News from Access Services at Public Record Office Victoria
December 2003 – Number 2

rEsearch is a bi-monthly update on public access news at Public Record Office Victoria (PROV). Current and past editions of rEsearch are available online here and are also emailed to subscribers. Email a request to ask.prov@dpc.vic.gov.au if you want to be included on our subscriber list.

Contents

1. New passenger lists available on PROV website
2. New photocopying charges
3. Christmas closure
4. Saturday openings January-April 2004
5. Archival Support Program February–June 2004
6. PROV Seminar Series February–June 2004
7. Did you know we are moving?
8. Royal Historical Society of Victoria Summer School rescheduled
9. PROactive no. 30 and More PROgress no. 10 – out soon!
10. A Matter of Record: A History of Public Record Office Victoria
11. Yan Yean: a history of Melbourne's early water supply
12. Keeping the Record Public symposium papers now available online
13. Volunteer news
14. Indigenous records news
15. Ballarat Archives Centre news
16. Calendar
17. Feedback
18. About this publication

1. New passenger list indexes available on PROV website
On 4 December 2003, a Christmas lunch was held to celebrate the achievements of PROV’s volunteers and to launch the publication of more Victorian immigration information on PROV’s website.

The unassisted immigration index now contains 1,251,473 entries from 1852 to 1911. In addition, there is now an index to assisted British passengers containing 173,316 entries from 1839 to 1871. The indexing of this information is largely a result of the volunteers’ hard work over the past two decades.

Both of these indexes can be accessed from www.prov.vic.gov.au/access/.

2. New photocopying charges
Following a public consultation period, new regulations that allow PROV to set fees and charges for copying services based on cost recovery were recently approved in parliament. As a result of these new regulations, which became effective on Monday 1 December 2003, fees for some PROV services have increased. For full details of price increases please consult PROVguide 2 available online, or in printed form at all Public Record Office Victoria reading rooms.

3. Christmas closure
Please note: The reading rooms at the Melbourne Archives Centre, Ballarat Archives Centre and Victorian Archives will be closed over the Christmas/New Year period from 25 December 2003 to 1 January 2004 inclusive.

4. Saturday openings January–April 2004
As in previous years, Melbourne Archives Centre Reading Room will be open on the second and last Saturday of each month, excepting long weekends. Saturday openings for January–April 2004 will be 10 and 31 January, 14 and 28 February, and 13 and 27 March.

5. Archival Support Program first semester 2004
PROV will be continuing its participation in the Archival Support Program in the first semester of 2004. The program is the joint initiative of Public Record Office Victoria and the Australian Society of Archivists, supported by the National Archives of Australia and the University of Melbourne Archives. It offers advice and instruction to the many local custodians of collections of historical documents. On Saturday 13 March 2004, ‘Introduction to Archives’ will take place at Warrnambool College Auditorium, and on Saturday 19 June 2004, ‘Preservation and Conservation: Paper and Books’ will take place at the Victorian Archives Centre. Brochures (including a booking form) can be downloaded or obtained from PROV reading rooms.

6. PROV Seminar Series February–June 2004
The February–June PROV seminar series covers a range of interesting topics for researchers.

‘Ancestors in Archives, part 1’ is a free introduction to using public records held at PROV for family history research. The seminar will be held at the Victorian Archives Centre on Friday 23 April, and morning (9.30 to 11.00 am) or afternoon (2.00 to 3.30 pm) sessions are available. This will be followed up with ‘Ancestors in Archives, part 2’ on Friday 28 May, with morning (10.00 am to 12.00 noon) or afternoon (2.00 to 4.00 pm) sessions again available, at a cost of $15 or $10 concession.

‘Family and Local History Research at the Ballarat Archives Centre’ is a free seminar introducing prospective users to records held at BAC, to be held on Tuesday 25 May, from 10.30 am to 12.30 pm.

‘Learn to Use Archives@Victoria’, is a free seminar offering hands-on experience in navigating the PROV online catalogue. Repeat sessions will be held at:

• Melbourne Archives Centre, February to March, first and third Wednesday of every month, from 5.00 to 6.00 pm.
• Victorian Archives Centre, Wednesday 21 April and May to June, first and third Wednesday of every month, from 4.00 to 5.00 pm.
• Ballarat Archives Centre, February to June, second Tuesday of every month, from 10.30 to 11.30 am and 1.30 to 2.30 pm.

Two new seminars are on offer in 2004. ‘Welcome to Victorian Archives Centre’ will be held from April to June, on the third Wednesday of every month from 5.00 to 6.00pm. This free presentation and tour provide an introduction to the Harry Nunn Reading Room, and other facilities and resources available to researchers.

‘Ticket to the Public Transport Corporation (PTC) Collection’ provides an introduction to the fascinating array of records that make up the PTC Collection. Participants can attend this seminar at the Victorian Archives Centre on Thursday 26 February or Wednesday 24 March. Morning (10.30 am to 12.30 pm) or afternoon (2.30 pm to 4.30 pm) sessions are available. It will also be presented at the Ballarat Archives Centre on Tuesday 6 April, from 10.30 am to 12.30 pm. The cost to attend this seminar is $15, or $10 concession.

Bookings are essential for all seminars. Brochures (including a booking form) are being mailed out with the December issue of PROactive, and can also be downloaded or obtained from PROV reading rooms.

7. Did you know we are moving?
On 8 April 2004, the Melbourne Archives Centre will close its doors for the last time. The new reading room at the Victorian Archives Centre, 99 Shiel Street, North Melbourne, will open straight after Easter, on 13 April 2004 (see item no. 9 below).

8. Royal Historical Society of VIctoria Summer School rescheduled
The Royal Historical Society of Victoria is amalgamating its Summer and Winter schools, which will now be held from 12–14 July 2004. Included in the program on 13 July is a presentation by Shauna Hicks, Manager, Access Services at Public Record Office Victoria, regarding hospital, nursing and social welfare records. The 3-day program will cost $285 or $230 concession to attend, or, for a single day, $110 or $77 concession. For more information or to register, please contact RHSV by email: office@historyvictoria.org.au or consult their website: www.historyvictoria.org.au.

9. PROactive no. 30 and More PROgress no. 10 – out soon!
PROactive no. 30 and More PROgress no. 10 will be distributed over the Christmas period. The current issue of PROactive features articles on the Public Transport Corporation (PTC) Photographic Collection and the West Gate Bridge disaster. In More PROgress, we update you on the transformation of the office space once occupied by the National Gallery of Victoria – from 13 April 2004 this will be our vibrant new reading room. These publications may be viewed online.

10. A Matter of Record: A History of Public Record Office Victoria
PROV’s 30th anniversary celebrations concluded on 19 December 2003 with the launch, by the Deputy Premier and Minister for Victorian Communities, John Thwaites, MP, of A Matter of Record: A History of Public Record Office Victoria. The book, written by Prof. Bill Russell, with original archival research by Charlie Farrugia, details the history of PROV and the process that led to its formation as the custodian of Victoria’s state archives. The book will be available from Public Record Office Victoria reading rooms and Information Victoria at a cost of $49.95 (including GST). You can also download an order form from our website.

11.Yan Yean: a history of Melbourne’s early water supply
On 10 December 2003, the Governor, John Landy, AC, MBE, launched Yan Yean: a history of Melbourne’s early water supply. The book commemorates the 150th anniversary of the Yan Yean reservoir’s opening as Melbourne’s first public reservoir. The book, which has been researched by Prof. Tony Dingle and Helen Doyle of Monash University, is a joint project of PROV and Melbourne Water, arising from research conducted into the extensive records created by the former Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works that are now held in PROV custody. PROV contributors to the project included Tracey Manallack, who provided archival advice, and Daniel Wilksch, who managed the production of the publication. The book is available from Melbourne Water. For details visit their website www.melbournewater.com.au.

12. Keeping the Record Public symposium papers now available online
Proceedings of the PROV symposium held in July 2003, Keeping the Record Public, are now available on the PROV website. The proceedings include formal papers from representatives of the organisations that were pivotal in the establishment of PROV, as well as more informal reflections from those who have themselves been champions of the cause of public records in Victoria.

13. Volunteer news
An experienced PROV volunteer, John MacKinnon, is assisting the New Zealand Society of Genealogists led by Gaynor Kirby with their passenger lists project. For the last fourteen years, the society has been transcribing passenger lists of people travelling to New Zealand from Victorian ports using microfilm copies of Victorian government records. John has been assisting his New Zealand colleagues by checking various names, and other written details that were unclear in the microfilm copies, against the original records held by Public Record Office Victoria. This project has involved 23 boxes of VPRS 948 Outward Passengers to Interstate, U.K. and Foreign Ports. As part of this project, John has been researching Emigration Officers, also known as Tide Inspectors, in issues of the Victoria Government Gazette from 1880 to 1901.

14. Indigenous records news
The Koorie Heritage Archive, launched by the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs the Hon. Gavin Jennings, on 14 November 2003, is unique in Australia. The archive is based on the successful Ara Irititja Archive developed by the Anangu people of South Australia. It is a dynamic database that stores cultural and historical material relating to the Koorie people of Victoria including photographs, oral history recordings, manuscripts, archival documents, film and video footage, artefacts and artworks. The Koorie Heritage Archive is not web-based but instead will be provided to each Koorie community in Victoria via a mobile workstation. This workstation can be taken anywhere – Co-ops, homes and riverbanks! Records from the PROV collection have been included in the Pilot Koorie Heritage Archive.

15. Ballarat Archives Centre news
To celebrate Christmas, and as an acknowledgment of the dedication of our researchers, Ballarat Archives Centre (BAC) held its Christmas party on 16 December. Ballarat staff are working on a new project to accelerate the input of data on BAC holdings into PROV’s Archives@Victoria online catalogue.

16. PROV Calendar

• 10 January 2004: Melbourne Archives Centre Saturday opening
• 31 January 2004: Melbourne Archives Centre Saturday opening
• 4 February 2004: Shauna Hicks will be speaking at the Ladies' Probus Club of Wyndham.
• 14 February 2004: Melbourne Archives Centre Saturday opening
• 27 February 2004: Australian History Teachers VCE Conference – Shauna Hicks presenting workshop on resources at PROV for the teaching of the nineteenth century part of the VCE Australian History subject
• 28 February 2004: Melbourne Archives Centre Saturday opening
• 13 March 2004: Melbourne Archives Centre Saturday opening
• 21 March 2004: PROV will be present at the AIGS Bendigo Family History Expo – email contact <bendigogen@hotmail.com>
• 27 March 2004: Melbourne Archives Centre Saturday opening
• 28 March 2004: Shauna Hicks will be speaking about PROV records at an all day research seminar in Colbinabbin – email contact Betty West at agemwest@origin.net.au
• 13 July 2004: Shauna Hicks will be discussing hospital, nursing and social welfare records at the Royal Historical Society of Victoria Winter School – email RHSV at office@historyvictoria.org.au

17. Feedback
We welcome your feedback and suggestions on the content of this newsletter via ask.prov@dpc.vic.gov.au. If you know someone who would be interested in receiving rEsearch, they can subscribe by emailing a request to ask.prov@dpc.vic.gov.au

18. About this publication
We have included you on our mailing list because you already receive news publications from PROV, or because you have indicated interest in receiving email information. However if you do not wish to receive this newsletter, please email us at ask.prov@dpc.vic.gov.au or phone PROV Reception (03) 9348 5600 and we will remove you from the list.

ISSN 1449-0331
Copyright © 2003 Public Record Office Victoria

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