All the Western Australian news that’s fit to print (or is that upload)!

You may have noticed some fanfare in the press about Fairfax’s new WA news site… This is only one of several sites specialising in Western Australian News.  For lots of News about WA you can go to:

• WAtoday.com.au - the new site from Fairfax
• thewest.com.au - the West Australian’s online site
• perthnow – “powered by the Sunday Times”
• ABC News – Western Australia
• WA Business News
• Online WA newspapers  – extensive listing in the National Library’s Australian Newspapers Online

(Print copies of the West Australian, Sunday Times and WA Business News are available at the State Library)

Need overseas or interstate news?  There’s much more online than Google News Australia!  Try the State Library’s subscription newspaper databases accessible in the Alexander Library Building, use your WA library card to log on to Australia/New Zealand Reference Centre via our Databases From Home, or find out what newspapers are available in Australian Libraries via the National Library of Australian Newspapers Online.

 

 

Nyungar culture website

The Yelakitj Moort Nyungar Association has created a website you can look at which provides information about aboriginal activities and culture in Western Australia.  

Yelakitj Moort Nyungar Association is an Australian Indigenous Organisation, made up of members of the Nyungar people who are the traditional, recognised people of the south west of Western Australia.

The Yelakitj Moort Nyungar Association is named after William Thomas Bennell, whose Nyungar name was Yelakitj – “Man of Good Hearing”. Yelakitj was the story teller – he was the minder of the Nyungar story. His stories are recorded in oral history (available in the State Library of Western Australia), video and book.

 

Reverse marriages: What are they?

 Western Australian marriage records are listed in an microfiched index with a person’s name, year of marriage, registration number and locality. It’s tricky to find the name of a spouse in the records as you need to look through many marriage records to find the same registration number for a given year.

A database matching up Western Australian marriage records from 1906 is available online for people researching their family history, and has been growing year by year. It is currently up to 1949.

A message on the DPS-Chat mail list today stated:

“Due to the popularity and growing size of the reverse marriage database, it is time for the database to have a domain of its own. You will now find it at www.wamarriage.info

The existing address of http://www.openwindows.com/marriage/search.htm  will remain valid for some months yet, to allow people to update their references and links. Ultimately, this old address will be phased out and the database will only be available at the new website. The database contains Western Australian marriage indexes, currently for 44 years from 1906 to 1949, transcribed from microfiche by members of Perth DPS. ”  [Source: 'DPS-Chat' mail list 26 May 2008]

Birth, marriage and death records prior to 1906 continue to be available on the W.A. Justice Department website at http://www.justice.wa.gov.au/_apps/pioneersindex/default.aspx

 

Woodman Point

WOODMAN POINT: Digging up the past at Woodman Point

Did you know that bubonic plaque had touched Australia? The victims of this and other infectious diseases are buried at the cemeteries of Woodman Point Quarantine Station. A quarantine area since 1830, Woodman Point Quarantine Station was formally gazetted in 1879 and has two known cemeteries, both lost to bush. Hear the social history of this fascinating site and the archaeological trials and tribulations of wresting the secret of the grave locations from this enigmatic site by attending talks and touring the site with archaeologist, Gaye Nayton. 

A recent project funded by Lotterywest has physically located the cemeteries, mapped the surface remains in the 1918 cemetery and located and mapped grave shadows. Check out the Friends of Woodman Point webpage at www.woodmanpointquarantinestation.com to view the ongoing project in pictures and text.

On the 7th June 2008 join the Friends for a program which includes talks and a tour of the site. The program will consist of site visit, talks and a second site visit to allow visitor flexibility.

Where: Woodman Point Recreation Camp
When: Saturday 7th June 2008, 12 noon to 4pm
Cost: Free event but a sausage sizzle with drink will be available at $5; and a gold coin donation will cover afternoon tea.
RSVP Essential – Contact: Friends of Woodman Point at gaildodd@iinet.net.au for more information

[Source:  WAGSnet mail list]

 

Looking into the law – legislation on the net!

People like to talk, and even whinge, about the law but how often do we go to the source and check what it actually says…

The State Law Publisher of WA has just revamped their Western Australian Legislation database – you can search for Acts and Regulations, open the documents as pdf, word or html and subscribe (click on notify) to get notification of updates.

 So if you need to find out what’s in the Road Traffic Code (for example) it’s all at your fingertips!

 Not from WA?  Most states and countries now have their law online – you can find Australian and other  material linked to on our Law Information Gateway or more specifically U.N., U.S. and U.K. documents in our Government Information Gateway.

 

WA Writer’s Websites #7: Katharine Susannah Prichard

http://kspf.iinet.net.au/katharine/index.html

The writers’ centre in Greenmount, KSP House, has some excellent pages devoted to its eponym. Katharine Susannah Prichard (1884-1969) is a giant of Western Australian literature.  A communist and strident critic of injustice, her work is of great literary and historical value.  (She also gave David Helfgott piano lessons, I seem to remember.)

You’ll find on the site:

• an interesting outline of her life and work
• a list of all her works held at the writing centre 
• photographs of her

On the site, Bruce Bennett writes:

In her thirteen novels, five collections of stories, twelve plays and the autobiography Child of the Hurricane, (1964), Katharine Susannah Prichard has left abundant record of her often inspired attempts to express ‘the life of our people and country with love and an intense intimate sympathy’.

Coonardoo is generally recognised as one of her best works; it’s the only book of hers I’ve read, but I  recommend it.  At the time I read it, I wrote, ‘It reads to my mind like an Australian station retelling of Wuthering Heights (with a little Jane Eyre thrown in).’ A few years ago, it was named by the Australian Society of Authors as one of the best forty Australian books ever.

The writer’s centre is located in the house she lived in for much of her life.

 

Interesting places: Wooroloo Sanitorium

A sanitorium was built to manage the large number of people suffering from tuberculosis in Western Australia in the early 1900’s. Treatment of TB was focused on fresh air and sunshine. The site at Wooroloo was chosen because of the beauty of the countryside and elevation of the site. Patients with leprosy were also isolated at Wooroloo.

Wooroloo is located in the Darling Range, 60km north east of Perth and 26km north east of Mundaring. The State Library of Western Australia (SLWA) has several images of staff and buildings at Wooroloo Sanitorium, many taken by photographer L.E. Shapcott. The sanitorium opened 8 October 1914.

You can listen to a oral history recorded by a patient with TB, or read Kissing can be Dangerous by Criena Fitzgerald if you go to the State Library in Northbridge.

According to Heritage Council of WA, its use was changed to a medium security prison in June 1970.

 

 Image 000611D shows a crowd at the opening ceremony in 1914. 

Image 000608D shows some of the buildings used by patients.                                                                                                

 

 

 

WA Writers’ Websites #6: Nigel Gray

http://www.nigelgray-author.com 

Nigel Gray has had a fascinating life. Visit his website and you can read his biography: 

 I spent two years travelling and working in ten European countries and was then arrested by a beautiful Greek/Irish teenage girl and an unplanned pregnancy. I became an anarchist, was involved in numerous political causes, was arrested many times, locked up on a number of occasions, and deported for political offences from four countries.

Nigel now lives in the hills of Perth. He’s written so many books in so many genres in so many countries. Unusually, he has managed to produce award winning books for both children and adults.  His last book, A Baker’s Dozen, was published two months ago and will be available from WA public libraries some time in 2008.

 

2008 is ‘Year of the Scout’

According to the Scouts Australia website, former Prime Minister John Howard declared 2008 as the Year of the Scout to mark the centenary of Scouts Australia.

Mr Howard said Australia was one of the first countries in the world to adopt Scouting, which will be 100 years ago as of 2008. Western Australia has some activities planned, starting with WA Scout Youth Awards presentation at Government House on 18 February 2008.

The HRRC pictorial collection of the State Library of Western Australia has some delightful photographs of scouts at work during World War II. 

Image 226664PD shows a scout collecting aluminium to aid the war effort.

Search on scouts (youth activity) in the catalogue to find information and Scouts (Youth organization members) to see photographs in the library catalogue.

 

WA writers’ websites #5 : Stephen Dedman

www.stephendedman.com
http://stephen-dedman.livejournal.com

Perth speculative fiction writer Stephen Dedman has a strong web presence, with a website and a blog.  Stephen is well known both nationally and internationally in the fields of science fiction, fantasy and horror.  He’s published four novels and an excellent collection of short stories which your WA public library can order in for you.

Writers are known for having many and varied jobs, but few can match Stephen – from working as an actor (I’ve heard a rumour he was an extra in Gallipoli) to a used dinosaur-part salesman.

On his website, you’ll find a bibliography of his many and varied publications. (Except for his short stories, which are so numerous they’re listed on his blog for quick updating.)

Stephen’s blog offers candid insight into the daily life of a writer, with word counts, the misery of rejections and the thrill of acceptances.