Lifeline Bookfest

Brisbane Bookfest - part of one of the three halls
(photo by Judy Webster)

Books relevant to family history are lurking in secondhand shops, markets and book fairs. One of the best places to find them is at a Lifeline Bookfest.

Bookfests are held at various times throughout the year in Brisbane, Bundaberg, Gold Coast, Ipswich, Mackay, Maryborough, Rockhampton and Sunshine Coast.

The Brisbane event is held in January and June each year, in the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre at South Brisbane. It's on right now and continues until 26 Jan 2015.

There are three separate halls: 'High Quality (prices as marked)', '$1 Section' and '$2.50 Section'.

Within each hall, books are arranged by category (Australiana; History; Biography; Reference; Paperback Fiction; Hardback Fiction; Children's; Humour and Oddities; Literature and Classics; Textbooks; Travel; Health; Science Fiction; Art and Music; Cooking; Computers; Hobbies; Sport; Gardening; Religion; Foreign Language; Vehicles and War Craft; Animals; Penguins and Pelicans; Economics; Sociology; Philosophy; Science). Each section also has magazines, stationery, videos, CDs, cassettes and records.

You may want to stock up on stationery items such as ring binders and lever arch files, which sometimes cost less than a dollar.

The real treasures for family historians are usually in the Australiana and History sections. Look for books about the history of regions, towns, schools, churches, businesses and organisations, and published family histories.

The Reference section has atlases, street directories, medical dictionaries, and sometimes unexpected items like a complete set of The Public Acts of Queensland 1828-1936.

With luck, you may find some of the titles listed on 'Suggested Reading (Genealogy and History)'.

Another money-saving tip? If you are on a very tight budget, wait until the last day when the (already affordable) prices are usually reduced.

I strongly advise you to bring a suitcase on wheels, as books soon get heavy when you are browsing. Local street parking is limited and fills very early. Undercover parking is available, but it costs about $17. You can travel by train to South Brisbane station or by bus to the Cultural Centre bus stop.

To find out more about Lifeline Bookfests in Queensland, do a Google keyword search to find the current Web page.

Orphanage records now accessible

Some children, though not actually orphans, were admitted to an orphanage because parents or other relatives could not take care of them. This often happened if the child was illegitimate or when a parent was ill, imprisoned or in an asylum. Many orphanage records give the reason for admission, parents' names etc.

Some Queensland orphanage records have recently been opened to the public. The following records are now available in Qld State Archives ArchivesSearch (check periodically in case more are added):

• St. Vincent's Home (Nudgee): Index to admission registers 1866-1905, and admission register 1866-1908.
• Diamantina Orphanage and Receiving Depot: Index to admission registers 1865-1905, and admission registers 1865-1908.
• Meteor Park Orphanage (Neerkol), Rockhampton: Admission registers 1885-1909.
• Industrial and Reformatory School for Boys: Admission register 1871-1906.
• Industrial and Reformatory School for Girls, Toowoomba: Letterbooks of the Superintendent 1881-1895.

If you are looking for more recent records, see the Brief Guide to Orphanages and Children's Homes.

My book Tips for Queensland Research has advice about indexes and records for Townsville, Mackay and Rockhampton orphanages.

'Failing to contribute to support of children in an orphanage' is one of the offences mentioned in Police Station summons sheets. Children charged with 'being a neglected child' are mentioned in police watchhouse charge books.

Police Summons Sheets

An interesting series that I recently used for the first time is Rockhampton Police Station summons sheets 1898-1905 (Queensland State Archives series ID 6545). The three volumes (item IDs 212364-212366; previous system A/146-A/148) cover 1 Nov 1898 - 13 Jul 1900, 29 Apr 1902 - 1 Sep 1903 and 6 Nov 1904 - 7 Feb 1905. Details shown are date, plaintiff (sometimes 'police'), defendant, offence, judgement and magistrate's name. Entries are chronological.

A wide variety of offences are listed. They include larceny; assault; insulting words; obscene language; excessive use of liquor; boarding a train while in motion; breaches of various Acts and By-laws; child desertion; wife desertion; disobeying a maintenance order; failing to contribute to support of children in an orphanage; and affiliation. ('Affiliation' refers to a court order against a man alleged to be the father of an illegitimate child, requiring him to make payments towards the child's upkeep.)

One entry in A/146 shows that Bob LONG, charged with 'larceny, lollies', was 'convicted but not punished upon condition that his father flogs him'.

To check whether similar sources exist for other towns, search for the phrase summons sheet in ArchivesSearch.

Other 'unusual' sources are described on my Web site, which lists over 70,000 names from records in Archives.

Central Queensland hints

After a trip to Central Qld, I have some hints for family historians visiting Rockhampton:

Arcade News, shop 6 in the Arcade off East Street, Rockhampton, phone (07) 49222044, has an outstanding selection of Central Queensland local history publications for sale. Very handy if you don't have time to visit local Council libraries or the Central Qld Family History Association!

Rockhampton Regional Council has appointed a new Heritage Collections Officer: Dr Dannielle ORR.

In Rockhampton, a great place for breakfast, lunch or a daytime snack is Sexie Coffie, on the corner of Bolsover and William Streets, half a block from the new Rockhampton Regional Library. For dinner I recommend the Punjabi Indian Restaurant, 137 East Street. (No, I am not related to the proprietors of these establishments - I just enjoyed eating there!)