Preserving Documents

Have you accumulated a number of old documents and photographs over the years?  The National Archives of Australia have plenty of advice on preserving and storing them, as well as advice on saving items damaged by fire or flood.  http://www.naa.gov.au/services/family-historians/looking-after/index.aspx
Preservation Australia is a company specializing in resources for preserving documents and photographs, from wallets and folder to tools and equipment to albums and binders.  http://www.preservationaustralia.com.au/

Irish Ancestry

A series of free eBooks has been made available in PDF format by Ancestry Ireland. The books are as follows, with direct URLs to their locations listed below each:
My Roots: tracing your Belfast ancestors (2007)
www.ancestryireland.com/fileadmin/uhf_pdfs/My_Roots_LR.pdf
The 6th Connaught Rangers: Belfast Nationalists and the Great War (2008)
www.ancestryireland.com/fileadmin/uhf_pdfs/ConnaughtRangers.pdf
In search of Sperrins Ancestors (2004)
www.ancestryireland.com/fileadmin/uhf_pdfs/SperrinsBooklet08.pdf
Belfast & Nashville (2010)
www.ancestryireland.com/fileadmin/uhf_pdfs/belfast-nashville.pdf

New Australian content on Ancestry.com

New South Wales, Australia, Registers of Coroners' Inquests, 1796-1942.
This database contains registers of coroners’ inquests for New South Wales, Australia, for the years 1796–1942. Coroners were responsible for inquiring into any unnatural or sudden deaths in their jurisdiction. They also investigated deaths when a body was unidentified, a cause of death was uncertain, or the deceased was in the care of the state. Coroners could investigate fires that caused destruction of property, as well. Magistrates could take depositions about circumstances of death in more remote areas where no coroner was available.

London Lives

A site worth visiting is London Lives 1690 to 1800 - crime, poverty and social policy in the metropolis.  This is a searchable edition of 240,000 manuscripts from 8 archives, searchable by name and date.  It also gives a thorough historical background on what life was life for eighteenth century Londoners - crime, poverty and illness ; apprenticeship, work, politics and money ; how people voted, lived and died.  Registration to the site allows access to advanced search facilities and personal workspace.  Go to www.londonlives.org/

Family History Seminar

Kyabram Regional Genealogical Society will be holding a Family History Seminar on Saturday 6th November at the Tongala Community Centre from 9.30am - 4.00pm.  Beryl O'Gorman and Jenny Carter from the Genealogical Society of Victoria will each present two sessions on various topics including Irish research.  The seminar will end with a Q&A session for help with your 'brick walls'.  Cost will be $30 with lunch, morning and afternoon tea provided.  For bookings contact Susan Hill on 0428 683 321.

The Kyabram Regional Genealogical Society is a new and growing group.  Enquiries and new members are welcome.

Workhouses

Did any of your ancestors find themselves in a workhouse?  Want to know more about the conditions and how workhouses operated?  Here are a few sites for information about and records of workhouses.
Workhouses & Institutions - www.institutions.org.uk/
Workhouse records - www.workhouses.org.uk/index.html?records/records.shtml
Union Workhouse - www.judandk.force9.co.uk/workhouse.html
C19th American Poorhouses - www.poorhousehistory.com/

Trove

Trove is an online search engine developed by the National Library of Australia found at http://trove.nla.gov.au/ . At the click of a button, you can access a large and unrivalled repository of Australian material.  Content is from the National Library of Australia, the State and Territory libraries and over 1000 other libraries around Australia.  Trove also features content from other Australian collections including cultural, business and educational organisations, and major international digital collections.  Trove includes book, journals and magazine articles ; pictures and photographs ; Australian newspapers ; diaries, letters and archives ; maps ; music, sound and video ; archived websites ; and people and organisations.