Australia Day Free Records: Access 95 Million Records from Australia for Free!

In honor of Australia Day, we are delighted to announce that we are offering free access to all of the Australian records on MyHeritage — encompassing 95 million records from across 288 historical record collections!

Search 95 million Australian records for free

January 26 marks Australia Day, the national holiday that honors the history of Australians. It is our hope that offering these collections for free will provide fascinating new insights into the lives of Australians throughout history, and perhaps an appreciation for how far the world has come since then.

In the last few months, we have added over 25 new collections from Australia, bringing the total number of Australian collections to 288. The collections are from all over the country and include birth, marriage, death, naturalizations, military, passenger lists, and more types of records. Many of these collections include high-quality scans of the originals. 

One of the recent collections, “New South Wales Gaol Inmates & Photos,” offers stunning photographs of people who served in prison from 1870 to 1930, and rich details on their physical attributes, convictions, and prison sentences. In some cases, they are the only photos of these individuals that exist.

Here are a few fascinating examples from the Gaol Inmates & Photos collection:

Record of Janet Wright from MyHeritage New South Wales Gaol Inmates & PhotosA record of Janet Wright, who was born in 1872 in Scotland and arrived in Australia aboard the Ormuz ship, can be found in the collection. Janet was a registered nurse by occupation, and was convicted of attempting to procure an abortion and unlawfully using an instrument with the intent to procure an abortion. She was sentenced to 4 years in prison. She was also arrested for vagrancy, or homelessness. The record includes a detailed description of her physical appearance: she had gray hair, blue eyes, and a scar on her left thumb.

Record of Janet Wright from MyHeritage New South Wales Gaol Inmates & Photos

We colorized and enhanced the original photos with MyHeritage In Color and the Photo Enhancer:

The collection also contains the record of Alfred Grounds, who was born July 26, 1881 in Sydney, Australia. Alfred was a laborer by trade. His record mentions 14 convictions and their accompanying sentences. They include manslaughter, threatening language, assault, and a few arrests under false pretenses.

Record of Alfred Grounds from MyHeritage New South Wales Gaol Inmates & Photos

The record also provides a physical description: his height without shoes was 5 feet and 5 inches, and his weight was 148 lbs. He had dark brown hair and blue eyes. In the “Marks and Special Features” section there are a few more details: he is missing two teeth from his top jaw and 3 from his lower jaw. He is also missing a left eye, and the record includes details on the locations of a noticeable scar and mole.

Here is the image of Alfred colorized and enhanced using MyHeritage’s photo features, MyHeritage In Color and Photo Enhancer.

Another recently added military collection, “Military Honour Recommendations and Awards,” contains the record of Henry Dalziel, a private who fought in WWI and who was recommended for the Victoria Cross award (the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces). Armed with a single gun, he was able to capture an entire enemy crew despite a wound to the hand and head. The record shares his story of bravery in great detail. 

Record of Henry Dalziel from the MyHeritage Military Honour Recommendations and Awards

Record of Henry Dalziel from the MyHeritage Military Honour Recommendations and Awards

It is our hope that you find a family treasure among our free Australian collections, which are completely free for all to access and enjoy until January 30, 2023. Records on MyHeritage are always free to search, but to view the records, you generally need a paid Data or Complete plan. If you enjoyed searching the collections this week, please stay tuned, as there are millions more Australian records coming soon to be enjoyed by MyHeritage subscribers.

Enjoy the collections!

The post Australia Day Free Records: Access 95 Million Records from Australia for Free! appeared first on MyHeritage Blog.

Source: My Heritage