Genealogy
with David W Weatherill

More about National Archives of Australia (NAA)

In previous articles I have written about some of the services of the National Archives of Australia (NAA) but this time I thought I would deal with the NAA in general and their internet search engine, RecordSearch.
The National Archives of Australia is responsible for the records of the Commonwealth of Australia. As the Commonwealth was created at Federation in 1901, the NAA primarily holds records relating to the 20th Century. It should also be noted that public access to Commonwealth records can only be provided thirty (30) years after the creation of the records. So records created in 1973/4 are the most recent records available via the NAA. Where the Commonwealth took over services like the postal services, naturalisation, etc, they did request the States to forward their 19th Century records to the NAA, so you can find earlier records for the 1800s at the NAA.
The main publication for family history research is Finding Families: The Guide to the National Archives of Australia for Genealogists. The publication produced in 1998 (and hopefully being updated in the near future) provides more detail on the various records available for family history/genealogical research. I would recommend that the book is read. You can read the book (or purchase your own copy) from the NAA at the Melbourne Archives Reading Room in Shiel Street, North Melbourne, or perhaps your local library or family history group.
Another set of worthwhile (free) reference materials are the research guides – Fact Sheets, published by the NAA. Two excellent initial Fact Sheets for family historians are:
• Fact Sheet: 201 – Tracing Ancestors in the National Archives, and
• Fact Sheet: 202 - Tracing Ancestors beyond the National Archives.
There are over 200 Fact Sheets available, either as hard copy from the NAA or down loaded from the NAA internet site at http://www.naa.gov.au/
The following is a brief list of records that should be of value to researchers from the NAA:
•Passenger Lists: The Commonwealth took over responsibility for passenger arrivals and departures in 1923, so the holdings generally date from 1924.
• Citizenship and Naturalisation.
• Migrant Selection documents (assisted schemes).
• Aliens Registration
• Immigration Records: These include-
- Assisted Immigrants and Refugees
- Child Migration Records
- Migrant Accommodation Records
- Immigration Case Files.
• Defence records, including:
- Boer War service files
- World War 1 and 2 Services files
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People.
• Lighthouses
• Postal Service.
It must also be noted that the NAA not only holds record files, they also have holdings of photos, posters, maps, films, etc.
If you have, or can gain access to, the internet, I would recommend that you visit the NAA website at http://www.naa.gov.au/ and look over what is available. One of the major areas as part of their webpage is the search engine to locate their records at RecordSearch. You will find access to this site via the links on the Home Page. If you have not used the service before I would recommend that you log in as a Guest on the RecordSearch main page. As you find that you need to use the search page more often it is worthwhile to then register as a Researcher. By registering as a Researcher you can order records or request copies of records to be made available as digital copies.
The NAA is continually adding to RecordSearch but it must be kept in mind that only about 10 per cent of records held by the NAA are accessed by the search page. If you cannot locate a record, then write to the NAA to see if they do hold one that might meet your research needs. You can write to the NAA or email them at ref@naa.gov.au
You can search via RecordSearch for a specific name if you wish.. If it is a common family name, like Jones or Smith, also add their forenames as well. If you see a big "r" attached to a record it means there is a digitised copy of the record available that you can read (for free) providing you have the Adobe Acrobat software on your computer.
This is only a brief overview of the NAA. It is a great repository of records and one that it not very well known. Take the time to look at the NAA and its records. I think you might be greatly surprised. If you need assistance, get in touch with the Reading Room at North Melbourne either by phone or a visit. The staff will be only too happy to assist you.

Good luck with your research. If you do have any questions please do not hesitate to get in touch with me. Also if you have any topics or areas that you would like me to address in future columns, please let me know. You can contact me either by email at dww@tpg.com.au or phone or write to me care of The Genealogical Society of Victoria Inc, Level 6, 179 Queen Street, Melbourne 3000, phone 9670 7033.