News from Access Services at Public Record Office Victoria
December 2006 – Number 20

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@dvc.vic.gov.au if you want to be included on our subscriber list.

1. PROV Christmas and New Year Reading Room Closures
2. Victorian Community History Awards 2007
3. Exhibitions
4. Walking Tour: Suffragettes of Hotham Hill, North Melbourne
5. Index to Outward Passenger Lists
6. New series available on the PROV Online Catalogue
7. Access the Collection updates
8. PROV Seminar Series and Archival Support Program 2007
9. Free Tours of the Victorian Archives Centre
10. Feedback
11. About this publication

1. PROV Christmas and New Year Reading Room Closures
Please note the following dates for PROV's Reading Room closures over the Christmas and New Year period:
The Victorian Archives Centre closes Friday 22 December 2006 at 4.30 pm and reopens Tuesday 2 January 2007 at 9.00 am.
The Ballarat Archives Centre closes Tuesday 19 December 2006 at 4.30 pm, reopens Tuesday 2 January 2007 at 9.30 am.

If you require further information regarding our closure period, please contact PROV on (03) 9348 5600.

2. Victorian Community History Awards 2007
The Victorian Community History Awards recognises excellence in historical method with categories acknowledging that history can be told in a variety of formats. The Awards comprise a $5000 first prize and six $1000 prizes for the finalists of each of the following categories: Best Collaborative/ Community Work; Best Print/ Publication; Best Audio – Visual/ Multimedia; Best Exhibit/ Display; Best Walk/ Tour and Best Community Research; Register and Records. Entries are judged on content and presentation with a view to encouraging innovative ways of recording community history across the State.

Entries close 30 March 2007. For further information and entry forms, visit the Information Victoria, website www.information.vic.gov.au, email infovic.marketing@dvc.vic.gov.au or call the Marketing Branch, Information Victoria on 1300 366 356 (local call cost).

3. Exhibitions
A miscellany of public records
There is a new display in the VAC repository which features a collection of interesting and quirky records selected from various series in the PROV archives. They include: notorious criminal Squizzy Taylor's prison record and selected documents from his inquest; a needlework samples book used for teaching purposes in schools in the 1930s; and photographs and postcards of Queenie the Elephant, who provided rides to visitors to the Melbourne Zoo until 1961. To see the display, book a free volunteer led tour of the VAC in the new year!

And your petitioners humbly pray…150 years of petitions in Victoria
Until April 2007
This exhibition offers audiences the opportunity to view more than fifty significant examples from among the countless petitions presented to Parliament over the past century and a half by the people of Victoria.

The petitions on display chronicle some of the many issues that have been of concern to Victorians over a century and a half, including: the execution of Ned Kelly; the vote for women and smoking in public places.

Developed by PROV and the Parliament of Victoria to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Victorian Parliament, And Your Petitioners Humbly Pray … 150 Years of Petitions in Victoria is on display at the VAC until 30 April. Admission is free. www.prov.vic.gov.au/petitions.

4. Walking Tour: Suffragettes of Hotham Hill, North Melbourne
In celebration of Women's History Month

'Suffragettes of Hotham Hill' takes you to the streets of Hotham Hill to listen to the stories, see the places and experience the fight for women's rights at the turn of the century.

The walk will commence at the Victorian Archives Centre, (VAC) North Melbourne with a viewing of the 1891 Women's Petition. Discover more about the lives and stories of the suffragette movement in one of Melbourne's historic neighbourhoods.

This event coincides with Women's History Month and the exhibition And your petitions humbly pray...150 years of petitions in Victoria at the VAC.

Date: Saturday 17 March
Venue: Meet at VAC, 99 Shiel St, North Melbourne.
Time: 1.30pm
Cost: $5, to be paid on the day (includes light refreshments on arrival)
Bookings are essential. Enquiries: ph (03) 9348 5600, email ask.prov@dvc.vic.gov.au

5. Index to Outward Passenger Lists
On 6 December PROV launched a further instalment (1862–76) in its continually expanding index to Outward Passengers to Interstate, UK, NZ and Foreign Ports.

The index, which now covers the years 1852–1876, contains the names of all persons who left Victoria by sea during this period, providing an invaluable research tool both for historians and for family history researchers. To date there are just over half a million names listed.

Assembled by a dedicated group of volunteers, PROV’s online immigration/emigration indexes attract an average of 20,000 ‘hits’ a month, indicating the enormous public interest in these readily accessible and practical guides to early passenger lists.

To access the index to Outward Passengers to Interstate, UK, NZ and Foreign Ports, visit www.access.prov.vic.gov.au, click on the link to ‘Digitised Records and Online Indexes’, and scroll down to ‘Immigration’.

6. New series available on the PROV Online Catalogue

VA 538 Department of Crown Lands and Surveys
VPRS 747/P0 Advances Files - Eastern Division 1905-?1940, 102 units
VPRS 747/ P1 Advances Files - Eastern Division 1915-1938, 1 unit

VA 4554 Department of Sustainability and Environment
VPRS 15762/P2 Land Files Estrays, Closer and Soldier Settlement 1900-1942, 9 units
VPRS 444/P0 Miscellaneous Land Selection and Occupation Files 1857-1971, 36 units

VA 3971Department of Infrastructure (DOI)
VPRS 12990/P9 Project Records – Melbourne Underground Rail Loop 1870 -1977, 2 units
VPRS 12813/P2 General Subject Files, Manager, Customer Services, Tram and Bus Division 1992-1993, 1 unit
VPRS 12575/P1 Minutes (I) MET Management Group 1989-1989, 1unit
VPRS 13417/P3 General Files Financial Reports and Manuals, Finance and Administration 1989-1989, 1 unit
VPRS 12597/P1 Employee History Cards, Transport Operation/Transportation 1890-1925, 2 units
VPRS 12597/P4 Employee History Cards, Transport Operation/Transportation 1948-1950, 1 unit

VA 4416 Arts Victoria
VPRS 15900/P1 Records of Victorian State Craft Collection (VSCC) 1976-2000, 9 units

VA 4564 Department of Innovation, Industry and Regional Development (DIRD)
VPRS 15908/P1 Prosecutions Register 1953-1986, 6 units

VA 3973 Department of State Development
VPRS 9530/P2 Records of Local Standards Issued 1948-1954, 1 unit

VA 3700 Macedon Ranges (Shire)
VPRS 14313/ P1 Minutes [Woodend, Newham and Rochford District Road Board] 1862-1867, 1 unit

VPRS 14325/ P1 Council Minutes [Woodend Municipal District; Woodend Borough; Newham Shire; Newham United Shire; Newham and Woodend Shire] 1866-1928, 12 units

VPRS 14359/P1 Rate Books [Woodend Municipal District; Woodend Borough; Newham Shire; Newham United Shire; Newham and Woodend Shire] 1871-1952, 49 units

VPRS 14359/P2 Rate Books [Woodend Municipal District; Woodend Borough; Newham Shire; Newham United Shire; Newham and Woodend Shire] 1911-1952, 16 units

VPRS 14360/ P1 Rate Books [Woodend, Newham and Rochford District Road Board] 1869-1871, 1 unit

7. Access the Collection updates
Online Indexes and Databases Updates
New to the PROV online catalogue of indexes and databases are:

-Index to VPRS 840/P0 International Exhibition Melbourne Photograph Albums
This index allows you to locate photographs of individuals who worked at the 1888 International Exhibition in Melbourne. You can search for a persons name or by company. The results include a volume and page number reference for the albums.

-Index to VPRS 12024/P1 Companies and Miscellaneous Applications Files
This is a database of files which relates to equity suits brought before the Master in Equity in the Supreme Courts between 1884 and 1922. You can search for the person appearing in a case, and the index will provide the details of the case and unit within the series to order to view the file.

For a full list of PROV's digitised records and online databases see PROVguide 23 or visit www.access.prov.vic.gov.au and then click onto the hyperlink 'digitised records and online databases'.

New PROVguide
5 – Family History – Cemetery Records
PROV holds a large selection of records about cemeteries. Some were created by cemetery trusts and others by government agencies that had a role in the administration and regulation of cemeteries in Victoria. This PROVguide provides a list of the main agencies and series related to cemeteries; cemetery indexes and how to access the records.

Updated PROVguides
Readers are advised that the following PROVguides have been updated:
70 - Wills & Probate Records;
23 - PROV's Online Indexes and Digitised Records;
52 - Immigration, and
50 - Passenger Lists.

PROVguides are available from PROV reading rooms or they can be accessed online at www.access.prov.vic.gov.au under 'research tools'.

8. PROV Seminar Series and Archival Support Program 2007
The PROV Seminar Series February – June and the Archival Support Program 2007 brochures will be available from mid January. For those who receive 'PROactive', the brochures will be delivered with your January issue of the magazine.

The Seminar Series February – June program boasts a variety of informative seminars which will help researchers delve into the PROV collection. Themes include: miners and Chinese market gardeners; ancestors in the archives; wills and probate records; education records and handy hints and tips on using the PROV online catalogue. There is also the opportunity to attend a free floor talk about the current exhibition on display at the VAC prior to the commencement of some seminars. Visit www.prov.vic.gov.au/events/seminars.asp to view and download the Seminar Series February – June 2007 brochure from mid January.

Held in conjunction with the Australian Society of Archivists, the National Archives of Australia and PROV the ASP offers training for small archives and collection holders. Topics for 2007 are: Introduction to Archives; Next Steps in Archives; Computers and Small Archives and two Preservation and Conservation courses one of which will focus on photographs and the other on paper records. Visit www.prov.vic.gov.au/events/asprogram.asp to view and download the ASP 2007 brochure from mid January.

9. Free Tours of the Victorian Archives Centre
For individuals or groups wanting to book a free, volunteer guided tour of the VAC, please phone (03) 9348 5600 to book or visit www.prov.vic.gov.au/events/vactours.asp for the schedule of upcoming tours.

10. Feedback
If you would like to send feedback and suggestions on the content of this newsletter or if you know someone who would be interested in receiving rEsearch, please email ask.prov@dvc.vic.gov.au

11. About this publication
We have included you on our mailing list because you have indicated interest in receiving PROV information. However, if you do not wish to receive this newsletter, please email ask.prov@dvc.vic.gov.au or phone PROV Reception 03 9348 5600 and we will remove you from our list.

You can access the web page version of this newsletter at www.prov.vic.gov.au/publications back issues are also available on the website.

ISSN 1449-0331
Copyright © 2006 Public Record Office Victoria

From the staff at PROV, we wish readers a happy and safe festive season.

Back to top