Tag Archives: History
The Claassen family in South Africa
My wife Juliet is Afrikaans and her surname is Claassen. One of Juliet’s cousins, Johann, is a genealogist and he contacted me recently after discovering my family history website. Johann sent me a gedcom file, which I’ve now uploaded to … Continue reading
Minister endorsed brain tonic
I obtained an electronic copy of my grandparents’ marriage certificate today for $18. Michael John Gorey, farmer of Waubra, married Eleanora Augusta Hermitage Sutherland at 101 Gore Street, Fitzroy, on April 19, 1913. The celebrant was Congregationalist minister John Hosking … Continue reading
Child falls from a carriage
I again discovered something tonight on the National Library of Australia’s digital newspaper archives. Here is a story from The Argus (Melbourne) dated October 5, 1893: An accident happened on the Colac railway this afternoon, between the Pettavel Road and … Continue reading
Top text correctors acknowledged
I’ve written before about the National Library of Australia’s wonderful digitisation program. Hundreds of historic newspapers are having their pages converted to searchable electronic copies. I’ve already used the resource for family history research. The text appears garbled in most … Continue reading
Family history update
I haven’t done much offline genealogical research since 1999, but I occasionally browse online sources on public holidays, like today. These sources are much more plentiful than they were 10 years ago and most didn’t exist in 1999. Today I … Continue reading
Billy Hughes
I’ve just finished reading “Billy Hughes” by Aneurin Hughes (not related). The sub-title is “Prime Minister and controversial founding father of the Australian Labor Party”. It’s not a full biography and tries to paint a portrait of the man, rather … Continue reading
