Traces

Hello and welcome to edition 17 of Traces! As restrictions have eased here in Melbourne, I’ve been spending a bit of time at my local historical house museum, and thinking about how great it is to be back in heritage spaces. I’ve also been thinking a

Officially opened on 14 November 1913 by Governor-General Lord Denman, the State Library of Victoria’s Domed Reading Room was designed by Norman G. Peebles, who drew inspiration from the British Museum in London and the Library of Congress in Washing

Annie Lock is a name synonymous with the work of Aboriginal missions. Hers was a unique service, but she was a unique woman who pressed forward and accomplished the most difficult undertakings, took astounding journeys into little-known territories,

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Tongerlongeter and Montpelliatta were well aware of the fear they inspired in their enemies. Under their leadership, Oyster Bay and Big River war parties relentlessly terrorised the intruders. Chiefs, who wore distinguishing war paint, appeared doubl

Before World War II confined eugenics to the scientific shame corner, many believed convicts were born bad: moral refuse disgorged from the prisons and workhouses of the Mother Country, flawed British stock, and a stain to be forever removed to a far

One of these monuments stands in Rookwood Cemetery and is the grave of those who lost their lives on St Patrick’s Day, 17 March 1900, in a new colliery being sunk by Sydney Harbour Collieries Company. The company itself was listed on the London Stock

The late Queen’s demise meant that the Duke’s father became King Edward VII. One imperial commitment that he immediately honoured was to despatch his second son, George, to far-off Melbourne. The Duke and his Duchess, Mary, embarked on a seven-week v

When gold was discovered in Walhalla in 1862, people began to flock to the area, and more than 72 kilometres of mines were carved into the mountains. A permanent settlement quickly started to emerge, with a school, four churches, 15 hotels, dozens of

The James family came to Molong, New South Wales, from London in about 1860; no exact date of their arrival in Molong is known. Around this time, Molong was like most towns west of the Blue Mountains – developing at a steady pace. The first dedicated

Despite being unoccupied for more than 30 years, Days Mill has remained largely intact, with its original machinery still on site. It provides an outstanding historical record of 19th-century milling methods. From the aptly named Day Road, visitors p

On 25 March, 1945, eight men from the shadowy Australian military organisation codenamed Services Reconnaissance Department (SRD) – popularly known as Z Special Unit – prepare to parachute into the remote, jungled interior of the Japanese-occupied is

In 1867, Henrietta Augusta Dugdale, dairywoman of Queenscliff, Victoria, entered the freethinking world of Melbourne bohemia and set out to change the law that cast women as property, with no legal rights of their own. Lynne Leonhardt used facts and

Writing engaging family history requires more than just research skills; authors need to craft engaging narratives and move their family history projects from the research phase into the all-important storytelling phase. There are many techniques in

• Marriage Index, 1840–1901: 271,768 records• New Zealand Death Index, 1840–2021: 2,430,610 records• New Zealand Birth Index, 1840–1901: 2,037,711 records. • 1841 Scotland Census: 2,625,739 records• 1901 Scotland Census: 4,437,453 records• 1871 Scotl