News and Features

BDA 12th release: 16 NEW datasets, 58,012 new records.

All now accessible via ADVANCED SEARCH

May 2024

BDA is pleased to announce an upload of 16 new datasets now online. With over 2 million records, BDA now includes a significant proportion of the settler population of Australian colonies to about 1841, derived mainly from transcripts of original archival records by experienced researchers.

New datasets are:

Convict Records:

NSW Certificates of Freedom 1834-40,10,982 transcripts (1810-33 also online),
Absconded Convict Notices: 1822-1823, 1840-1841 (1832-1839 already online).

Immigration Records:

10,000 Free unassisted passengers arriving Syndey 1838-1841.
Ship Deserters, Sydney NSW 1852-1867, describing 6,100 sailors, Port of Sydney

Parish registers, Melbourne VIC, Sydney & Wellington NSW 1837-1856:

St James Melbourne VIC CofE baptisms, marriages, burials 1837-1842,
St Lawrence Sydney NSW CofE marriages 1838-1856,
St Andrew Sydney NSW CofE baptisms & marriages 1842-1856,
Wellington NSW CofE baptisms 1837-1856.

Military Biography:

28th Regiment 1835-1842 pay list profiles, 1,272 soldiers Australia-wide,
80th Regiment 1836-1845 pay list profiles, 1,536 soldiers Australia-wide.

Biographical Indexes

Australian Almanack 1827: civil & military establishments in Australian colonies,
List of Anglican clergy in the 1850s appointed to NSW parishes 1809-1858.

Highlights include:

Immigration: BDA has reached a major milestone by adding 10,500 records of mainly English, Irish & Scottish free unassisted passengers arriving at the port of Sydney 1838-1841 at the peak of an immigration boom. This fills a major gap, giving BDA a very extensive coverage of free unassisted arrivals in Sydney 1788-1857, which, by comparing with assisted, convict & military arrivals in the database, allows a researcher to assess which category an arrival fell into: useful when the arrival status of a person being researched is uncertain & liable to confusion between many people of the same name.

Also: transcripts by Jim Melton of 6,100 notices of Ship Deserters in the Port of Sydney NSW 1852-1867. Many of those who jumped ship in search of gold settled in the colonies.

Biographical profiles of 2,808 soldiers of the 28th & 80th Regiments, stationed in Australia 1835-1844, many of whom transferred to the Mounted Police &/or stayed on in Australia as settlers when their regiments were transferred to India in the mid-1840s.

In NSW: Sydney, Parramatta, Liverpool, Pennant Hills, Campbelltown, Emu Plains, Illawarra, Berrima, Towrang (near Goulburn) Maitland, Newcastle, Harpers Hill (Hunter Valley), Port Stephens, Port Macquarie, Bathurst, Hassans Walls, Coxs River, Mudgee, Norfolk Island.
In Tasmania: Hobart. In Victoria: Port Phillip. In Queensland: Moreton Bay.

Parish registers:

For the first time on BDA: records of 669 baptisms, 517 marriages, 289 burials of early settler residents of Melbourne VIC & surrounding districts 1837-1842.
Anglican Wellington NSW baptisms 1837-1856. Residences of parents baptising children are spread across a region encompassing modern Dubbo, Dunedoo, Cassilis, Tambaroora, Molong, Orange, Hill End & Lake Burrendong. Includes Aboriginal children & parents, many little-known Aboriginal place names are given.
With the addition of St Lawrence Sydney NSW CofE marriages 1838-1856 & St Andrew Sydney CofE pro-Cathedral baptisms & marriages 1842-1856, BDA is developing extensive coverage of Sydney registers in fully indexed transcripts from 1788 to the mid-1850s, including details of residence, occupation & literacy.

Convict records:

BDA update 12 contains transcripts of the content of almost 11,000 NSW convict Certificates of Freedom. A total of 23,000 certificates have been transcribed for 1810-1840. None survive from pre-1810, but some were reissued after the originals were lost or stolen. These often contain details from earlier certificates that have not survived in the archives. The transcripts include many original annotations providing new ‘under the radar’ biographical information about a convict. This includes death, changes of location, colonial offences & convictions & name of a female convict’s husband.

Future datasets in the pipeline:

NSW assisted immigrants 1843-1845 + VIC/NSW corrections/additions 1838-1842
full transcript of Tickets of Leave NSW 1824-1828+ containing numerous new ‘under the radar’ details from annotations,
Convicts & Employers NSW 1821-1825: transcripts of registers of convict assignment, includes annotations & data not found in muster records & mentioning otherwise lost records of Tickets of Leave 1821-1824,
Corrections & additions to NSW convict indents already on BDA,
Brisbane /Moreton Bay QLD CofE baptisms, marriages, burials 1832-1842,
St John CofE Parramatta NSW marriages 1833-1840,
St Philip CofE Sydney NSW marriages 1832-1840,
Christ Church Newcastle CofE NSW baptisms 1832-1840,
St Thomas Port Macquarie NSW CofE baptisms, marriages, burials 1832-1841,
East & West Maitland, Hunter Valley NSW CofE baptisms 1834-1840,
More early parish registers Hobart TAS, Adelaide SA, Perth WA, Brisbane/Moreton Bay QLD, Melbourne VIC, Liverpool, Pitt Town, Wilberforce, Ryde/Hunters Hill/Lane Cove, Richmond, Sackville Reach, St Albans, Goulburn, Southern Highlands, Gosford, Bathurst NSW CofE, Sydney region RC 1820s-40s + early Sydney region Presbyterian, Wesleyan Methodist & Jewish registers.,
Biographical items from Australian Newspapers 1803-1901+.

BDA 11th release: 12 NEW datasets, 41,491 new records.

All now accessible via ADVANCED SEARCH

May 2023

BDA is pleased to announce the addition of 12 new datasets to the site, which is reaching a critical mass in terms of creating a profile for most NSW convicts by linking transcripts of surviving archival records. New additions range from biographical profiles of the first convicts sent to Queensland, a major NSW transcription project adding the full text of ticket of leave, certificate of freedom and pardon documents from the years 1810-1833, full text of records of immigrants arriving in NSW in 1842, records of absconding NSW convicts up to 1841 from newspaper notices which include descriptions, residence and employer.

Full transcript of 5,723 records from the Randwick NSW Asylum for Destitute Children 1852-1915. Profiles of 1,149 soldiers of the 50th Regiment stationed in NSW 1833-1841: Sydney, Georges River, Longbottom, Parramatta, Windsor, Liverpool, Bong Bong, Berrima, Wingello, Illawarra + TAS: Ross, Flinders Island, Westbury, Avoca, Perth, George Town. Bathurst & Central West NSW Catholic baptisms & burials 1839-1844 + St Lawrence Sydney C of E baptisms 1838-1856, Biographies of 205 prominent 19th century members of the Free Presbyterian Church of Australia.

Other additions include: Catholic baptism entries for 1839-1840 and burials 1839-1844 from priests based in Bathurst who travelled across vast distances in NSW, ranging from Kings Plains (Carcoar-Blayney area), the Lachlan River, Cangarooby (aka Kangarooby near Gooloogong and Cowra), Tubbo (Dubbo), Vale of Clwydd (Hartley), Mudgee, Wattle Flat, Summer Hill (Orange), Cullin Roy (Cassilis), Breeza, Namoi River and Peel River.

In the pipeline: 28th Regiment 1835-1842; 80th NSW 1836-1845; NSW certificates of Freedom
1834+; St Lawrence Sydney Church of England marriages 1838-1856; St Andrew Sydney Church
of England marriages 1842-1856; NSW assisted immigrants 1843+, and more.

BDA 10th release: 15 NEW datasets, 41,333 new records.

All accessible via ADVANCED SEARCH

NEWS FLASH: 18 February 2022

Highlights include:
– NEW indents for convicts sent to NSW from India, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), South Africa, Mauritius & Burma (Myanmar) 1823-1826
– a NEW listing of landholders in NSW 1813, including a guide to land districts in relation to modern Greater Sydney suburbs
– NEW: the First Fleet victualling list 1788, effectively the 1st census of colonists arriving in Australia from Europe digitized for the 1st time
– NEW full text transcripts of Catholic baptisms 1832-1837 in Sydney; a wide area of regional NSW: Yass, Goulburn, Bungonia, Wollongong, Blue Mountains; Maitland
– NEW 1838-1867 Marriage Banns; Burials for Christ Church St Lawrence C of E, near Sydney’s Central Station.
– More records of convicts absconding and apprehended in NSW 1832-1838 including descriptions and employers

Full list of new datasets:
– 1788-1820 Association biographies (contributed by descendants c1968-2014, mostly for persons born in or arriving as settlers or convicts in NSW, Tas; Norfolk Island 1788-1820)
– Absconded Convicts New South Wales 1832 (revised), 1834, 1837, 1838 (from (from Sydney Gazette notices giving description; employer of convict)
– Apprehended Convicts NSW 1834, 1837, 1838 (from Sydney Gazette notices reporting the apprehension of an absconded convict)

– Convicts sent to NSW direct from India; other non-UK ports 1813-1826
– Landholders in NSW 1813
– St Mary’s Catholic School Sydney roll of pupils 4 May-4 Aug 1823, St Mary’s Cathedral Archives, Sydney SAG reel 6
– Church Registers: St Marys Catholic Cathedral, Sydney NSW Baptisms 1832-1837
– Christ Church St Lawrence Church of England, Sydney NSW: Marriage Banns Register 1839-1867
– Christ Church St Lawrence Church of England, Sydney NSW: Burials 1838-1856
– Victualling List New South Wales February-November 1788

Search the index of 2.2m records for free or to see full details of records subscribe today (only $38pa)

BDA 9th release: 13 NEW datasets, 124,285 new records.

All accessible via ADVANCED SEARCH

NEWS FLASH: 23 July 2021

Births, deaths, marriages, church records:

– Sydney (City) St James C of E burials 1832-1856

Convict records:

– Convicts in Victoria 1840-1847 (443 convicts in Vic after end of transportation to NSW)
– Absconded Convicts NSW 1832, 1833, 1835,1836
– Apprehended Convicts NSW 1832, 1833, 1835, 1836
– Convict Death Register NSW 1828-1879 (including Norfolk Is & early Vic & QLD)
– Permissions for NSW Convicts to Marry 1826-1851 (including early Vic & QLD)

Court & probate records:

– Coroners Inquests (12000 in NSW + some QLD & VIC) 1834-1859
– Courts of Criminal Jurisdiction 1788-1833(NSW + early TAS, QLD & Norfolk Is)
– Probate Index 1790-1876 (mainly NSW + early TAS, QLD & VIC)

Shipping & passenger records:

– Ship Musters Sydney NSW Departures 1816-1825 (17,000 passengers leaving the colony)

Military & biographical records for British garrisons stationed in Australia:

– 21st Regiment of Foot (Royal North British Fusiliers) 1833-1840 (many in TAS & WA)

Newspaper index:

– Sydney Gazette Index 1803-1807

Miscellaneous lists & databases:

– Deane Index to UK Colonial Office NSW correspondence 1823-1840.

Update 9 also includes an enlarged and corrected Index of the Australian Dictionary of Biography 1788-1850 & an expanded index to Brisbane Newspapers BDM & funeral notices 1846-1875.

Search the index of 2.2m records for free or to see full details of records subscribe today (only $38pa)

Your subscription to this non-profit project supports IT development, dataset linking/correction & dedicated volunteers currently transcribing & collating material for future updates.

Not an active subscriber? Index search is free and a one-year subscription is only $38pa to explore NEW datasets now online

Reminder: BDA is a non-profit organisation with the only full online transcript of UNESCO nominated NSW 1828 census, 10,000 burials & inscriptions 1819-1901 from the Sydney Burial Ground, immigrants to NSW/Vic assisted/bounty 1832-1851, most convicts to NSW/Qld/Vic 1788-1840s, most Tasmanian colonists 1803-c1827, Norfolk Is 1792-1855, NSW muster/BDM records 1788-1830s+ most soldiers stationed in Australia 1788-1840, 160,000 Colonial Secretary records + 31,000 full text biographies & full text of baptisms, marriages & burials 1788-1830s+ including marriage witnesses noting whether signed by name or X mark & names of Catholic baptism sponsors/godparents.

ADVANCED SEARCH is a finding aid allowing you to explore local history & break through genealogical brick walls with a search by place and event year. A year search can be combined with birth, marriage, death, arrival, trial, ship of arrival, status (born in colony, free, convict, immigrant, military, seaman etc), ethnicity, religion, regiment or employment

Click to subscribe today (only $38pa)

Biographical Telegraph compiled by Michael Flynn 17 July 2021

BDA 8th release 16 NEW datasets, over 2,000,000 records now online

NEWS FLASH: 25 January 2020:

BDA is pleased to announce Update No 8 comprising 16 new datasets. Highlights include: baptisms 1833+ GOULBURN & WOLLONGONG, many new NORFOLK ISLAND records 1802-1855, new vistas on convict lives: database of 14,000 convicts & others sent to & from penal settlements, gaols & courts NSW, Norfolk Is, Vic, Qld 1828-50, Australians in the 1849 CALIFORNIA GOLD RUSH, 2000 new 1830s soldier profiles including MELBOURNE’S 1^ST GARRISON 1836.

Search TWO MILLION records for free or subscribe today (still only $33pa).

BDA Release 8 adds the following 16 datasets:

Births, deaths, marriages, church records:

-Baptisms Goulburn NSW C of E 1833-1865

-Baptisms Wollongong NSW C of E 1834-1864

-Deaths at Sydney Hospital 1811-1826

Convict records:

– Applications for convict workers NSW 1826-1828

– List of uncollected convict pardons NSW 1850

– Lists of convicts recommended for pardons NSW 1826-1856

– Lists of convict tickets of leave cancelled NSW 1832-1869

Shipping & passenger records:

– Lists of passengers sailing Sydney to California 1849-1851 in search of gold in the USA

– List of Masters and Shipowners NSW 1849

Military & biographical records covering most rank & file in British garrisons in Australia to 1837:

– 4th Regiment of Foot (King’s Own) 1831-1837

– 17th Regiment of Foot (Leicestershire) 1830-1837

– Royal New South Wales Veteran Companies 1826-1832

– Royal Staff Corps 1826-1829

Miscellaneous lists & databases:

– Colonial Secretary letters to Sheriff NSW 1828-1850

– Norfolk Island victualling lists 1802-1809

– List of Norfolk Island residents 1825-1855, includes many convicts also in NSW, Tas, Vic & Qld

Your subscription supports an advanced search function now under development & dedicated volunteers currently transcribing & collating material for future updates. Search now.

Not an active subscriber? Index search is free and a one year subscription is still only $33pa to explore NEW datasets now online. Click here to subscribe.

Reminder: BDA is a non-profit organisation with the only full online transcript of UNESCO nominated NSW 1828 census, 10,000 burials & inscriptions 1819-1901 from the Sydney Burial Ground featured in the Dead Central exhibition at State Library of NSW, immigrants to NSW/Vic assisted/bounty 1832-1851, most convicts to NSW/Qld/Vic 1788-1840s, most Tasmanian colonists 1803-c1827, Norfolk Island 1792-1855, , NSW muster/BDM records 1788-1830s+, most soldiers stationed in Australia 1788-1837, 160,000 Colonial Secretary records + 31,000 full text biographies.

Search or subscribe today (still only $33pa)

BDA Special Book Sale – Sat 18th and Sun 19th January 2020, 10am to 5pm

Special Book Sale Sat 18th & Sun 19th January 2020 10am – 5pm – 40% discount.

17 Mitchell Street, McMAHONS POINT 2060

off Blues Point Road,

a short walk from North Sydney Railway Station.

Biographical Database of Australia a not-for-profit project, has accumulated many books, on all aspects of Australian, British & Irish History and Genealogy, which are now duplicates, and are now for sale.

We accept Visa & MasterCard, cheque or cash.

Anyone willing to donate similar books for the sale, please send an e-mail via the Contact Us tab.

BDA 7th release 3 July 2019, 14 NEW datasets, nearly 2,000,000 records now online

NEWS FLASH: 3 July 2019

BDA is pleased to announce Update No 7 comprising 14 new datasets containing 287,000 records newly added to BDA. The online database now contains just under 2 million records of deceased Australians from the 18th, 19th & 20th centuries. Dedicated volunteers are currently transcribing & collating material for future updates.

Highlights of Update 7 are:

– Full details of assisted immigrants to NSW & Vic 1838-1841 including (for NSW) genealogically crucial details of birthplace & parentage. Did your ancestor’s siblings, cousins, uncles or aunts immigrate as well?

– Unassisted passenger lists Port Phillip Vic 1846.

– Court records indexes NSW 1822-1836 & 1840-1856.

– Birth, Death & Marriage Notice indexes QLD 1846-1875, NSW 1825, 1827.

– NSW Sydney St James Church of England, Marriages 1832-1856 full transcript.

– Convicts sent direct from UK to Victoria 1844-1849.

– Bonds to the Naval Office, Port Jackson Sydney NSW 1810-1819.

– Cemetery indexes NSW Frenchs Forest 1940-c2008, Mona Vale 1914-c2008.

– Orphan Irish Girls Employment NSW 1849-1852.

– Unemployed in NSW 1860 & 1884.

– Australian Dictionary of Biography 1788-1850 : expanded comprehensive Index.

Search or subscribe today (still only $33pa) to explore 14 NEW datasets now online.

Click here for July 2019 News Flash with full details of new datasets just added under these titles:

Passengers to Sydney NSW & Port Phillip Vic : Entitlement Certificates for Bounty Immigrants 1838-1841
Passengers on Government Ships (assisted immigrants) NSW 1838-1840
Passengers Arriving in Victoria 1846
Bench of Magistrates Cases NSW 1822-1836
Court Cases NSW 1840-1856
Brisbane Newspapers Qld: Index of Birth, Death, Marriage & Funeral Notices 1846-1875
Sydney Newspapers: Extracts of Birth, Death & Marriage Notices 1825 & 1827
NSW Sydney St James Church of England Marriages 1832-1856
Convicts Direct to Victoria 1844-1849
Bonds to the Naval Office, Port Jackson, Sydney NSW 1810-1819
Frenchs Forest Cemetery NSW 1940-c2008
Mona Vale Cemetery NSW 1914-c2008
Orphan Irish Girls Employment NSW 1849-1852
Unemployed in NSW 1860 & 1884

The following dataset was updated in this release

Australian Dictionary of Biography 1788-1850 : Expanded revised index.

Consult these under the Sources Tab for full details.

Search or subscribe today (still only $33pa) to explore the NEW datasets just added.

Click here for full details on Release 7

BDA 6th release 15 July 2018, 11 NEW datasets, nearly 1,600,000 records now online

NEWS FLASH: 15 July 2018

Highlights are:

Court records for 5,000 people, NSW Bench of Magistrates 1788-1820
Details of 12,700 people in the Australian Dictionary of Biography 1788-1850 (all states)
More NSW parish registers, new Norfolk Island & Tasmanian records 1788-1831
NSW convict indents complete to 1842
Biographical details of 57th & 63rd regiments NSW, TAS, QLD, NT, WA 1825-1833

Search or subscribe today (still only $30pa) to explore these NEW datasets just added:

Convict Indents (ship musters) NSW: 1830, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842

NSW Church Registers: 1824-1888: Sydney, Parramatta, Windsor, Richmond, Liverpool, Castlereagh

Australian Dictionary of Biography 1788-1850: indexed details of 12,700 people from all states

Court records for 5,000 people, NSW Bench of Magistrates 1788-1820 from State Records NSW

Biographical details for 57th Regiment 1825-1832, colonial garrison 1825-1832 NSW, TAS, QLD, NT, WA

Biographical details for 63rd Regiment 1830-1833, colonial garrison 1830-1833 NSW, TAS, QLD, NT, WA
Norfolk Island Residents 1788-1814: Reg Wright’s biographical database
Biographical index to Stamp sellers NSW 1862-1875, many of them local shopkeepers:

Tasmania, Land and stock musters 1803-1804, 1807, 1809: transcripts by Garry Wilson

Tasmania: Passengers departing the colony 1817: transcript by Garry Wilson

Tasmania: Permissions to marry-1829-1831: transcripts by Garry Wilson

BDA 5th release 6 December 2017, 10 NEW datasets, 250,000+ new records, 1,5000,000+ now online

NEWS FLASH: 6 December 2017

Many new records from TASMANIA and NORFOLK ISLAND

More CONVICT IMMIGRANT & PARISH REGISTER RECORDS NSW

Search or subscribe today (still only $30pa) to see these NEW datasets just added:

Convict Indents / ship musters NSW: 1829, 1832, 1834, 1835, 1836, 1837 & 1838.

Church Register transcripts: Campbelltown, Castlereagh, Queanbeyan Sydney.

Convicts & Employers 1828-1844: assigned convicts, employers & runaways.

Norfolk Island Victualling Book 1792-1796: all civilian & military residents of the island, published online for the first time, including many children of 1st, 2nd & 3rd Fleeters.

Tasmanian Database 1803-1827: A compilation of records by the late Garry Wilson, biographical profiles of free and convict colonial Tasmanians (42,000 entries).

Tasmanian Muster of Children 1827: Returns listing 1403 children (974 in the Hobart district, 429 in the Port Dalrymple district), gives details of children and character of parent.

Tasmanian Musters 1814-1822: Transcripts by the late Garry Wilson of Tasmanian musters for the years 1814, 1818, 1819, 1820, 1822 The 1814 general muster and 1818 convict muster are archival estrays held in Sydney and have not previously been published in hard copy or online.

Tasmanian Victualling Book 1803-1804 (original source): A transcript of the 1803-1804 victualling list recording all colonists in the settlements at Port Phillip Bay (Sorrento, Victoria) and the Derwent (Hobart, Tasmania) up to 1 January 1805.

Tasmanian Victualling Book 1803-1804: analysis by Garry Wilson: biographical profiles of the 1803-04 settlers linked to later Tasmanian records.

Unassisted Immigrants to Sydney NSW 1842-1857: 190,000 entries.

BDA 4th release 17 December 2016, 8 NEW datasets, 250,000 new records – now online

17 December 2016

New Datasets just added:

39th Regiment pay lists 1826-1833 (NSW, including Moreton Bay).

Royal Veteran Company Pay Lists NSW 1810-1814.

Convict Certificates of Freedom NSW 1823-1869.

Convict Tickets of Leave NSW 1849-1875.

Assisted Immigrants to NSW, Port Phillip & Moreton Bay 1839-1896 giving details of 191,934 immigrants to Sydney and Newcastle (1844-1896), Moreton Bay Qld (1844-1896) & Port Phillip, Vic (1839-1851). The arrivals included 978 children aged under six. An additional 2,132 passengers died on the voyages (580 infants and the oldest aged 76).

General Post Office – Unclaimed Letters NSW 1836-1852.

Camperdown C of E Cemetery (Sydney NSW) Interment Register 1849-1853.

Railway Passes NSW 1880-1892.

Consult these under the Sources Tab for full details.

BDA Newsletter No 1 – The Biographical Telegraph – now online

18 September 2016

On 14 March 2016 Biographical Database of Australia (BDA) celebrated its 10th birthday as a non-profit organisation run by volunteers aiming to create an online database of deceased Australians linked to form biographical profiles.

This is the first issue of The Biographical Telegraph which will provide regular updates on BDA as it continues to expand.

Read the Biographical Telegraph No 1

BDA 3rd release 20 February 2016, 11 NEW datasets, 1 million records – now online

20 February 2016

New Datasets just added:

Land & Stock returns taken with the 1828 Census – naming owners & tenants.
A small number of Births & Deaths recorded in Norfolk Island and Sydney Hospital 1802, 1803 & 1811.
Camperdown Cemetery Monumental Inscriptions – about a quarter of the cemetery.
Dictionary of Australian Biography by P Serle 1949. Full text of all biographies, fully cross indexed.
Land Grants NSW 1788-1809
University Graduates in Australian Universities 1856-1900 giving degrees.
Military:
– 3rd Regiment (Buffs)
– 40th Regiment
– 46th Regiment
– 48th Regiment
– NSW Corps Casualty List

Consult these under the Sources Tab for full details.

BDA 2nd release: 20 new Datasets, 400,000 new records – now online

23 February 2015

Biographical Database of Australia (BDA) has almost doubled in size with its first big update, adding 400,000 records – now online.

A legacy of Australia’s penal colonies and immigration schemes is a genealogical and historical treasure trove of archival and biographical records. They are being transcribed and linked to create the BDA, made up of biographical profiles of deceased persons born in Australia or who arrived as convicts or immigrants, a unique resource for historians and genealogists.

Twenty new datasets from all states containing 400,000 additional entries from manuscript and published biographical sources and are now online, bringing the total of online records to 900,000. For a full list of new Datasets Read more.

BDA – 2nd release: 18 new Datasets, 400,000 new records

19 September 2014

Sydney Cove by Thomas Watling 1794 : courtesy Dixson Galleries, State Library of New South Wales.

A legacy of Australia’s penal colonies and immigration schemes is a genealogical and historical treasure trove of archival and biographical records. They are being progressively transcribed and linked to create the Biographical Database of Australia (BDA), made up of biographical profiles of deceased persons born in Australia or who arrived as convicts or immigrants.

To mark its first anniversary BDA will soon be uploading 18 new datasets containing 400,000 records from all states, pushing the total number of BDA records above 900,000. They include tens of thousands of published biographies (10,000 from Victoria), new convict and passenger records, NSW inquests and Hawkesbury district ration books, clergy records, Sydney burials (1819-1901), 73rd Regiment (1809-1814 NSW/TAS/NI) and 160,000 Colonial Secretary letters. Read more

Biographical Database of Australia launched

13 September 2013

BDA_Launch — L-R : Keith Johnson, Dr Carol Liston, Malcolm Sainty and Michael Flynn

On Sunday, 8 September 2013 the Biographical Database of Australia was launched at the Royal Australia Historical Society, Macquarie Street, Sydney, by Dr Carol Liston, Associate Professor of the School of Humanities and Communication Arts at the University of Western Sydney. She said the project would prove to be a boon for both historians and genealogists. The not-for-profit database is the result of many years of work by volunteer genealogists, historians and contractors. The project is the brainchild of Keith Johnson and Malcolm Sainty, founders of the Library of Australia History, publisher of the 1828 Census of NSW more than 30 years ago. Read more