wiki 450Wikipedia. You’ve all heard of it, and I’m sure you’ve all used it. But how many of you have contributed to it? Not so many? Well it’s there, and it is open for anyone to contribute to, yes really! That’s the whole idea of a wiki. And as a result of that it has become the world’s largest encyclopedia, and continues to grow everyday.

For those who aren’t 100% sure what a wiki actually is, the definition of a wiki from Wikipedia itself states “A wiki is a web application which allows people to add, modify, or delete content in collaboration with others” while over on HowStuffWorks.com they say “A wiki is a collection of articles that multiple users can add to and edit freely online.” Both of those put it nice and concisely.

Earlier this  year I sat in on a talk by Thomas MacEntee about wikis, and discovered just how useful they can be. Particularly for local history groups. As it allows users/members/people to contribute articles, memories, photographs, stories, and so on by basically crowdsourcing – all to help preserve that areas history. And by doing it online they are able to share the history of the region with the world, rather than simply in physical items on their premises.

As a result of that I was wondering just what history and genealogy-related wiki’s are out there, and as I couldn’t find any list, I started creating one.

The following list consists of largely Australian genealogy and history orientated wikis, but I have thrown in a few that are world genealogy-related too.

As it is a work-in-progress, if you know of any wiki’s that fit this genre that I’ve missed, please send and email to Alona (inquiries@gould.com.au), or put a comment below.

 

= AUSTRALIA =

The Australian Coin Wiki
Usedto collect and record information that is of use to Australian coin collectors in particular and world coin collectors in general.
http://wiki.australian-coins.net/

Australian Community Wiki
This site is designed to be a resource for anyone wishing to create a wiki for an Australian community.
http://australia.wikidot.com/

Australian History
This wikispace is designed allow students of VCE Australian History 2006students at Bendigo Senior Secondary College to work collaboratively in the development of an online encyclopaedia to build their knowledge and understanding of key aspects of the course.
http://australian-history.wikispaces.com/

Australia’s Prime Ministers
I would say that this one if fairly self explanatory.
http://primeministers.naa.gov.au/primeministers/

Bushfire History
This wiki aims to bring together memories, stories and knowledge to create a narrative of fire in our landscape, both at the local, “small” fire level, and also the ‘big’ history of generation size fires, recent and long gone.
http://bushfirehistory.wikispaces.com/

Convict Stockade
A wiki site for Australian convict researchers
http://www.historyaustralia.org.au/twconvic/tiki-index.php

 

= AUSTRALIA REGIONAL =

Adeladia (South Australia)
Adelaidia is an interactive way of engaging with the history of our city to find out about, and engage with, the history of our city.
http://adelaidia.sa.gov.au/

Alexandria Library Service Local History Wiki (South Australia)
This Wiki is designed to assist you with discovering what the History Rooms at Goolwa and Strathalbyn can offer as well as provide access to some electronic resources.
http://alexhistory.pbworks.com/w/page/1724562/Front%20Page

The Wiki of Central Queensland History (Queensland)
The Central Queensland History Website has now become a wiki.
http://www.cqhistory.com/

City of Boroondara Local History Wiki (Victoria)
This local history resource maintained by the City of Boroondara Library Service is constantly adding content, as more information becomes available to us.
http://coblocalhistory.pbworks.com/w/page/35304415/Main%20Page

Demonwiki (Victoria)
The history of the Melbourne Football Club.
http://demonwiki.org/

Dictionary of Sydney (New South Wales)
The Dictionary of Sydney is like no other city encyclopaedia in the world. Based on a permanent historical digital repository, the Dictionary aims to gather resources on every aspect of human habitation in the greater Sydney area from the first arrival of people to the present.
http://home.dictionaryofsydney.org/

The Hahnwiki (South Australia)
A wiki dedicated to the town of Hahndorf, South Austalia.
http://hahndorf.wikispot.org/

Northern Territory Library Wiki (Northern Territory)
The Northern Territory Library Wiki is a web-based knowledge management project for the Northern Territory Library staff and Northern Territory Library stakeholders.
https://ntlwiki.nt.gov.au/

Now & Then Gawler (South Australia)
A community heritage wiki website created and maintained by the people of Galwer, South Australia.
http://www.gawler.nowandthen.net.au/index.php?title=Main_Page

Public Record Office of Victoria (Victoria)
This wiki is a place for you to explore, share and contribute your knowledge of Victoria’s history.
http://wiki.prov.vic.gov.au/index.php/PROV_Wiki_-_Home

Rylstone and District Historical Society (RDHS) Wiki (New South Wales)
Covers an area of the Central Tablelands of New South Wales bounded by the villages of Capertee, Glen Davis, Widden, Baerami, Wollar, Cooyal, Cudgegong, Crudine, and Sofala, and includes within this area Bylong, Lue, Ilford, Glen Alice, Bogee, Rylstone, and Kandos.
http://www.rdhswiki.com/

WikiNorthia (Victoria)
WikiNorthia documents the life in Melbourne’s north
http://www.wikinorthia.net.au/

 

= WORLD/GENERAL =

Ancestry.com Family History Wiki
A great place to learn more about family history.
http://www.ancestry.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page

FamilySearch Wiki
Another feature to FamilySearch is their wiki where you can get genealogical research advice, or learn where to find record collections in the 79,000+ articles.
https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Main_Page

GeoNames
The GeoNames geographical database covers all countries and contains over eight million place names that are available for download free of charge.
http://www.geonames.org/

Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness Wiki
The original Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness (RAOGK) website was the brainchild of Bridgett Schneider. Shortly before her death in 2011, she had a computer disaster and the site has been down since. Before the RAOGK site went dark, the global organization consisted of over 4,000 volunteers in every U.S. state and many international locations. The RAOGK wiki is dedicated to Bridgett’s memory, to continue her efforts, and to provide a service that researchers and volunteers dearly loved and miss.
http://raogk.wikia.com/wiki/Random_Acts_of_Genealogical_Kindness_Wiki