ALEXANDRINA LIBRARY SERVICES

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JUNE  2008                                                                                           by Peter Barclay

No 47

We all hope that Dawn and Bruce are continuing to enjoy their well earned holiday in the N.T and Qld. Maybe Dawn will return with a few “gems” of information.

Excellent local history resources in the History Room are the transcripts of interviews made over the years with local identities. Frodo has compiled and neatly bound these stories and gradually they are all being indexed to make searching easier. Some of the identities interviewed include Glen Stone, Vic Mills, John McKinlay, Lance McHugh, Linton Jacobs, George Brittain, Betty Kempe, Athol Carle, Jeffrey Bristow-Smith, Harold and Wif Bedford, Helen Scott (nee Woodrow), Brian Skewes, Nobby Clark, Joe Barton, Richard Spenceer and Rod Hussey. Their stories include hundreds of names of people and places from the early days in Goolwa, Currency Creek, Port Elliot, Mt. Compass and all parts in between. Following up a scrapbook referred to in Jeffrey Bristow Smith’s story, Frodo has scanned the pages of this scrapbook and produced a valuable CD of its contents.

During History week, two of the more recent Oral Histories were presented to the interviewees. Dorothy Jacobs presented Roly Bartlett with a typed copy of the interview she had with Roly. Frodo Krochmal presented Dawn Leibelt with her book.

Frodo has also recently prepared a CD titled, Indexes, Interviews and more goodies.

Visitors to the History Room have access to the South Australian Birth (1842 – 1928), Death (1842-1972) and Marriage (1842-1937) registrations on the computer. This resource is supported by the original District Registration books for Encounter Bay held in the glass cabinet in the History Room. For other Districts the South Australian Genealogy and Heraldry Society (SAGHS), through their research service can provide a transcription of the information that is recorded on the certificates from their microfiche holdings.

            The current fee is $11.00 and you can download a form to fill in to provide the necessary details at their website, www.saghs.org.au .  (Note this is not a photocopy of the certificate, just a transcription of the details on the certificate).

The South Australian Registry offers online ordering of certificates but has no searchable indexes. www.ocba.sa.gov.au/bdm.

Port Elliot Branch of the National Trust.

Our own Jill Patmore will speak about the Goolwa and Port Elliot libraries at the Trust’s next meeting in the Port Elliot RSL Hall on the 12th June 2008 at 8pm.

The following month the meeting will feature Philip Hall who will talk on “Marine Life Society”. This will be at the Port Elliot RSL Hall on the 10th July 2008 at 8pm.

Colourful Language!!

One of my Scottish Ancestors has the surname “Armstrong”. I knew they were referred to as “Reivers” but was amused to find the following in “Family History Monthly” for April 2008 in a review of the DVD, “Debateable Lands” (page 57).

The Reivers were riding and raiding families from Britain’s badlands in the Scottish Borders. The word “reive” means to steal and the Reivers gave us the word “bereaved”.

They were skilled fighters, murderers, arsonists, and kidnappers, whose livelihood was based on raiding their neighbours for cattle and sheep and plundering whatever wasn’t nailed down – pots and pans, children’s clothing.

Fortunately over the last 150 years these traits have been mostly abandoned by the descendants of my early Reivers !! (I hope).

A recent announcement (promotion) by Ancestry.com.au  is the release on the 4th June  2008, of 8.9 million names of passengers and crew who arrived in NSW as free settlers between 1826 and 1922. One has to acknowledge that this site is providing information for profit and has a reputation of being almost impossible to unsubscribe from, so please be aware of this if you sign up. Some of the information can be obtained from the NSW State Records site on the internet. 

Happy researching,

Peter

Genealogy help is available by appointment on Thursdays, to guide you through your research. Please phone the Library on 8555-7000 to make an appointment. For comments, suggestions or to receive this newsletter – email

historyroom2004@yahoo.com.au or phone the Library on 8555-7000

Back copies of this newsletter can be sourced on the Alexandrina Council website –

http://www.alexandrina.sa.gov.au/site/page/cfm

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