News on microfilm

Another great resource in the library for local studies researchers is the collection of newspapers on microfilm .The collection includes :

• The Wagga Wagga Express ,October 1858 to December 31 1929
• The Wagga Wagga Advertiser October 17 1868 to June 30 1911
• The Wagga Wagga Daily Advertiser July 1 1911 to the current day.

There are also some district papers. These include :

• The Ardlethan -Beckom Times
• Coolamon Farmers Review
• Tumut and Adelong Times
• Australian Town and Country Journal 1880 -1889

other records of interest on microfilm that may be of use to researchers are

• the Wagga Rate books 1917 -1931
• Tichbourne case papers
• The Police Gazette 1900-1930

There are also a lot of records on microfiche too numerous to mention here but well worth a look for the merely curious or the serious researcher.
The microfilm reader is fully computerised and you can save the documents you choose to your USB / thumb drive to take home. The newspapers hold a great deal of valuable information that suits a variety of research purposes and looking at old advertisements and news stories from different eras can be a lot of fun in itself.


One of my favourite pieces from this edition of a 1938 Wagga Wagga Daily Advertiser is the example below - the Railway Time table on top of an advertisement for a rheumatism cure- from the mundane to the melodramatic - the "devilish torture" of rheumatic pain.


 The district news has snippets of information about local people and events which can be useful for family history researchers, as long as you have the patience and time to look through the papers. It's free to use the microfilm reader - but you must be a member of the library and book the reader at the front desk.

 Come in and enjoy hours of entertainment travelling back through time!

Murrumbidgee Ancestor

The Murrumbidgee Ancestor is the journal of the Wagga Wagga and District Family History Society. The journal contains research articles about such diverse subjects as Wagga's Jewish families in the mid-Twentieth century (by Ruth Barnett), Alfred Edward Jelly- a newspaper trail ( a story about a man injured while working on the paddle steamers at Wagga) by Barry Williams ; local war or criminal identities, requests for information and much more.
The local studies collection also has the monthly newsletter of the society.
The journal and the newsletters may be of use to you in your local or family research - come into the library to view these useful items which are available for use within the library.

Poetic Justice

The local studies collection at the Wagga Wagga City Library has a substantial literature section. At the Wagga heat of the recently held Poetry slam local poets read their works and I started thinking about Wagga's literary precedents - Dame Mary Gilmore being the most famous author (her visit to Wagga during Book Week 1948 a gala event ) . Within the wider region , Miles Franklin comes to mind, though not strictly famous for poetry.
Included in the collection are diverse editions of Four W, anthologies of prose and poetry produced by Charles Sturt University , Booranga Writers Centre and Arts NSW ; "Pages from Sages", slim volumes from various local poets- but one treasure I found particularly stands out for me : "Mainly lousy mid nineties covers of early eighties hits" by the enigmatically named Zeb'e.a die.
Not for the faint of heart or weak of stomach , Mainly lousy is not lousy at all. There is no biographical information about the author, who writes about everyday experiences and feelings in a witty, sometimes heartbreaking, and intelligent way.
Are slim volumes of poetry a thing of the past? I wonder what Wagga poets are writing about now ? Do you know the identity of Zeb'e.a die? or even better, Zeb'e.a die let me know if you are still writing.
email me at wagga.local.studies@gmail.com.