Media: DATA CD - 1 CD (2 vols, 2588 pages)
Year: (1886) 2007
ISBN: 9781920978396
Publisher: Archive Digital Books Australasia

Government Gazettes contain a vast amount of historical and genealogical information. However they are largely an untapped resource. The few complete runs that are available are usually only found in major libraries. And even for researchers who do have access to these the sheer size and extent of the Gazettes is daunting.

Now that is all changing - with the publication of the gazettes on affordable and searchable form on CD-ROM.

Tens of thousands of ordinary people and localities, small and large, are mentioned EVERY YEAR in Government Gazettes. But they offer researchers much more than simply names and places. They will help you reconstruct events and circumstances in the life of individuals and communities.

"I'm totally in awe of the potential of the Government Gazette project ... the accessibility, ease of use ... having done the hard slog through many original volumes" - Greg Slattery, South Australian historian.

Just SOME of the information that may be found in Government Gazettes.

• return of all persons without relations known or resident in South Australia who have died, or been found dead, in any public place in the colony ... concerning whose death the police can furnish any information.
• petitions - with signatories
• insolvency notices - it is surprising to find how many of our ancestors are found here
• inquest notices - usually either a "no inquest" report or an inquest verdict listed
• permits, licences and certificates (liquor, firewood, stone, gravel and wood, depasturing, dogs, vehicles, drays, cow keepers, milk sellers, marriage celebrants, publicans, auctioneers ... and many more
• unclaimed Ship and Returned Letters (with name and address)
• mineral claims
• applications to bring land under the "Real Property Act" (name of applicant, property location, place of residence and date)
• Crown land forfeiture notices - name of selector, address, occupation, location and nature and cause of forfeiture (e.g. "failing to reside on the selection for nine months in every year after the first year; failing to make substantial improvements on the land; failing to cultivate")
• tenders for government works and services (e.g. mail tender "Yorketown and Warooka A. P. Lawson £52 per annum")
• Adelaide Hospital deaths (name, age, date, cause of death)
• Certificate of Death certified by JPs, e.g "McVickary, William Henry—body found at Wangiana Springs, January 1st, 1886; certificate issued, January 3rd, 1886—J. D. Lawlor, J.P."
• Public service appointments and promotions
• ... and MUCH MORE.

This CD contains all 2588 pages from the two volumes of the original set.

The whole text is searchable. Search for any word in the text - names, places and more. To illustrate the potential value of the records the following number of returns were obtained from this 1886 CD of the Gazette alone (some notices are repeated)

Names
- Jackson - 108
- Kelly - 196
- Phillips - 211
- Randell - 31 from search (only 2 appear in the printed index)
- Williams - 812

Places
- Glenelg - 401
- Gumeracha - 99
- Lincoln (Port) - 309
- Lochiel - 82
- Mannum - 178
- Norwood - 541
- Orroroo - 178
- Strathalbyn - 267 

Other
- estate (wills/insolvencies) - 2200
- fire (brigade, wood, bushfire etc.) - 659
- hotel - 5023
- inquest - 113
- insolvent (or variant) - 4400
- licence  (or variant) - 3786

This CD contains high quality scanned images of each of the original issues. These and has been bookmarked for easy navigation. Pages can be searched, browsed, enlarged and printed out if required. 

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
Any computer using Adobe (Acrobat) Reader 4 or later
Adobe Reader 6 or later is recommended for CDs with searchable text

SAMPLE FILE
Click here to download a file of sample pages from this book. Right click on the link and select "save as" - to a location on your hard drive. The sampler can be opened, navigated and searched as with the full CD file/s. Sample files usually contain the title page, contents, some introductory pages and sample pages from the body of the book. Often the complete index from the original book is included.