So you've heard of Government Gazettes ... but just what are they, and how
can they help you with your research?
What is a Government Gazette?
This was an official publication of all Government notices, including the
operation dates of Acts of Parliament. Once the notice in the Gazette is
published, the public is deemed to have notice of it. Generally produced once a
week, with occasional 'Extraordinary' released, the 1874 issues were anything
from 30 pages through to about 50 pages in length.
What will I find in a Queensland Government Gazette?
Tens of thousands of ordinary people and localities, small and large, are
mentioned every year in Government Gazettes. In over 1200 pages of this year's
Gazette, you will find details on land transactions, court notices, notice of
acts, tenders and contracts, police auctions of stolen property, statistics,
unclaimed letters, impoundments of cattle and horses, reward notices, licence
applications and approvals, bankruptcy, dissolution of business partnerships,
and much more!
How can this information help me?
Now that the Government Gazettes are on CD you can search for any name or places
easily. But they offer researchers much more than simply names and places. They
will help you reconstruct events and circumstances in the life of individuals
and communities. Listing the names of people, together often with either a
residence or occupation, this is useful for any historian, as it helps to
reconstruct events that happened over 130 years ago.
Example entry taken from the 21 February 1874 issue:
In Insolvency
In the matter of the Insolvency of Henry Richard Harley, of Brisbane, printer.
Notice is hereby given, that application will be made to the Honourable Court,
on Monday, the 9th day of March, next, that a Certificate of Discharge under
the provisions of "The Insolvency Act of 1864" may be granted to the
abovenamed Insolvent.
Dated this 18th day of February, A.D. 1874.
P. Macpherson,
Solicitor for Insolvent,
Queen street, Brisbane.
This product provides a great tool for researching Queensland's history,
making information that is difficult to find easily accessible on one CD.
High quality scanned images of the whole years worth of issues. This CD has
been bookmarked for easy navigation, and pages can be searched, browsed,
enlarged and printed out if required.
