preserved for future genealogical and other research. Retention only applies to information supplied by those households that provide explicit consent on the census form. Some 51 percent of Australian's answered "YES" to the retention of their forms in the 2001 census survey. This was in effect a national referendum of the Australian people and a majority voted that our history matters. We can do even better this year. As with the 2001 survey, during the 99 year period, the name identified information will not be released by the National Archives under any circumstances. The Australasian Federation of Family History Organizations (AFFHO) is working closely with the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the National Archives of Australia to assist in the national public education campaign prior to census night.

Please encourage as many Australians as possible to answer YES in the census question concerning the retention of this vital record of the Australian culture. Unless you answer YES your census form will not be retained in the archives. More details will soon be published on the AFFHO webpage of the campaign and how you can help, and also passed onto the group.

DID YOUR ANCESTOR WORK ON A GOVERNMENT FARM?

An enquiry from Patricia McCooey. I am researching the government farms in NSW from 1788 to 1830 at the Australian National University in Canberra. The farms included Farm Cove, Rose Hill (Parramatta), Toongabbie, Castle Hill, the Hawkesbury (briefly), Grose Farm (Sydney), Longbottom (Concord), Rooty Hill, Bathurst, Emu Plains, Mulgoa Forest, Cawdor and the Cowpastures (Camden) and Wellington Valley, as well as the smaller outstations for grazing the government cattle. Any information about any of these establishments and the people who worked on them would be welcomed. Contributions acknowledged. Contact : Patricia McCooey, 11 Sorrell Place, Queanbeyan NSW 2620 Ph 0419 467 201 Email Patricia.McCooey@anu.edu.au

NEW BOOK FPR SALE

Member John Miller has released a new publication. The book is about Sister Julia Bligh Johnston & her long-standing nursing career. The book is available for sale for $12 from the author and also at the Museum. Mail orders also accepted, cost is $14 includes postage & handling. Send cheque/money order to : John Miller, c/- 37 George Street Windsor 2756 NSW

REUNIONS

MELVILLE REUNION

The 2006 reunion will be held for the descendants of James and Mary Melville on the Sunday 7th May 2006 - 12 Noon, at McQuade Park, Windsor, NSW (Moses Street side, opposite St. Matthew's, Windsor) Bring your own food. James and Mary (nee Gavin) Melville arrived in Sydney in October 1838, on the "Mandarin", from Ireland. James and Mary married in Belfast on 5th June, 1838. For any information, on the reunion, or for any other information please contact David Beddie on the following email address: dbeddie@ozemail.com.au They had the following children:

1. Robert married Kerzia Elizabeth Worboys - 7 children.
2. James married Anne Maria Holland - 9 children
3. Eliza married a) Frederick Charles Turner - 6 children b) William Allen
4. Mary married George Charles Johnson - 6 children
5. Jane married Samuel Davidson - 7 children
6. Margaret Spiers married Benjamin Wilberforce West - 11 children
7. John married Susan Hodges - 4 children
8. William married Jane Elliott - 8 children
9. Janet married William Charles Gambrill - 6 children
10. Mary Anne married Benjamin Ezzy Sullivan - 4 children

SURFING THE INTERNET……. SITES FOR FAMILY HISTORIANS

Members with internet access should check out the following interesting sites. The Library has free access to the internet, contact 4560 4460 for bookings at Windsor & 4578 2002 for Richmond bookings.

Zetta Florence (Conservation products) or phone 1300555124 ~ http://www.zettaflorence.com/html/archival_home.html

Cheshire Record Office (UK) ~ www.cheshire.gov.uk/Recordoffice/

Dictionary Of Australian Biography (online) ~ http://gutenberg.net.au/dictbiog/00-dict-biogIndex.html