Australian newspapers digitised

[Procat]

The National Library of Australia (http://www.nla.gov.au/ndp/) is working on a program to digitise out of copyright newspapers (1800s to mid 1950s). Still a work in progress but looks pretty promising.

[bumblebee]

Great stuff, I have bookmarked the site and will be keeping an eye on it.

Bumblebee

[tiggerbrat]

Great thanks bookmarked

[Summer]

This is very exciting. Did my usual search for "Cowey" and even got results from the Pilot data!!! Found out my Ggrandfather was a councillor and can see a death notice for one of his children, who I don't have a DOB or DOD for (albeit not yet available to view). Would recommend all with Aussie connections to look at this site - all the little stories, community involvement, sports news, etc, all add colour to our dates and official papers.

AND IT's FREE TO ACCESS!! Hallelujah! (apologies for being a tight@rse)

[Procat]

Totally agree.

It's a little ripper. Something I don't mind my taxes going towards.:)

[ash33au]

Thanks for the link Doug. Sure beats the month I spent in Tassie back in 1995 going through microfilm newsreels

[Procat]

Yeah, but in a way finding something on a roll of micro-film is more satisfying.

Spent many a day in the reading rooms of the SLV working through old newspapers.

[ash33au]

I've already found a relative of mine in there who escaped from a prison farm in 1945 and was sentenced to an additional 2 years when they got him.

[Procat]

Well done Ash.

Found a few of mine in there as well. |jumphappy

[oxon57]

Thank you for posting that very useful link - not something I was aware of.

While I haven't had time to dig thoroughly yet, just with a quick trial of a few likely names and dates, I have already found a newspaper report of a marriage of one of my couples - complete with a photograph of the bride, groom etc., which we don't have in the family collection.

[Anne W]

Thank you very very much for posting this link. It has enabled me ( I think) to knock down a very thick brickwall!
My 4x g grandmother was Sarah Burnside. The last anyone could find on her was in the 1828 census when she was lodging with a Thomas Green in Sydney ( her husband died the year before). We could not find any death notice, remarriage etc on her at all.
Using this site I found a report on the inquest of Sarah Burnside in 1830 from the Sydney Gazette. Sarah had dropped dead at the Police Station. The autopsy revealed she had died of "habitual intemperence" and the cause of death was " a visitation of god".
I'm sure this is my Sarah, and even though it is not exactly what you want to read about your ancestor, it's great to finally know what happened to her.
Thank you again.
Anne

[Procat]

Hi Anne,

pleased that you found it useful.

I try to work on the principle of every bit of information is of benefit even if it is not very nice. Meat on the bones and all that.

[Gilrhos]

Thanks for the link, looks interesting only recently joined this site, wondering if Aussie cousins know of it shall make sure they do

[Procat]

Well, if they were members of Brit-Gen (hint hint) they would have known of it.:)

[Jane Gee]

This is my favourite site I have found several articles relating to the murder of my relative October 1854 along with Frederick Strange the botanist cant wait for the Sydney Morning Herald to come on line next year. Copies of this newspaper are at the national archives kew nr London. I went a few weeks ago and am off to look again next week. But I will wait for the paper to be digitised because when my order arrived I couldnt lift it it was huge and very heavy and awkward to read.

[Jade26]

Totally agree.

It's a little ripper. Something I don't mind my taxes going towards.:)


Fantastic! Will be wonderful for people like me who have to travel over 600k's return just to look up an old newspaper or two. And even better they will be digitising my favourite childhood newspaper "The Argus". I used to love reading the section "The Argus Student's Notebook". (not to mention the comics of course).
Trish|jumphappy

[ChristineR]

It certainly is a fantastic project.

Every time I visit, I do a little bit of text correcting around the items that come up for the name I put in. Most of the time I just fix the surnames so they will show up in the search - the optical recognition throws up some funny names!

I love the Argus too. :)

[Summer]

Hello all Brit-Geners and specifically those with Mariners or Aussie soldiers in their lines.....

Please read this thread as you can follow your ancesters maritime career in the Aussie papers, if they ventured to Australia/Asia. I have been looking at the in-outs of Australian waters of my Master Mariner Robert Cowey and the boats he captained and have even found a specific story/inquiry into a shipwrecking (bad driver!! :) ). You can search by your ancestors name but if you have the ship name, you may very well find out a lot more!! I certainly did.

Also, if your ancestors were involved in the wars you can find reports about when they were wounded/died, specific battles etc. Great site to hopefully get more information on certain events/milestones too. I visit it a lot, even for general stickybeaking, not just research!

I'm becoming more and more impressed the more I use this, Procat! :)

[casrup]

I "LOVE" this site. I feel almost like a stalker looking daily for juicy articles.

I've had a lot of success so far especially as this is a fairly new project.

On my husband's side I have found a chap who murdered his son then he killed himself.
Another chap poisoned his daughter as she was pregnant.

On the brighter side I have also found birth and marriage announcements.

This one made me laugh a court trial hearing about a lad who stole a bush bike.
I don't think the media today would think twice on printing that story.

I wonder through how many families would be concerned of family secrets finally coming out of the closet and being viewed through these newspaper articles.

I can't wait for more newspapers to be scanned.

Cheers
casrup

[Summer]

I wonder though how many families would be concerned of family secrets finally coming out of the closet and being viewed through these newspaper articles.


On a completely selfish note, I don't care!! How completely without compassion I am, but it's making genealogy so much more interesting rather than just dates of BMDs! :)

Bring on more newspapers!
Summer.

[Hugh Thompson]

I've started correcting the shipping intelligence text in the Moreton Bay Courier as I search for family members, as I'm looking at it anyway and it doesn't take much to do a few weeks at a time.
Hugh.:)

[GeoffD]

Isn't it great? I've found letters to the editor penned by my great-grandfather DREW, announcements of bridge construction tenders let to my great-great grandfather BRIGHTWELL, funeral notices that have cleared up a problem or two, and a pile of entertaining stuff about the wonderful Moses MOSSOP.

Corrections are easy to make, and don't forget to add tags so that others can find stuff more easily.

[Summer]

As we all make corrections, we're going to find a heap more stuff, I agree!
The OCR is a little "off" (well, it is a scan of very old newspapers so I'll forgive it!) so I'd suggest that people tweek their searches a little. E.g. I've searched and found a marriage notice of my GreatX2 grandparents in the 1880s after entering such things as: part of the surname (sometimes punctuation/letters that shouldn't be there are picked up by the OCR) , the bride's suburb, name of church where they were married and I have also looked around the general time of this and other events. Be inventive/think outside the square and you will find heaps of stuff.

And of course when you do, you'll make those corrections!! :)

[casrup]

While going through a whole month in a slightly obsessive crazed mind searching Australia Newspaper Beta online I just realised the kilo's I've stacked on in just one month.
I can't seem to snap out of it, from dawn to dusk I seem to be in this website craving to find more on my ancestors. (the gritty stories). Housework seems to have taken a backburner and meals are starting to come out of cans. I don't know when this site will be updated next but I hope they give me at least a month to lose this round of kilo's.
Am I the only one with this problem or do I need some serious help. Is there an "AA" for genealogy junkies.

Cheers
Kabana

[ChristineR]

Am I the only one with this problem or do I need some serious help. Is there an "AA" for genealogy junkies.

Yes, but it is called BG :) and we will help you cope with this incurable, insidious, malady that silently creeps up and takes over.

[Jane Gee]

I have managed to break my obsession of this site but have only replaced it with the Home and Colonial School society,railway records and mariners. Will it ever end? absolutely not long may this continue (its better than work,housework and cooking.
I still have an obsession with the post when I have sent for something I dont think I will ever break that one.

[Summer]

its better than work,housework and cooking.

Agree! My poor husband, bless him!

[Jane Gee]

I now have a laptop which I can use in the living room so that I dont leave my husband on his own or if he wants to use the desktop upstairs. He did coment at one stage that I would wear the laptop out as I use it every single day.
However he is subjected to oh my god, got it and other exclamations. He gets read to on a regular basis anything I find whether he wants to hear or not!