AustraliaDaySale2015

Archive Digital Books Australasia has digitised over 2000 titles that relate to Australian history and genealogy. As Australia Day is almost here, we’ve  decided to celebrate with some specials on a few of their titles.

So from now until the end of the month you can save $10 off each of the following titles.

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Australian Dictionary of Dates and Men of the Time
This is one of my all-time favourite books, it is simply phenomenal in what it contains. Published in 1879, this two part book consists of 570 pages packed full of fascinating details. The ‘Men of the Time’ part of this book is a listing of biographies of men of note with connections to Australia. Giving information such as their full name, date and place of birth, and a history of their occupation/s and as to why they are ‘noted’ now. The entries vary in length from a paragraph to a few pages. This is very valuable information. An example of part of an entry is:

a page from the Australian Dictionary of Dates and Men of the Time

a page from the Australian Dictionary of Dates and Men of the Time

BENNETT, William Christopher, was born in Ireland in 1823. He was employed as a pupil on railway surveys in Ireland from 1840 to 1845; and assistant engineer in charge of drainage works in Ireland until 1852. During the next two years he was in France and in South America, where he relieved Lieutenant Strain and his missing party at no small personal risk, for which he received thanks of the United States Government. At the end of 1854 he proceeded to New South Wales, and for ten months was assistant surveyor in the Survey department. In April 1856 he was made assistant engineer to the Commission for the Sewerage and Water Supply of Sydney. From beginning of 1857 until September he was engaged in the Railway Department ….[continues on for quite a bit more]

The second part of this book is the Dictionary of Dates. This has a listing of topics (such as Aborigines, Adelaide, Aquatic, Australian Agricultural Co., Caterpillar Plague, Charitable Institutions, Church of England, Coal etc), then under each topic there is a listing of events in date order, that have happened relating to that topic.

To view a sample of this title click here
For more details, or to order it click here
Item Code AU0004 – $24.50, now $14.50

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History of Australasia
How well do you know the history of Australia and New Zealand? David Blair gives readers details that I’m, sure your didn’t know about. Written in 1879, this 780 page book takes the history of both Australia and New Zealand ‘from the first dawn of discovery … to the establishment of self-government in the various colonies’ and ‘covers the settlement and history of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia and New Zealand, along with some information of Fiji and New Guinea’.

The intention of this large book was that it was the first one-volume history of Australasia. The history starts with the early navigators who found and mapped Australia, then moves on to the explorers of the inland. There are physical descriptions of both Australia and New Zealand, as well as details of climate, the natural production of the regions and animals and plant life. Aborigines, the discovery of gold (including the Ballarat rebellion), the governors of each colony, and the social history of each region are also covered, together with so much more.

Complimented with beautiful coloured maps included for each Australian colony, and New Zealand and numerous sketches included throughout, make this book a wonderful overall history of Australasia.
To view a sample of this title click here
For more details, or to order it click here
Item Code AU0035 – $24.50, now $14.50

map of Victoria in the History of Australasia

map of Victoria in the History of Australasia

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Dictionary of Australian Biography
Percival Serle’s ‘Dictionary of Australian Biography’ which he wrote in 1949 includes over 1000 pages of biographies of Australians. These were men and women closely connected with Australia, and who died before the end of 1942.

The average length of each biography is about a page, and they can be roughly classified into the following

page from the Dictionary of Australian Biography

page from the Dictionary of Australian Biography

twelve groups:
– Army and Navy
– Artists, including architects, actors, and musicians
– Governors and administrators
– Lawyers
– Literary men and women
– Notorieties
– Pioneers, explorers, pastoralists, men of business
– Politicians
– Scholars, philosophers, clergymen
– Scientists, including physicians, surgeons, and engineers
– Social reformers, philanthropists, educationists
– Sporting men (cricketers and athletes)
For more details, or to order it click here
Item Code AU0052 – $29.50, now $19.50

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Australian Handbook 1900
Part directory, part gazetteer and part almanac this ‘Australian Handbook’ covers the whole of Australia. The directory part is mainly concerned with giving an oversight of each Australian colony and is aimed more at the commercial sector.

It has very useful histories and maps of each colony as seen in the perspective of 1900. In its role as an almanac it contains extensive details of timetables and statistics such as:
– Calendar
– Police Courts

maps of Adelaide and South Australia that appear in the Australian Handbook 1900

maps of Adelaide and South Australia that appear in the Australian Handbook 1900

– Public Holidays in England
– Taxes
– Newspapers for Colonies as published in London
– Populations of Great Britain
– Railway Distances
– Comparative Statistics of the Australasia Colonies for 1897 and 1898

This Handbook is an immense reference book to the world of our ancestors over 100 years ago.
For more details, or to order it click here
Item Code AU0101-1900 – $27.50, now $17.50

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Australasian Medical Directory Compendium 1
Australian Medical Directories contain useful information for social historians and those interested in medical history as well as those with ancestors within the medical profession.

There are several different publishers of medical directories throughout Australia’s history, including Bruck, Loxton and others.

They generally contain the following features:
– laws applicable to the medical profession
– a complete directory of medical associations and departments (giving names and addresses)
– a complete directory of registered doctors, surgeons etc listing their qualifications and past experience

page from Loxton's 1911 Medical Directory

page from Loxton’s 1911 Medical Directory

– obituaries
– relevant geographical information for the different states
– medical Acts
– statistics
– information and directories on several pacific islands and New Zealand
– lists of medical periodicals and
– much more

This set contains 8 medical directories including the 1883, 1886, 1892, 1896, 1900, 1911, 1915 Australasian directories and the 1903 New South Wales directory together on as single CD at a special discount price.

To view a sample of this title click here
For more details, or to order it click here
Item Code AU0121C-1, $49.50, now $39.50

 

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