Finding out a bit of the history of your house can be exciting: when it was built, who lived there, are there any old photos of the house? Finding information can also be difficult if not impossible sometimes. We recently presented a workshop on ways to research your house history that can get you started.
A large component of your research will focus on finding the people who lived in or established your home therefore the journey will include genealogical research. Did you know you can access Ancestry Library Edition, FREE, via Gympie Regional Libraries membership? Click here. Visit our branches to access freely via our wifi network using your own devices or access via our public computers.
To assist you in the research of the history of your home, here are some tips on where to begin….
COMPILE INFORMATION
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- What do you know?
- Do you have any property records or house documentation?
- What do neighbours, previous owners or community members know?
- Observe the architectural features of your house both inside and outside
THINGS TO REMEMBER
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- Street names sometimes change, due to realignments
- The house numbering system commenced 1938 in Gympie
- Was the house moved onto the property from elsewhere?
- Read more about Queensland addresses here
COMMONLY USED SOURCES
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- Electoral Rolls (from 1903-1980) –> Ancestry / Gympie Library Local History
- Post Office/Country Directories (Wises, Pugh’s) –> Ancestry
Blog post by State Library of Queensland on
“Using directories and almanacs for house and local history - Street directories, maps, council rate books –> Gympie Regional Libraries, Local History Officer
- Historical Title records –>Department of Resources
LOCAL CONTACTS
Check with any local or family history organisations in your area. Your house may have already been researched or have significant people associated with your house.
Our local history officer, based at Gympie Library may be able to assist you with:
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- house history research currently held
- miners homestead lease numbers and land valuation records (limited areas)
- advice on Ancestry research
- advice on Trove research – searching digitised newspaper archives
- microfilm access to all back copies of ‘The Gympie Times & Mary River Mining Gazette’ and ‘Nashville Times’
- navigating the Gympie Library Local History resources and archives
Gympie Regional Libraries Website Facebook YouTube
Gympie Family History Society Website Facebook
guides for house research
National Library of Australia – House Histories presentation
State Library of Queensland, House Histories Guide
State Library of Queensland, Built Heritage
Brisbane City Council – Recognising housing styles/architectural styles
Queensland State Archives – History of your house
House Histories.org – House and urban histories from South East Queensland – includes Queensland House Designs
Queensland Museum – The Queensland House
National Trust Australia – Australian Housing Styles
National Trust Australia – Our Interwar Houses – how to recognise, restore, extend houses of the 1920’s and 1930’s
photos
Corley Explorer (recommended use in Chrome browser) Photo collection of houses from the 1960’s to the 1970’s by Frank and Eunice Corley, donated to the State Library of Queensland.
QImagery online aerial photograph library, collection from 1930’s onwards
Queensland Globe online interactive tool of Queensland mapping, imagery and spatial data
maps
Download the “Land 101 – Guide to Historical Land Research” by Museum of Land
Gympie Regional Libraries Catalogue
Dunstan Maps – Gympie Regional Libraries
Museum of Land, Mapping and Surveying – Historic maps and plans
Trove, National Library of Australia, repository of digitised collections, newspapers, photos, maps, letters, gazettes from National Library Collections and other information organisations
research
Trove, National Library of Australia, repository of digitised collections, newspapers, photos, maps, letters, gazettes from National Library Collections and other information organisations
Queensland State Archives
Lands and mining records including archival records of maps, land orders, sales and leases, rates/land valuation registers, acquisitions and mining records, buildings built or used by the government.
National Archives of Australia search records [Records Search] for people or a name to find records about people associated with the home…. such as Passenger Records, Australian Service/Military records for addresses/residence/next of kin, etc. May also assist with records of First Australians (indigenous) records
John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland – website includes digitised parts of collection including manuscripts, diaries, business and station records, photos, maps, architectural plans, and more
John Oxley Library Blog, State Library of Queensland
State Library of Queensland, OneSearch – search State Library of Queensland collections/catalogue
UQ eSpace – Search University of Queensland, Fryer Library, Architectural resources, articles, photos
OTHER
Gympie Regional Memories 