National Family History Week 30 July – 8 August 2010

The first week in August (or to be more precise 30 July - 8 August 2010) is National Family History Week across Australia.

To find out more about events planned across Australia see the National Family History Week web site:

http://www.familyhistoryweek.org.au/

You can also read more about National Family History Week on the State Library of Victoria's Family Matters Blog.

Happy researching!

Australian Genealogy Blogs

Thanks Geneabloggers for including this blog among their newly listed blogs on 17 July.

There are now 27 Australian Genealogy Blogs listed on Geneabloggers.

Unlock the Past has another list of Australian Genealogy & History Blogs, as well as a list of Australian Genealogy & History pages on Facebook.

Unlock the Past Expo Adelaide

Family Historians from South Australia may be interested in the upcoming Unlock the Past Expo at the West Adelaide Function Centre, 30 and 31 July 2010.  See the Unlock the Past Expo web site for further information.

Nnub - State Library of Queensland's digital noticeboard for family historians

I have just been having a look at the new State Library of Queensland family history digital noticeboard. According to the web site (http://slq.nnub.net/):

"The SLQ family history Nnub is a trial project providing a digital community noticeboard for family historians in Queensland. Anyone can post. You can use it from the Web or from the Nnub touchscreen in the Micrographics area on Level 3 of the State Library."

NLA Trove now has a user forum and user profiles

The National Library of Australia's search portal Trove now has a user forum and user profiles with social networking capabilities (including friends and groups).

New Australian Records Released on Ancestry.com.au

Thanks to the Anglo-Celtic Connections blog for directing me to the fact that Ancestry has just introduced some new databases of Australian records, including:

• New South Wales, Australia, Cowra Military Camps Personnel Photo Index, 1905-1970
• Australia Birth Index, 1788-1922
• Australia Death Index, 1787-1985
• Australia Marriage Index, 1788-1949

What exactly is included in these indexes? Ancestry says:

'These indexes were created by Australian registrar's offices after civil registration of births, marriages, and deaths became law in the mid 19th century.'

So, they appear to be civil registration indexes from each state and territory. However, not every state is covered for the years mentioned. 

Also, keep in mind that you may be able to access this same information for free elsewhere on the web (see http://www.coraweb.com.au/bdmindex.htm), or on CD or microfiche at many libraries. However, the ability to search across the indexes of civil registration for all states and territories at the same time will be extremely useful!