What can I research from home? - the history of a house

Online resources can change or be updated over time, so it's good to revisit a topic every so often. Researching your property or house is of interest to many, and there are lots of great resources to help.
All states or territories have their own records and places to search for property information, and the older the history of settlement in the area you are researching, the more patience and perseverance may be needed. As with all local or family history, some records may be lost, incomplete, or information just wasn't recorded.

If you are just starting out, the NSW State Archives and Records has two great webinars on this subject you can watch- researching your house and property, and how to read a parish map. Here's the link to the webinar page :

https://www.records.nsw.gov.au/archives/webinars

There are other webinars on the NSW State Archives and Records website, covering a range of topics, that may also interest you or help you in your research. It's really worthwhile to see what's available, it may make the difference between being able to find a piece of information, and getting stuck in your search.

The National Library of Australia has a webinar on how to trace the history of your house, covering where to find records and maps in the different states and territories, and how to use different online resources across the National Library website, and using Trove. They have a page with other webinars that also cover searching for family and local history. The more information you have on how and where to search, the more it will help you. Here is a link to the National Library of Australia's YouTube channel for their webinar on house history searching :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AD6UWkwVY5E&feature=youtu.be

The National Library of Australia's webinar recordings page can be found here :

https://www.nla.gov.au/content/past-webinar-recordings#

These are really fantastic resources and I would encourage you to take a look if you are findimg it difficult to know where to start.

While I was looking at the resources on Trove, I found a piece of Wagga Wagga's history I didn't know about- Wagga Wagga was one of the places that was considered for the nation's capital around 1900. Sydney and Melbourne each didn't want the other to be chosen, so a Capital Sites Inquiry Board was established to determine what to do.

Above : detail from a map, 1900,  in the National Library of Australia collection

It just goes to show, you never know what you might find! Happy searching :-)

What can I research from home? Looking at NSW State Archives & Records website

Researching family history and local history can be tricky at the best of times, and starting to search for your ancestors, or research a place or property without leaving the house can seem daunting. But the good news is, it doesn't have to be. There are many websites with information you will find valuable and useful.

The NSW State Archives & Records website has a lot to offer.  They even have desktop jigsaws you can do if you need a break from your research:-)

Everything about the records they hold, what they have, where they are, how you can access them, what they mean, is explained and detailed on their website. All information is clearly set out and friendly to use.

Some records are digitised, some need to be accessed through their reading room, at the Western Sydney Records Centre, which is currently temporarily closed, due to COVID-19, but you can still contact them through their website and by phone, if the records you need information from are not digitised yet.

A really useful feature of the NSW State Archives & Records website are their webinars. There are live webinars you can register to attend, and there is a library of past webinars you can watch, with the topics ranging from tracing convict ancestors, researching your house and property, to the 1828 census, digital shipping lists, and much more. The webinars are free.

One of the upcoming webinars covers how to read a Parish map. Parish maps are a valuable tool for researching both local and family history, and they can be difficult to decipher without the proper knowledge. This webinar is on Friday 15 May 2020 , 10-11 am . To register follow this link:

https://www.records.nsw.gov.au/archives/webinars

Scroll down and click on the Register link, and enter your details.

Happy researching! 😊