Edition 23, 2023

Traces

Uncovering the past

Traces2 min read
Welcome To The 23rd Edition Of Traces!
Hello and welcome to Edition 23 of Traces! Last edition, I wrote about the uncertain future of the National Library of Australia’s (NLA’s) online database, Trove. Funding cuts had put its future in jeopardy, much to the concern of researchers and his
Traces1 min read
Traces
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Traces3 min read
Heritage News
The federal government has allocated more than $45 million to preserve and protect sites around the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The Sydney Harbour Federation Trust manages sites including Wareamah (Cockatoo Island), which has been allocated about half of
Traces1 min read
What’s That Thingamajig?
This delicate green shell isn’t part of a mermaid’s wardrobe, but a clever piece of advertising history from the lingerie company Prestige. The nifty ‘stocking hanger’ was offered for free in Australian newspapers to the first 5000 readers who were w
Traces3 min read
Central Station, Sydney
For tens of thousands of years before colonisation, the Gadigal land on which Central Station is built was a traditional meeting place for Aboriginal people. In 1855, the first terminal station in Sydney was built here, comprising a modest 30.5-metre
Traces1 min read
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Traces6 min read
Inspiration From Heritage
In a residency run by Craft ACT, ACT Parks and Conservation Service, and the National Library of Australia (NLA), textile artist Julie Ryder drew inspiration from original, hand-embroidered world maps. The maps were made by women in the 18th and 19th
Traces7 min read
The Dudleys: Lives In Performance
Grace Dudley would never forget her first appearance on the stage in a Christmas entertainment at school. At that time, she aspired to dressing up and pretending to be somebody else. Her mother had hired a wig, and when she put it on, the magnificent
Traces6 min read
The New Zoo: From Circus Cages To Swirling Stages
Great leaps forward in design at Melbourne Zoo over the years were followed by tentative steps backwards, or even baffling moves in a whole new direction. These breakthroughs and missteps of the 19th and early 20th century can tell us a lot about the
Traces5 min read
Message In A Bottle
There it was: a message in a bottle. It had washed ashore on the beach on 27 June 1951 between Aram Cove and Boatswain Point, a sparsely populated section of the South Australian coast, just north of Robe. Walter Fletcher was no stranger to unexpecte
Traces8 min readCrime & Violence
Murder in The Rocks
WARNING: This article discusses infanticide, which may be difficult for some readers In 1882, a 38-year-old Frenchwoman, who had been in the New South Wales colony for about four months, was convicted and sentenced to death by hanging for the murder
Traces4 min read
Researching Your Welsh Ancestors
Compared with other nations, Welsh migration in the 19th century was relatively insignificant. The iron and coal industries, particularly in south Wales, expanded quickly, which drew Welsh residents from more rural areas in mid and west Wales for wor
Traces6 min read
The Power Of One Book
Imagine this: you are happy with your life. You have followed a career that has fulfilled you for decades. You have never researched or written anything. Then, a story from the past comes along that demands to be told. The story? Australia’s first at
Traces5 min read
The Difference Between White And Wong
When 19-year-old George Ah Gwan arrived in the Australian colonies in around 1873 – a long way from Canton’s political upheaval, overpopulation and unemployment – he became, so to speak, a new man. Discovered only recently, almost 150 years after he
Traces6 min read
Finding Fannie Starr
When I began researching my husband’s family history, I was given photocopies of four very old letters, written by someone named ‘Fannie’ and addressed to ‘Dear Uncle’. Having no idea who Fannie was, or how she fit into the family history, I put the
Traces5 min readCrime & Violence
Isabella Mary Kelly: The Real Story
Born in Dublin around 1802 as the daughter of a doctor, Isabella Mary Kelly arrived in Australia as a Catholic orphan and became the first settler in the Upper Manning Valley (on the New South Wales North Coast) in 1838. As a single, independent woma
Traces3 min read
‘Doing The Block’ In Melbourne
Throughout the late 1800s, people of Melbourne thronged the northern side of Collins Street and promenaded along the footpath in their best clothes. Most days, in the afternoon, they strolled towards Elizabeth or Swanston streets, greeting friends th
Traces3 min read
What’s New Online?
• New South Wales, Colonial Secretary’s Papers, 1788–1825: 133,735 records • South Australia, Death and Funeral Notices, 1971–present: 489, 247 records • Western Australia, Births, 1841–1905: 304,343 records. • Vienna Church Marriages, 1850–1920: 4,3
Traces4 min read
Rebuilding A Balcony And Its Cast-iron Lace
In the practice of their time (1909), soon-to-be married Herbert Porter and Florence Jolly wanted their new home to present a proud facade. Today, the building still echoes this sentiment: ‘this is our home. We are proud of it, and that we want the w

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