N.S.W. Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages NewsLetter -- December, 1999 Issue

THE CHANGING FORMATS OF OUR REGISTERS

         For just under one hundred years, from 1856 to 1951 the Registry used almost the same formats to record birth, death and marriage records, with the exception of some minor changes. These records are contained in large registers that hold four or five records to a page and read across a double page.

         With over 70 registering districts in 1856, growing close to 200 by 1951 meant that changes in formats in some areas may have been implemented before others.

         Births - In 1856 and for some of 1857 and 1858 birth records contained two separate columns for 1. when and where registered, 2. signature of Deputy Registrar. 1857 saw the introduction of these two these columns being combined.

         Little other changes were made to the format of births except for the recording of previous children. In many cases birth records showed only the number of male, female living and deceased children born prior to the child being registered, and it wasn't until about 1896 that all birth records are individually naming the previous children and stating their ages.

         It had also been the practice since 1856 to enter " Illegitimate" after the name of a child whose parents' were not married, and "spinster" after the name of the mother. This practice ceased in 1934.

         Deaths - the only change in the format of deaths was in 1902 the column "how long in Australian colonies indicating which" changed to " how long in Australian colonies or states indicating which". Also the last column of the death certificate the " issue, (children) in order of birth, their names and ages" in many of the earlier records show only the number of male and female children, and by 1896 all districts were recording the names of each child and their ages.

         Marriages - these were to have the most changes. The format used in 1856 and some of 1857 and 1858 had several extra columns. Next to "condition of parties" (bachelor, spinster etc) were columns for children by each former marriage, living and deceased.

         Also in this format were two columns for place of residence, one was for "present place of residence", the other "usual place of residence". As many of you who have had marriage certificates will also be aware that some information was not recorded on marriages last century. Usually missing were the ages of the parties, place of birth and parents' names.

         In the early part of this century an attempt was made to have this information added to our records from the church registers. In some cases this information has been added and in some not. By 1900 all information on a marriage was being recorded. It was about this time that there was a slight change in the columns. While the information on the marriage certificate was the same, the positions changed. "Condition of the Parties" and "Birth Place" moved to the right side of the double page, making room for "Rank or Profession" and "Usual Place of Residence" to move to the left page.

1952 onwards.

         In 1952 there was a complete change in the registers. Smaller registers, about A4 size that contained one record per page. While the biggest change was that records read down a page instead of across a double page, the information collected remained the same. Marriages in the 1960's saw the occupations of the fathers no longer being collected, but the introduction of dates of birth of the persons marrying, as up until now marriage certificates only showed ages. Around about the same time death records saw " How long in Australasian Colonies or States indicating which" change to " Length of residence in Australia".

         All birth records from 1952 are now computer generated, where as marriages to 1994 and deaths to 1990 have been microfilmed and only the more recent marriages and death records are computer generated.

ACCESS REQUIREMENTS

         The time periods in which birth, death and marriage records are confidential, is set as:

Births after 1905,
Marriages in the last 50 years
Deaths in the last 30 years.

This means if you are applying for a record within these time periods which is not your own, you will need to have written authority from the person, or if they are deceased, the next of kin. We also require a photocopy of some current identification for both yourself and the person giving you the authorisation.

         These time periods were set some years back by a Parliamentary Standing Committee on Privacy, not the Registry. It was intended that births be set at a 100-year period, but as the Federation Series Index had already been released with indexes of births to 1918, this was set to 1905, and in 2006 will go to a 100-year period.

         This means currently if you require a birth record between 1906 and 1918, by quoting the index number you can obtain the discount, however you still need to meet the authority and identification requirements. In 2006 you will then be able to obtain a birth record in 1906 without these restrictions. As the states of Australia are each covered under their own legislation, there will be varying requirements from state to state.

WRECK OF THE DUNBAR - AUSTRALIA'S DISASTER AT SEA

         The Registry holds many historical records, but few are more tragic than the records for the clipper Dunbar, sailing from England, which was wrecked on the rocks of Outer South Head in a furious south-easterly gale on the night of 20th August 1857. There was only one survivor, 23 year old James Johnson who was rescued from a rock ledge some 36 hours after the ship had struck. The remains of the victims were placed in a common grave at Camperdown cemetery.

         The list of passengers, from contemporary newspaper reports, are reproduced below:

LIST OF PASSENGERS, PER "THE DUNBAR."

Mr and Mrs Kilner Waller, 6 children and servant;
Mr and Mrs A Myers, 6 children and servant,
Mr and Mrs S Peek,
Mrs Egan, son, and daughter;
Mr Hyacinth Macquiod;
Mr Severn;
Misses Hunt (2);
Captain Stearne, R.N;
Mr James;
Mr Downey, architect;
Mr Isaac Simmons;
Mr Troughton;
Miss Logan and 2 Masters Logan;
Mr and Mrs Milne and family;
Mr Davidson.
Twenty-four second and third cabin passengers.
Crew about 60.

The above Mr and Mrs S Peek were well-known colonists. Mr Peek has been for many years a large importer, and formerly a partner with Mr Robert Porter.

Mrs Egan was the wife of Mr Daniel Egan, M.L.A., and was accompanied by his son and daughter, Mr and Mrs Calmac.

Mr Kilner Waller was a brother of Mr J G Waller, of this city. Mr Kilner Waller was the author of several interesting and valuable letters respecting emigration.

Mr A Meyers was a brother of a gentleman at Bathurst of the same name.

Mr Milne was, we believe, a squatter in the Northern district.

Mr adrian de Young James was the only son of Mr H Kerrison James, the Bishop of Sydney's secretary. This young gentleman had been to England pursuing his studies prepatory to entering the Church.

The Miss Logan and two Masters Logan were the children of Mrs Logan, of this city.

Mr Macquiad will be remembered as the son of the late Sheriff, and who so honourably, a few years ago, liquidated the debts of his father. He was accompanied by his friend and partner in a sheep station, Mr Severr.

Mr Isaac Simmons was the second son of the late Mr James Simmons, and was returning to the colony to take possession of his share of the property.

In the second cabin was Mrs W R Brown and child. Mrs Brown was coming out to join her husband, an assistant in Messrs. Thompson, Symonds and Co.s' house.

There was also a Mr Healing, wife and three children.

It was believed that Mr Bynon was likewise a passenger.

---

Bradshaw, 1856, Narrative of the Melancholy Wreck of the Dunbar

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HOW TO CONTACT US:

N.S.W. Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages

Address: 191 Thomas Street Haymarket
Box 30 GPO
Sydney 2001
Phone number: 1300-656-236 or 1300-655-BDM
Website: http://www.bdm.nsw.gov.au/
Email addresses:

• Ray Feeney, Manager Client Services - rfeeney@agd.nsw.gov.au
  
• Patricia Iannucci, Family History Officer - piannucc@agd.nsw.gov.au
  
• Lola Brancati, Acting Family History Officer - Lola_Brancati@agd.nsw.gov.au
  
• Jen Riddler, Client Services Officer

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N.S.W. Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages NewsLetter -- March, 2000 Issue

         Welcome to another issue of the Registry Newsletter, the first issue since December last year. We have been very busy over the last couple of months with January/February being our big months for general birth certificate applications. We hope you all have settled in to your family research once again after the Christmas and New Year break, and hope that the 2000 bug did not annoy you.

         This month's newsletter has some interesting items and we hope that we answer some of your queries. We would also like some feedback and possibly some questions from you that we may answer in future issues, so if something has been puzzling you for years, or if you have some suggestions for us we would be pleased to hear from you.

ON LINE ORDERING

         The Registry is currently investigating the introduction of on line ordering of certificates from our historical indexes. For the uninitiated this is the ability for our clients that have access to the internet indexes to order certificates over the internet and make payment via their credit card over a secure line. This will certainly simplify the process and will speed things up for family historians eagerly awaiting their certificate at home. Once the client chooses to purchase a certificate, completes anapplication form on line, and makes payment via the internet, the production process will commence, and delivery time will be shortened in the process.

         You will all be advised of progress both in future newsletters and on the Registry website.

COMMEMORATIVE CERTIFICATES

         For some time now the Registry has been producing a range of commemorative birth certificates, and all distribution efforts have been aimed at new birth registrations. We are now making this attractive package available for any event occurring in New South Wales, back to 1856.

         The package includes a standard certificate that can be used for official purposes, and a decorative commemorative certificate suitable for framing or placing in a family album. The price of the two certificate package is $36.00 and when you consider that the price of a standard certificate is $26.00, the extra $10.00 for a quality decorative certificate is value for money. The range of commemorative certificates will soon be expanded mainly with our family history clients in mind, and the range will soon include, as well as the six designs for birth certificates, a selection of commemorative marriage and death certificates plus a special year 2000 birth certificate.

         You may feel that releasing a commemorative death certificate seems a little strange, but research has indicated that there is an interest, especially in the family history field, for example a commemorative marriage or death certificate of the first family members to arrive on the shores of Australia.

         Commemorative birth certificates are available now and the new range will be released soon and you will be advised when they are available. A sampling can be viewed on our website www.bdm.nsw.gov.au.

COURT HOUSE ACCESS

         As many of you would be aware, the Registry has suspended all applications for access to records held at Court Houses due to a review of the service and the application process connected to it. The review was necessary due to several factors such as the deteriorating condition of the old registers, and reported non compliance to the conditions stated when access was granted. The access is normally granted to complete projects involved in capturing cemetery records, and allegations were made that information outside these agreed guidelines was being transcribed.

         Another factor taken into consideration was the imminent commencement of the backcapture project, part of which will involve the eventual recall of all registers held in the Court Houses and placing them in archival storage to preserve them for posterity. It has been decided to process the applications received under recently developed stringent guidelines and application processes, and the application process will proceed until such time as the registers are recalled. The current applicants will be advised of the revised conditions and new application process in due course and when future applications are received, the new guidelines and documentation will be forwarded to the applicants.

NORFOLK ISLAND

         A question has been raised regarding the Registry's holdings of events occurring in Norfolk Island. There is not much information to be found in our records and files on this subject, except to advise that events were registered in New South Wales between 1895 and 1913, and since 1913 it was administered by the Commonwealth.

Any enquiries should be directed to Norfolk Island Administration.

Administration Offices
Kingston, Norfolk Island 2899
Phone: (0011) 6723 23691
Fax: (0011) 6723 23403

Fee: $5.00

THE WEBSITE

         Thank you to all who have sent messages advising that the website was down. There have been a few minor problems in the last week. Often there are no warning bells, and without your advice, we are not aware that the site is down.

         There has been some developments in this area that will improve the website service. The website is now working from a new server which went on line on Monday 13 March, and following this we were inundated with phone calls and e-mails letting us know how much the service had improved. There was a dramatic increase in hourly 'hits' which increased to four times the normal traffic.

         You may also notice that there is a new screen and search facility, and the computer experts advise that it will improve your searching speed.

         Many of you have asked to have the place of registration added to the on-line indexes. This is one of the enhancements which we will look at once the back capture project is complete.

THE BACK CAPTURE PROJECT

         It is now March and the preparations are still underway. The imaging process has not yet started, however I believe will shortly. Since the announcement of the Back Capture Project the demand on the two Transcription Agents, has increased considerably. Joy and Marilyn are working hard to keep up with their demands and reasonable turnaround times.

         The records to be digitised first will be the birth records in 1930 and it is intended to work forwards in the records to 1951. These are records that the Transcription Agents currently do not have access to, which means that the Agents will not be affected immediately.

         We will then go back to the commencement of civil records, 1856 and work forwards. Throughout the process the Transcription Agents will be able to transcribe registers still available, until such time that there are no longer any registers to transcribe from. This should be towards the completion of the project.

         The current service offered by the Registry for a "Certified Copy" of a birth, death or marriage certificate will not change, and as required by our Act the 'prescribed' fee be payable for this.

         The Registry appreciates that it is the alternative service by the Transcription Agents is what will be affected, and we are looking at other options to fill this gap. There will be a replacement service, however details are not yet available.

THE READING ROOM SERVICE.

         The next reading room service will be held on Saturday April 15, 2000. For those who are not aware, this service allows you to come to the Sydney Office and look at the original registers (up to 1905 for births, and 1918 for marriages, and deaths up to1945 once you have obtained the registration numbers from the index. The cost of the service is $85.00 for each twenty minutes, during which time you may inspect up to ten records. Bookings are required and can be made by phoning 02 92438526 during office hours.

OUR PRICING STRUCTURE

         Just a reminder of our certificate fees. When the index number and year is quoted, the fee is $20. When using this service we recommend that you be absolutely sure you have the right record, as only the correctness of the entry number and the quality of the certificate is checked, no other details.

         If you are not sure or require information you have to be checked against the registration, then you should submit the $26 fee. The $26 fee covers a ten-year search. You can either nominate a ten-year period to be searched or if you supply a year, four or five years before and after that year will be searched.

The following table is for requests for longer searches

Number of year:                       Fee:


1-10                                      $26.00

11-20                                     $51.00

21-30                                     $76.00

31-40                                   $101.00

41-50                                   $126.00


(increments by $25.00 for every 10 years or part thereof after the initial 10 year search period).

         Also available is the 'Number Checking Service'. Sometimes you will check the index and find a number of possible entries for the record you seek. For $26.00 we will check up to ten registration numbers against the details you give us (e.g mother's maiden name, spouse's name, occupation). If we find the correct certificate we will then forward you a copy, if not a "result of search" will be issued. The numbers you send must relate to one name and one event only.

FEEDBACK

         We would be interested to know your thoughts on the range of commemorative certificates, and especially if the new range of marriage and death commemoratives appeals to you. We will welcome your feedback.

That's all for this issue, and remember that if you have any issues you would like to raise, or questions you would like answered please drop us a line or an e-mail and we will do our best to answer them in future issues.

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HOW TO CONTACT US:

N.S.W. Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages

Address: 191 Thomas Street Haymarket
Box 30 GPO
Sydney 2001
Phone number: 1300-656-236 or 1300-655-BDM
Website: http://www.bdm.nsw.gov.au/
Email addresses:

• Ray Feeney, Manager Client Services - rfeeney@agd.nsw.gov.au
  
• Patricia Iannucci, Family History Officer - piannucc@agd.nsw.gov.au
  
• Lola Brancati, Acting Family History Officer - Lola_Brancati@agd.nsw.gov.au
  
• Jen Riddler, Client Services Officer

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N.S.W. Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages NewsLetter -- May, 2000 Issue

         It's our second newsletter for the year and welcome to all the new readers who have now joined our mailing list. The newsletter is proving to be very popular and I hope you will find this issue just as informative.

THE INTERNET

         The popularity of our website seems to be growing and I have included the latest statistics from 12/3/2000 to 20/5/2000.

The website has had:

1. about 2.65 million "hits".
   
2. done about 1.34 million searches an average of 800 per hour
   
3. most active day was 25/4/2000 (Anzac Day), with over 25000 searches performed
   
4. the most active countries (in terms of where the people looking at the site came from;

   i Australia
   ii United States
   iii UK
   iv New Zealand (Aotearoa)
   v Canada

            This has created a greater demand for certificates, with family history requests growing almost 20%. Some of you may have experienced some delays these last few weeks, the increase in requests together with the Easter break has had a major impact and we are working hard to catch up.

            It is encouraging to see the interest in genealogy increasing. The growing demand proves the need of our Back Capture Project so that records can be retrieved quicker and easier to eliminate delays.

   THE BACK CAPTURE PROJECT

            In our last newsletter we mentioned the records to be digitised first would be 1930 birth records and that we would work forwards to 1951 records. These are recordsthat the Transcription Agents currently do not have access to, which meant that the Agents would not be affected immediately. There has been a slight change. We have commenced with 1935 death records, and instead of the records being immediately archived, they will return to the Registry's shelves until such time that the records are archived. At this stage I cannot say when this will happen, however the good news is that in the meantime the Transcription Agents will have access to these.

   ON LINE ORDERING

            This was announced in our last newsletter, and is at the internal testing stage. Keep an eye on our website for further news.

   2000 COMMEMORATIVE CERTIFICATE

            The year 2000 commemorative birth certificate is now available. This is available for anyone born in New South Wales, and is a package of a certified birth certificate and the 2000 commemorative certificate for the fee of $36. Please remember that birth records after 1905 are confidential and that the identification and written authority (if not your own) still need to be produced.

            An application form will appear on our website shortly. Those of you receiving this letter by mail, have one enclosed. If you have received this by email and would like an application form, email me back with a postal address, and I would be happy to post one out.

   BIRTH RECORDS OF EXNUPTIAL CHILDREN

            I have often been asked why a birth record has been typed rather than a photograph of the certificate being issued. While there are other reasons, one the most common is the display of the word 'illegitimate'. Legislation does not permit the Registry to issue a certified copy with this displayed.

            A point that was recently raised was that the by issuing a record without 'illegitimate' displayed, the Registry was omitting vital information, and that genealogists could be going to great lengths looking for the parents' marriage which may not exist. The details recorded on the birth should indicate this.

            When a child is born, it is required that one parent comes forward and registers the child. In the case where parents are married to one another, the parent is required to supply details of both parents and marriage details. These are then recorded on the birth certificate.

            When a child is born exnuptial, that is the parents are not married to one another, to enable the father's details to be recorded the father is required to come forward and sign to say he is the father (if no father is recorded, then no marriage details are either).

            When a birth is registered with no father's details or parent marriage details, these columns on the birth record are left blank, and in early times, it was a practice of the Registrars to include the word "illegitimate". This practice ceased in 1934, and births registered since then do not contain this. The fact that the birth is registered without father's details and parent marriage details, indicate the circumstances at birth, without "illegitimate" needing to be displayed.

            It is the legislation that governs both historical and non-historical registrations, and as you can imagine, many of us would feel uncomfortable producing our own birth certificate if it contained "illegitimate" displayed.
   

   SHOWCASE

            If you are in Sydney this Friday May 26 or Saturday May 27, come and talk to us or see our display at Showcase. This is hosted by the Society of Australian Genealogists (SAG) with displays from government and private organisations, lectures, computer demonstrations and advice tables. The exhibition will be held in four buildings and we will be Abraham Mott Hall, Argyle Street the Rocks. Tickets are $12 for one day or $20 for both days and can be obtained on entry at Richmond Villa, 120 Kent Street Sydney. For further information or advance purchase of tickets contact SAG on 02 9247 3953

   QUESTIONNAIRE

            We are particularly interested to know if you will be using the on-line ordering once it is released. This would be by supplying credit card details via a secure line.
   
   Signing off for this issue, with a reminder that any suggestions, comments or feedback are appreciated.
      * * * * *   * * * * *   * * * * *   

   HOW TO CONTACT US:

   N.S.W. Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages
   
   Address: 191 Thomas Street Haymarket
   Box 30 GPO
   Sydney 2001
   Phone number: 1300-656-236 or 1300-655-BDM
   Website: http://www.bdm.nsw.gov.au/
   Email addresses:
   
   • Ray Feeney, Manager Client Services - rfeeney@agd.nsw.gov.au
     
   • Patricia Iannucci, Family History Officer - piannucc@agd.nsw.gov.au
     
   • Lola Brancati, Acting Family History Officer - Lola_Brancati@agd.nsw.gov.au
     
   • Jen Riddler, Client Services Officer
   
   
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