Newspapers are a wonderful research tool as they can provide background information on our ancestors that may not be found in official documents. As well as the expected notices of births, engagements, marriages, deaths, burials and obituaries we may also find reference to their sporting activities or involvement in community events. References to insolvencies, bankruptcies, other misdemeanours or more serious crimes can lead to court and criminal records at the archives. This course focuses on using both historical and current newspapers to flesh out our knowledge of our ancestors and the communities in which they lived.
A useful companion to newspapers are biographical resources and these can be for an individual or a defined group and based on a local, state or national level. Often referred to as biographical dictionaries or pioneer registers these resources can provide a quick background on an individual which can then be followed up in newspapers and official records.
By using these two types of resources, you will be able to add substantially to your knowledge of your ancestors. As more and more of these resources are digitised and placed online making them easier to access and to search, there is a constant need to go back and revisit your research to find any new material on your ancestors.
By undertaking this course on Australian newspapers and biographies you will find lots of additional material on your families as we make our way through the modules. In the course of writing this module and undertaking the assignments, I even added to my own family knowledge which was a bonus for me.
Course Content
Module 1
History of Australian Newspapers and Specialist Newspapers
Note about Web Addresses
Websites
• Online guide to Newspapers
• Library online guide to newspapers
• Resourses
Historical and Current Newspapers
Brief History of Australian Newspapers
National/State/Territory Resources
• Union List of Australian Newspapers
• Trove
• Local Council Libraries
Specialist Newspapers
• Indigenous Newspapers
• Ethnic Newspapers
• Ship Newspapers
• Women’s Newspapers
• Religious Newspapers
Government Gazettes
• Queensland
• New South Wales
• Victoria
• Tasmania
• South Australia
• Western Australia
• Northern Territory
• Australian Capital Territory
• National (Australian Government)
• Subscription Databases
Summary
Module 2
Case Studies, Searching and Indexes
Websites
Why Use Newspapers?
• Case Study - John Finn
• Case Study - John Trevaskis
Searching Techniques
• Given Names and Surname Variations
• Optical Character Recognition
• Soundex
• Boolean
• Wildcards
• Truncation
• Exact, Phrase, Date and Field Searches
• Proximity Searching
Online, Published and Unpublished Indexes
• Indexing Tips
• AFFHO Index of Indexes
• Judy Webster’s Specialist Indexes in Australia
• Genealogy and Family History Society Newspaper Indexes
• National Library of Australia
• State Library Indexes
• Current Newspaper Indexes
• Fairfax Media News Store
• Australian Daily Funeral and Death Notices
• The Circle of Life
• Ryerson Index
Genealogy Subscription Databases & FamilySearch
• Ancestry.com.au
• FindMyPast.com.au
• FamilySearch
Summary
Module 3
Historical Australian Newspapers Online
Websites
Online But Not All Online Yet
What is Trove?
The Australian Newspaper Plan
• Digitised Newspapers and More
• Searching Tips
• Citation
Why Can I Not Find What I Am Looking For in Trove?
Trove Features
• Text Correction
• Tags
• Lists
• Comments
• Forum
1914-1918 Project
• The Australian Women’s
Modulely
• Australian Periodical Publications
Not All Online Yet
Summary
Module 4
E-Resources and Australian Connections in Online Overseas Historical Newspapers
Websites
Introduction to eResources
• Obtaining eResources Cards
National Library of Australia eResources
• Australian Newspaper eResources
Overseas Newspaper eResources
State and Territory Libraries eResources
• New Zealand Newspapers
Papers Past
• Searching Papers Past
• Searching
• Browsing
Interpreting a Newspaper Article
Portal Websites for Australian and Overseas Newspapers
• CoraWeb
• Cyndi’s List
• GENUKI
Summary
Module 5
Current Newspapers & Newspaper Archives
Websites
Locating Current Newspapers
Country Press Australia Inc.
• Queensland
• New South Wales
• Victoria
• Tasmania
• South Australia
• Western Australia
• Northern Territory
• Australian Capital Territory
Country Press Association of Queensland
Country Press Association Inc. of New South Wales
Victorian Country Press Association
Country Press Association Inc. of South Australia
Observations on Country Press Australia and Affiliated Associations
Metropolitan Newspapers
• News Corp Australia
• Fairfax Media
• Fairfax Digital Regional Network
• APN News and Media
OnlineNewspapers.com
• Australia
Newspaper Archives
• Wikipedia List of Online Newspaper Archives
• Fairfax Archives
Google News
Archived Online Newspapers
Summary
Module 6
Biographies and Bibliographies
Websites
Introduction to Biographies and Bibliographies
• National
• State/Territory Based
• Queensland
• New South Wales
• Victoria
• Tasmania
• South Australia
• Western Australia
• Northern Territory
• Australian Capital Territory
• Locality Based
• Local and Family Histories
• Published
• Unpublished
Locating Local and Family Histories
• Bibliographies
• Trove
• WorldCat
• Google
• Genealogy and family history societies
• National
• State/Territory Based
Local historical societies
• National
• State/Territory Based
• State Based
• New South Wales
• Queensland
• Locality Based
National Library of Australia eResources for Biography
Subscription Databases
• Ancestry.com.au
• FindMyPast.com.au
Summary
Suggested Reading and Resources
• Articles
• Books
• Videos
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