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This online exhibition tells the story of Frederick Bailey Deeming: wife-murderer, bigamist, thief, and confidence trickster. Deeming's crimes were so disturbing and bizarre that he was sometimes called 'the criminal of the century'. The discovery of his wife's body, and his subsequent arrest and trial caused a great sensation throughout Australia. The original version of this online exhibition was published online in 1996. The new version follows a substantial revision and improvement of the information and resources available, and was published online on 22 May 2007, on the eve of the 115th anniversary of Deeming's hanging.

Public Record Office Victoria (PROV) is the archival authority of the State of Victoria. As such, its role is to preserve, maintain and allow access to those records of Victorian government agencies deemed to be of permanent value. A public record is that which is created during the processes and functions of government.

The choice of Deeming as a case study was taken because he provides an excellent example of the way in which the life of a private individual intersects with government processes. At each point of intersection, a record is created. This case study also demonstrates the intricate trails which can be followed through the different record-keeping systems employed by government agencies and departments.

Bigamy, Theft and Murder provides a good example of what you can discover by undertaking research with public records. Deeming's story tells more than just the life and death of one man. Public records also reflect the attitudes and assumptions of Victoria's past communities.

The following is a description of the main links at the top of each page in the online exhibition and what information you can access by selecting each of them.

'Story' takes you to a sequence of 10 chapters about Deeming's crimes. Each of these pages features further links to digitised images and transcripts of original records relating to Deeming, the police investigation into his crimes, and his trial and execution. In addition, each page features images of a selection of photographs or drawings. These can be investigated further by following the link to a page containing a larger version of the image and further information about it.

'Browse Documents' takes you to a page where you can explore a list of the original records used in this online exhibition. The list will be ordered by the date on the record or, in some instances, the date of the events that they contain information about. This page also contains a list of government agencies and record series that were used in this online exhibition, with links to PROV's online catalogue which contains further information about these agencies and records, including information on how to order the original records for viewing in PROV reading rooms. A list of published references is also included at the bottom of this page.

'Search/Links' takes you to a page that allows you to type in keywords to make a search of the online exhibition. Once you type in your search terms, you will be presented with a list of matching results containing links to pages relevant to your enquiry. This page also features a list of links to external websites that feature information relating to Deeming or to other people and events relevant to his story.

'Education' takes you to a series of pages that contain notes and information resources for using the Deeming online exhibition as an educational tool for various levels of the Victorian high school curriculum.

'Help' takes you to the page you are currently reading.

'Credits/Sitemap' takes you to a page including credits and acknowledgements of individuals and organisations that contributed to the development of this revised version of Bigamy, Theft and Murder.