The National Library of Australia is calling for applications for the 2013 Community Heritage Grants. The grants of up to $15,000 are available to community groups around the country to help preserve and manage locally held, nationally significant cultural heritage collections of documents and objects for future generations. Continue reading → Do you have some spare time? Would you like to see more Australian records readily available online? If you answered yes to both, the National Archives of Australia (NAA) are looking for people like you to help transcribe their records. While they already have millions of records online and searchable using RecordSearch, there are still throusands (if not millions) more unindexed. Continue reading → Sentenced Beyond the Seas is a project that State Records NSW is doing, and digitising and indexing Australia’s early convict records, making colour images of early convict indents available online for the first time. This digitisation project marks the 225th anniversary in 2013 of the arrival of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove on 26 January 1788. Continue reading → Flip-Pal Mobile Scanners are taking over the world … family historians have discovered them, and can’t live without them, photographers have found just how useful they are, and the craft and scrapbooking industry have found them simply Ah-mazing. Sadly not every archive repositry, library, museum, family history society or historical group allows use of the Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner on-site. So to make everyone’s life a little easier we have started to compile a listing of places that do allow useage of the scanner on-site. Continue reading → If you have a passion for preserving South Australia’s heritage, and have a project that you’d like to do, but need some funds to help you along the way, you’d better be quick as applications for grants from the Historical Society of South Australia close on Wednesday 31 October 2012. Continue reading → Let me introduce you to a new research project that the Ryde District Historical Society, has just begun. Titled ‘Ryde Goes to War’, the Society has taken on the challenge of gathering data on World War 1 Service personel who have a strong connection with the City of Ryde in Sydney. Continue reading → Love Trove + Love Blogging = Trove Tuesday. Aussie Geneabloggers (well actually anyone, from anywhere) now has a new reason to be excited, and that is thanks to Trove Tuesday. Is there a person who doesn’t LOVE Trove? I don’t think so. So let’s share our finds by blogging about them. Continue reading → A story in The Advertiser last weekend was about how Director, Scott Hicks is lending his star power in a bid to help save historic South Australian films that are at risk of being lost forever. The State Library of South Australia has a film collection which includes Super 8 and 16mm films. To preserve and share the more than 7500 films, the Library’s In-House Digitising project requires a $200,000 digital film scanner. Continue reading → It has been quite a while, but I’ve decided to resurrect my Australian History News series of posts, as I enjoy finding out bits & pieces of genealogy and history news, and passing it on to you. In this one we have details of a free book on one of Queensland’s pioneers, a new User Group, more funding for one of Australia’s top convict sites, a new project for another group, and more societies join in on social media. Continue reading → Want to find out what the National Library of Australia has to offer without even taking a step outside of your house? Now you can with the new videos that the National Library of Australia have created, which will help viewers started using their collections and services. You’ll learn how to access their readings rooms and galleries, research your family history, use online resources and order copies from the collection. Continue reading → The Canberra Times had an interesting article on the National Archives of Australia seeking $92 million to upgrade their facilities. According to the report the NAA Mitchell storage facility has become so decrepit that tape is being used to hold down floor tiles which could contain asbestos. It is our our NATIONAL Archives for goodness sake!! Continue reading → 
It seems to be the season for history grants, and now it is South Australia’s turn, as the South Australian History Fund grants for 2012-13 are now open. This annual fund, which totals $35,000 in funding from the Government of South Australia and is administered by History SA, has three categories: Projects, Publications and Research. Continue reading → A BIG congratulations to the 58 Victorian oganisations who have just been awarded Local History Grants. The money used by them will go toward projects which will aid in preserving different aspects of Victoria’s history. Continue reading → 