Overview

BDA is a new research tool for historians and genealogists.

Compiled from original records and reliable secondary sources, BDA contains detailed information about tens of thousands of Australians, expected to increase to hundreds of thousands in the future.

Overview

BDA is a new research tool for historians and genealogists. Compiled from original records and reliable secondary sources, BDA contains detailed information about tens of thousands of Australians, expected to increase to hundreds of thousands in the future. The only restriction is that biographical subjects must be deceased.
Beginning in the 18th century and continuing into the early 20th century, this non-profit project is collecting surviving records of all persons who arrived from overseas or were born in Australia, including Aboriginal people. BDA then links together all references to specific individuals and
presents a detailed biographical timeline of references for a person.

Biographies can contain anything from one to hundreds of timeline entries, depending on how many references have been transcribed and linked. The transcription and linking process is being undertaken by expert genealogists and historians.
The database is a work in progress and will expand towards the present. As new sources are added to BDA, many existing biographies will become more detailed. Users will also be able to add biographical material to individuals listed in BDA, but only after vetting by editorial staff.

Not only does BDA provide biographical reports for individuals, users can hyperlink to the biographies of other persons mentioned in a biography – to spouses, parents, children and employers/employees. This enables users to jump from one biography to another throughout the database. In the future BDA will also allow advanced and keyword searches.