I have either photographed or am temporary custodian of a number of records that would assist family history researchers if the records were indexed. Indexing requires a basic knowledge of Excel spreadsheets and most importantly a well developed ability to accurately decipher cursive script. Once a series is completed, the index will be made available for free on this website here. Many years ago I co-ordinated the indexing of Melbourne Lying-In (Women’s) Hospital births 1856 -1879. It was a great success and I met (virtually) many kind and generous indexers. This time I’ll put up a tally board so everyone can see and be acknowledged for their contribution, with indexers who complete a full page given a mention.
The records available to index currently include:
1/ Red Cross Influenza Temporary Hospitals Staffing Register. This is a small volume with delightfully easy to read writing that records the name and address of nurses working in some of the temporary influenza hospitals in Melbourne in 1919. Sometimes qualifications are given such as V.A.D. (Voluntary Aid Detachments). Most of these women are likely to have served in some capacity at home during WWI. While they were prohibited from travelling overseas during the war, some did under their own arrangements. Read more about V.A.D.s here.
2/ The Haven, Maternity Home, Labour Ward Case Books, November 1916 to 1922. Run by the Salvation Army in Fitzroy North, the home catered mainly for unwed mothers, and was the source of many adoptions. These records are hugely important for those researching births to unwed mothers and adoptees. The occasional married woman was also catered for at The Haven. Recording just over 1000 births the early volumes give the name and age of the mother, the date of birth, weight and gender of the child. Later records give the street and suburb address of the mother in addition to the previous records. Sometimes notes such as “died at 6 weeks” and the cause of death of the child or mother are given.
HOW DO YOU GET INVOLVED? Well firstly thankyou for thinking about helping out. Please email me or use the contact form to send me a message with your preferred index to work on and we can chat about it more.
COMING SOON! THE FOLLOWING RECORDS ARE NOT READY FOR INDEXING YET.
THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WHEN RECORDS MOVE UP THE LIST.
1/Subscribers to the Geelong Benevolent Asylum 1852-1853. Records like these are important to researchers as they indicate where a person (mostly males) were living during the early heady days of the goldrushes when people were highly mobile, and it suggests that they were doing well enough to have some spare cash. This is a simple job of names and amounts.
2/ Subscribers to the Melbourne Benevolent Asylum 1852-1853. These records are much the same as the records for the Geelong Benevolent Asylum.
3/ Register of Deeds for Wangaratta [area] Crown Grants and Leases 1872-1884. This important index gives the town or parish the land was situated in, the allotment number, the acreage and the Volume and Folio Number of the Crown Grant. Places include: Balmattum, Bontharambo, Boorhaman, Boosey, Bundalong, Carrarargarmungee, Enoch’s Point, Estcourt, Everton, Greta, Moyhu, Myrhee, Myrtleford, Oxley, Peechelba, Tarrawingee, Thornton, Wangaratta, Wharparilla, Whitefields/Whitfield, Whorouly and likely others.
4/ 
Order books for Sloans tailors Wangaratta. Kindly loaned to me by Sloan family members these books record customers from around Wangaratta who ordered from the business between 1913 and 1959. Places of residence of customers include Yarrawonga, Boweya, Porepunkah, Glenrowan, Springhurst, Taminick, Eldorado, Boorhaman, Chiltern and many more. This is a fairly simple job indexing the names and places of residence of customers. I wouldn’t ask anyone to try to decipher the tailor’s notes!
5/ Dandenong Cemetery records. Cash books, detailed plans, receipt books and other records to allow us to recreate the burial register of this important early cemetery.
/ Melbourne Lying-In (Women’s Hospital births April 1879+. See this page for the records up to March 1879. This second index for the hospital will be added to the current database so that all records remain together and mothers may be followed throughout their child bearing lives. This will be a very exciting project so I’m saving the best til last. Apart from the details about the mother found in the earlier index, the mother’s maiden name, fathers name and age, and the place of marriage (if applicable) is recorded, along with the name of the child.
