Records of Early NSW at FHACT


6th September 2021
By Cheryl Bollard
During NSW History week, explore some of the records of Early NSW available through FHACT

The theme for NSW History Week 2021 is 'From The Ground Up" and FHACT has many  resources to help with your research.

Our library has a large collection of material on NSW. The catalogue lists over 2600 items relating to NSW and 135 on pioneers. These resources include microform, CDs, books and journals and the topics range from convicts, through early settlers, government records and studies of specific areas or families.

While the Library isn't available during lockdown, members can still take part in our Special Interest Group meetings via Zoom. The Australia SIG should be the first stop for anyone researching their early Australian ancestors and exploring their way of life. Their next meeting is on Sunday September 26.   The Convict SIG is another great resource for information on our early forebears, as many convicts went on to become pioneers in their local area.  If you are looking for help with a particular research problem, then Pauline's Parlour can help with research tips and hints. Our other Special Interest Groups are worth checking out as well as they sometimes offer sessions that may interest NSW researchers.

If you would like to expand your knowledge of our local pioneers, the Augmented Reality videos created by Barb Toohey and her team for Canberra Tracks should be the first place to visit. They have also crafted some new exciting webpages and a Quiz  which will be available mid- late September.  The stories of these ten local people will astound you with their courage, foresight and resilience.

Records of many of the earliest pioneers of the Canberra/Limestone Plain regions can be found in the Father Brian Maher Collection. Twenty-seven of the family files from the collection were digitized and indexed this year as part of our ACT Heritage Grant. The finding aids for those families and a list of indexed names can be found on our Father Brian Maher Collection webpage https://www.familyhistoryact.org.au/fbmcollection  Once the Library re-opens, the database will be available to search in the Library.

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