If you are a resident of New South Wales you are entitled to a library card, and if you have a library card you can now borrow eBooks from the library online.

Go to http://www2.sl.nsw.gov.au/databases/athome.cfm and find Ebook Library (EBL). Once you are signed in you can access EBL and choose from over 2500 books. I found Noeline Kyle’s Writing Family History Made Very easy (2007) and I can download it to read at my leisure:

As you can see I can borrow it for a maximum of 14 days. I wonder if it is unavailable to others until I return it?

You need Adobe Digital Editions to read the book that you have downloaded, and so far I have not the patience to do this, so if you have a go for yourself please let us know how you go!

Postscript

I have downloaded and installed Adobe Digital Editions, which is eBook reader software. When you sign in you can open books. I had to double-click on the book I downloaded from the State Library NSW website, and it opened in the reader.

I have an Asus eeePad Slider, and I can’t use Adobe Digital Reader on it. Yet.

I remember the old Reader’s Digest Atlas of Australia that my mother had when I was young. Half of it had detailed maps of the country, but the first half showed New South Wales with different overlays to show the distribution of different things – people, minerals, spoken languages, and so on.

Now there is a similar atlas online, and it’s absolutely marvellous!

NSW Land and Property Information, or the NSW Lands Department as we know them, have set of maps online for historians and other researchers to play with. It’s called the Atlas of New South Wales.

There is quite a bit of contextual information on the site. The most important part, though, and the most fun, is the Atlas Explorer. This  allows you to view, in map or satellite image form, the State of New South Wales or Australia as a whole. For example, you can look at the Changing State Borders map and move the slider along the timeline to see when the different colonies were established and the borders of New South Wales changed as a result.

You can zoom in and out, choose different types of information within each map, and for some maps you can slide along a timeline to see how things have changed over time. Here is a list of the broad categories of maps available:

• People
• Populations
• Health
• Housing
• Religion
• Indigenous Population
• Social Inclusion
• Crime
• Economy
• Labour Force
• Labour Underutilisation
• Economic Sectors
• taxation and Revenue
• Agriculture
• Forestry
• Fruit and Vegetables
• Oils and Grains
• Livestock
• History
• Heritage Properties
• European Settlement
• Changing State Borders
• Goldrush
• Elections
• Environment
• Geology
• Soils
• Vegetation
• National Parks
• Census 2006
• Populations Distribution
• Indigenous Population
• Housing Costs
• Income
• Dwellings
• Religion
• Languages

In the examples below I have looked at the maps for European settlement and moved along the timeline from 1820 to 1830. This maps shows how far Europeans settlement had spread in 1820:

This map shows the spread in 1830:

You can see how far Europeans had spread in ten short years. It had already overrun the Nineteen Counties and the Limits of Location. Port Macquarie had been established, and the spaces in between were being filled in. Compare this map with the Map of the Nineteen Counties on the State Records NSW website.

There is much, much more in the Atlas than I can describe here. Have a look around and let us know what you find.

Other resources:

Archives in Brief No. 22 Occupation of Crown Land Prior to 1856

Map of the Nineteen Counties

Back in the day, when the government wanted to count the population they didn’t stand for any nonsense. You had to be what you said you were, and your answers would be checked. If you couldn’t prove that you were free or entitled to work for yourself you would be hauled back to government work.

Here is a transcript of a piece I found in the Sydney Gazette of Saturday 16 November 1816 on page 1 which searching Trove for news of a particular convict. You can find the original here, but I have included the full transcript, for which I’d like to thank those wonderful people who correct the text on Trove, particularly cjbrill, who corrected this one. I have changed nothing except the spacing.

WHEREAS, during the late General Muster of the Inhabitants of this Colony, several Persons who had originally come into it as Convicts reported themselves at the said Muster as free, either by Servitude or by Pardon, or as being allowed to  employ themselves for their own Benefit by the special Permission of His EXCELLENCY the GOVERNOR; and whereas several of the Persons  who thus reported themselves did not produce any Certificate, Free Pardon, Emancipation, or Ticket of Leave, without which the Truth of their said Statements could not be satisfactorily ascertained; and there being much  Reason to believe that Imposition is frequently practised in this Respect, the Names of those Persons who at the late Muster did not produce any Certificate, Free Pardon, Emancipation, or Ticket of Leave, but who represented themselves absolutely free, or conditionally so, by Virtue of one or other of the above named Documents, is now published, in Order that each of these Persons may be apprised that unless he or she do, in the Course of Six Months from the present Day, obtain at the Secretary’s Office, either a certified Copy of such Certificate, Free Pardon, Emancipation, or Ticket of Leave, as they represented  themselves to have been once possessed of in the Event of his or her having actually lost the Original, they will be considered as Impostors, and immediately recalled to Government Work as Convicts still under the Sentence of the Law.

No. Name. Ship came in. Residence. Occupation.

1. Richard Hawke Alexander Sydney -

2.  Anthony Rope ditto Castle. Landh.

3.  John Cross ditto Port H. ditto

4. Mary Clark diito 2d. Sydney -

5.  John Glade  Atlantic ditto -

6. James Hague  ditto Windsor Landh.

7. Richard Ridge ditto Hawksb. -

8. Christ. Dodding ditto ditto -

9. Richard Verrier Active Sydney -

10. Timothy Doyle Nepean Smith

11. James Higgins ditto Hawksb. -

12. John M’Ewen ditto Liverp. -

13. John Taylor Albemarle Windsor -

14. Jas. Sutherland ditto Hawksb. -

15. John Brown ditto Hawksb. -

16. Owen Hobson Ann ditto -

17. John Campbell ditto 1st. Liverp. -

18. Wm. Aldridge A. Barringt. Richm. Landh.

19. Benjamin Elton ditto Wilberf. -

20. Wm. Reynolds.  ditto Hawksb. -

21. Joseph Hunt Barwell Sydney -

22. Thomas North ditto Richmd. -

23. John Caton Boddington  Hawksb. -

24. James Kenny ditto Liverp. -

25. Mary A. Parker Canada Sydney -

26. Thos. Douglass ditto 1st. Hawksb. -

27. James Kibby ditto 1st.  Liverp. -

28. John Dugan Coromand. Nepean Landh.

29. Wm. Stevens ditto Pitt Town -

30. Timothy Webb ditto Windsor -

31. William Webb ditto Hawksb. -

32. Jonas Mordecai ditto ditto  -

33. Joseph Smith ditto ditto -

34. Rich. Holland D. of Portl. ditto Landh.

35. John Williams ditto Wilberf. laborer

36. John McKenzie ditto Hawksb. -

37. Thos. Getham ditto ditto -

38. Thomas Knight E. Cornwal. Richm. laborer

39. Thomas Rudd ditto Liverp. -

40. Patrick Mason Friendship Hawksb. Landh.

41. James Timmens ditto Richm. ditto

42. Roger Twyfield ditto Hawksb. -

43. Hugh M’Avoy Glatton Sydney -

44. Joseph Oners ditto Windsor Landh.

45. Mark Doolan Gambier 1st. Sydney

46. Peter Patallo Ganges ditto -

47. Samuel Stevens ditto Richmd. -

48. John Fitsgerald Hillsboro’ Sydney -

49. Robert Ritchie Hercules Castler. Landh.

50. Stephen Dunn ditto Pitt Town -

51. Martha Eaton Lad. Penryn Sydney -

52. Thos. Woolton Minorca ditto -

53. John Hewitt Minerva Windsor laborer

54. John Everett ditto Hawksb. -

55. Joseph Burrows ditto ditto -

56. Nicholas Crosbie M. Cornwa. Windsor Landh.

5 7. Robert Allen ditto Richm.  -

58. John Riley ditto Hawksb. -

59. Michael Balf ditto ditto -

60. Wm. Horsford Matilda ditto -

61. John Booth ditto Port H. -

62.  Henry Hyam ditto Hawksb. -

63.   Steph. Richardson ditto Richm. Landh.

64. Daniel Phillips ditto Hawksb. -

65. Adam Bell ditto ditto -

66. Isaac Farmer Neptune Wilberf. -

67. Thos. Eager or Heather ditto Hawksb. -

68. Wm. Mackey ditto Richmd. -

69. Dan. Anshutz ditto Hawksb. -

70. James O’Neille Pitt Sydney -

71. Rd. Hammett ditto ditto -

72. James Higgins ditto ditto -

73. Alex. Cumberbech ditto ditto -

74. Joseph Pearce ditto Richm. Landh.

75. John May ditto ditto ditto

76. Thomas Brown ditto Hawksb. -

77. Matthew Elkins Perseus Windsor shoemaker

78. Joseph Butler ditto Wilberf. -

79.  J. Mainwright ditto Hawksb. -

80. Wm. M’Donald Queen Pitt Town Landh.

81.  F. M’Lawrence Queen Richmd. sawyer

82. Catherine Evans Royal adm. Sydney -

83.  Thos. Pateman ditto 1st ditto -

84. William Green ditto Brokenb. Limeb.

85. Donald Kennedy ditto Castler. Landh.

86. Richard Willis ditto Pitt Town ditto

87.  William Ezzey ditto Windsor ditto

88. Henry Rochester ditto Richmd. -

89. John Norman ditto Windsor -

90. Henry Tredaway ditto Hawksb. -

91.  James Dunn  Royal Adm. ditto -

92. Thomas Tailby ditto Liverp. -

93. John Summers ditto 2d. Windsor ferrym.

94. Patrick Byrne Rolla Wilberf. -

95. Cornelius Lyons ditto sydney -

96.  James Bradley Scarboro’ Sydney -

97.  Robt. Forrester ditto Windsor Landh.

98. Richard Hagley ditto Hawksb. -

99. William Smith ditto ditto -

100. Thomas Glaves ditto ditto -

101.  Wm. Hubbard ditto ditto -

102.  Jas. Ruse ditto ditto -

103. Jas. Spooner Salamander Sydney -

104. Jos. Welstead ditto Hawksb. -

105. William Pimblett surprise Sydney -

106.  William Knight ditto Port H. Landh.

107. Simon Freebody ditto Windsor ditto

108. Edw. Woodham ditto Richm. -

109.  John Sullivan Sugar cane ditto Hawksb. -

110.    James Knowland ditto Hawksb. -

111. Charles Barwick Wm & Ann Sydney -

112. L. Wetherhead ditto Hawksb. Landh.

113.  Thomas Noble – Liverpool -

114.  John Hopkins – ditto -

115.  Roger Fletcher – ditto -

116.  John Masterson – ditto -

And the foregoing Persons are hereby Apprised,that the proper Time to apply at the Secretary’s Office for the obtaining of the above Documents, is the first Monday in each Month.

By Command of His Excellency, J. T. CAMPBELL, Secretary.

 

State Records NSW has microfilmed many of their most popular records, including those concerning immigration, convicts, Colonial Secretary’s correspondence, land, and much, much more. The whole of one wall at the Kingswood Reading Room is covered with shelving for microfilms. Many more records are available on microfiche and aperture cards.

Whereas this saves wear-and-tear on the records themselves, the catch has always been the cost of obtaining copies. Microfilm scanning machines allow you to find the record you want and then pay to have a photocopy. Copies are $1 for an A4 and $2 for an A3, which can run into quite a bit of money.

They are now experimenting with machines that you can download the scanned image to your flash drive instead of printing. I say experimenting because there are few machines available; perhaps that will change. The last time I was out at Kingswood early last week the existing machine in the corner used for taking digital photos of the screen now had a computer connected and had instructions for scanning and downloading images to your flash drive. The instructions were easy to follow and I got some great images.

There was a brand new ScanPro scanner on the desk behind that was still wrapped up. ScanPros are available at the State Library of NSW and are much easier to use, although there is a bit of a learning curve to them. Seeing the announcement from State Records NSW about ‘digital copiers in the reading rooms’ this morning leads me to think that the ScanPro is now ready for action. See http://www.records.nsw.gov.au/news/digital-copiers-in-the-reading-rooms.

If you’ve tried them out let me know what you think!

The NSW Lands Department, or Land and Property Management Authority as they prefer to be known, have reformatted and republished their collection of User Guides. Here is a complete list, blatantly lifted from their website:

First Stop Guide to the Records of the Registrar General (PDF 1.2MB)
Published 20 Apr 2011

The First Stop Guide is the first of five publications that detail the history of and information about searching and accessing land titling records in NSW. This guide aims to be your “First Stop” in helping you decide which publication(s) suits your particular searching needs.

A Brief History of the Records of the Registrar General (PDF 3.1MB)
Published 20 Apr 2011

This publication offers a brief history of the Office of the Registrar General since its inception in 1843 and the records it holds which date back to 1792. It also describes how land was initially acquired and consequently managed.

Old System Information and Search Guide (PDF 9.8MB)
Published 20 Apr 2011

This guide explains the intricacies of Old System land title and offers advice and tips on how to search the indexes and documents that have been registered with the Registrar General since New South Wales (NSW) was founded.

Searching the Registrar General’s Maps and Plans (PDF 4.7MB)
Published 20 Apr 2011

This guide has been prepared to provide a reference guide to Land and Property Information (LPI) mapping and plan resources and as a research tool for historical inquiry.

Torrens Title Information and Search Guide (PDF 5.0MB)
Published 20 Apr 2011

This guide describes how Torrens title information has been recorded historically and offers practical information on how to locate current and historical Torrens title information.

I haven’t examined them in detail as yet, but on first inspection they appear to be much more manageable and more concise than the old ones. The Old System Information and Search Guide is 45 pages and is much clearer and more friendly than the old 148-page User Guide to Old System Searching published in December 2009.

Here is an example. This is the first page of Chapter 1 of the old (2009) and new (2011) versions:

2009

2011

No comparison really. The descriptive text appears to be the same, at least in the first few pages, but the explanations are much clearer.

I recommend you go and find these guides if you have any interest in land and property in New South Wales. Researchers from other States are also likely to find the explanations useful, as the types of land records are similar in all States.

With grateful thanks to the NSW Land and Property Management Authority