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Researching aboriginal records v1.0 sg 20110704
- 1. Doing research about Aboriginal people at the Victorian Archives Centre Sebastian Gurciullo Coordinator, Koorie Records Unit
- 19. Footprints publication Researching the history of Lucy and Percy Pepper PROV, VPRS 1694, P0, Unit 5, Bundle 3, page 249 - Correspondence files of the Board for the Protection of Aborigines Letter from Lucy Pepper to the Victorian government (addressed to Chief Secretary John Murray) on 10 March 1915, asking for assistance to move from Lake Tyers in Gippsland for the sake of her health She had Tuberculosis, and the normal treatment at the time involved getting away from wet humid climates as occurs in coastal areas
- 20. Footprints publication Researching the history of Lucy and Percy Pepper PROV, VPRS 1694, P0, Unit 5, Bundle 3, page 244 Another letter from the same file, this time from Lucy’s husband Percy Written two years earlier – 22 September 1913, introducing himself as a ‘half-caste Aboriginal’ and asking for help to support his sick wife and his 6 children He and his family had been living in a tent for the past two years following seasonal work
- 22. Footprints publication Researching the history of Lucy and Percy Pepper PROV, VPRS 10381, P0, Unit 13 Soldier Settlement Advances File, Description:278 Pepper P, Kooweerup, 3748/86.6
- 23. Footprints publication Researching the history of Lucy and Percy Pepper PROV, VPRS 5714, P0, Unit 2508, Allot 26, Page 75 Closer [and Soldier] Settlement file
- 28. Indigenous research guides Finding Your Story: a resource manual to the records of the Stolen Generations in Victoria My Heart is Breaking: a joint guide to records about Aboriginal people in Public Record Office Victoria and National Archives of Australia (Vic)
- 30. prov.vic.gov.au
- 32. Free online newsletter - subscribe at prov.vic.gov.au /join-our-mailing-list
- 35. Questions? Contact us at: koorie.records@prov.vic.gov.au Image above shows detail of a photograph from PROV, VPRS 14562/P4, unit 6, item 11 Copies of this Powerpoint presentation are available online at: http://www.slideshare.net/publicrecordoffice/
Editor's Notes
- Public Record Office Victoria (PROV) is the archive of the State Government of Victoria. Established with the Public Records Act 1973. To care for, provide guidance on and make available to Victorians the State collection Repository at North Melbourne in the Victorian Archives Building visible from above
- The KRU was established about 10 years ago with the aim of Promoting records about Aboriginal people in PROV’s collection Improving access to those records, helping Aboriginal people negotiate the two collections successfully Has been working with organisations such as Connecting Home and others to develop a single access form for clients seeking to access records. Working with PROV volunteers on the indexing of records relating to Aboriginal people, data going into KIN database. Worked with digitisation team to digitise high value records containing information vital to personal and community identities for Aboriginal people. Takes the form of a number of initiatives, including publications, research guides, exhibitions, training, grants programs indexing project etc
- ++++ One thing to bear in mind is that NAA also has Aboriginal records for Victoria for the period 1860 – 1970s Essentially the same collection, in that they are all records about Aboriginal affairs in Victoria over time, it’s just that for govt administrative reasons they are split across the two archives PROV and the KRU shares a close relationship with National Archives – both in same building at VAC North Melbourne – Mark Brennan from NAA is also speaking today
- PROV has quite a large collection of Abl records that reflect govt admin of Abl affairs in Vic These records cover period earliest non-Abl settlement up until about mid 1940s Diverse range of info can be found in these files
- There are too many records series in the collection to name them all here, but as an exampleL Early records series include: Aboriginal protectorate reports, and correspondence Annual reports Native police corps records VPRS 10 and 11 are digitised and available online via PROV’s online catalogue
- Later records from Board for Protection of Aborigines, which operated between 1869 and 1957, include: correspondence files represent one of the largest single collections of the BPA in PROV’s collection, relating to missions and reserves such as Lake Tyers, Cordanderrk, Framlingham, Condah etc
- To show how documents found in series such as these can be used for family history purposes, I will talk briefly about the story of the Pepper family, which was the subject of a book we published in 2008, and is now the subject of a travelling exhibition… Background to Peppers: family from Gippsland, defined as ‘half caste’; denied ongoing residence on Lake Tyers station with other family members. Seven children, moved around Victoria in search of work, wife Lucy sick with tuberculosis. One of 40 Vic Aboriginal men enlisted in WW1, fought in France sustained head wounds in a shell blast. One of the few Aboriginal soldiers to secure a soldier settlement block – and with it the hardships faced by many soldier settlers. Worked closely with Pepper descendants during the process of writing the book, and particularly in preparing the travelling exhibition. By combining their own photographs stories and memories with documents found in public collections, the family was able to learn more about their ancestors, to discover more about where they have come from and how their grandparents and great-grandparents struggled to live independent lives. The Pepper’s story is now the basis for a travelling exhibition developed by PROV, available for communities to loan for their community centre.
- Context for the lives of the Peppers presented in the book was a regime of legisation which governed the lives of Abl people in Victoria. This regime of control of Abl people on missions and reserves had a major impact on Aboriginal people across Victoria Provides the context for the lives the Peppers led, 1886 Half Caste Act was also in force, meaning that families were often separated as those defined as “half caste” or mixed heritage were sent of the missions away from govt responsibility
- Although it may not be immediately apparent how govt records can be used for family history research, the operation of this system meant that records were being created that often contain detail about: health, movts etc Therefore, through these records we were able to retrace the different places the family had lived, extraordinary details about the events of their lives, their resilience in the face of adversity, and the strong family connections they sustained despite government policies which sought to separate “half-caste” Aboriginal people from their full-blood family relations.
- For example, Correspondence and other information in Aboriginal records series – particularly correspondence files of the BPA – have info not only generated by govt officials of the day, but Abl voices can be heard through letters written by them to the govt. Letter - Part of a chain of correspondence written by Lucy Pepper to the Board requesting assistance for herself and family to leave wet humid Gippsland coast to travel to better climate Purnim near Framlingham during winter. Eventually able to stay at Lake Condah from late Dec 1915.
- A 1913 letter from Percy Pepper to the Chief Secretary (who was also a member of the Board for the Protection of Aborigines) requesting assistance to build a house for his family, states that they had been living in a tent for the past 2 years and detailing the impact of Lucy Pepper’s tuberculosis on the family
- What we can see from these documents is that the Pepper family was resilient and resourceful They understood how the system worked They wrote many letters to people in positions of power, including several to Victoria Premiers Persevered with their requests for assistance Showed determination to keep their family united They maintained close relationships with their relatives on Lake Tyers, even though they were not allowed to stay there. For example, as this letter shows, Percy even drafted a petition on behalf of LT residents requesting that Caroline Bulmer – wife of former station manager and spiritual guide – be allowed to continue to reside after his death. This despite him not living on the reserve and being denied that.
- Other record series at PROV can contain info about Aboriginal people. Percy Pepper was one of only known Aboriginal people in Vic to successfully apply for a solider settlement. Image shows Percy Pepper’s application for a soldier settlement block on his return from service in WW1. the file reveals the hardships of running a farm on the former Koo-Wee-Rup swamp – flood prone land, difficult to make viable, poorly chosen land for making a living
- Image on the left is of Notice of upcoming auction of Percy Pepper’s farm, issued by the Commissioner of Crown Lands and Survey, 1924. Reveals the anguish of eventually losing his farm and family home
- You might be wondering, how do I get started and explore these records for yourself During this section of the presentation I will talk about some of the resources and services available at PROV for doing indigenous family history research …
- Before you search, it helps to have as much information as possible The more information you have, the easier it is to follow a lead - assists index searches, provides clues for where you could look next Compile as m uch info as you can… Each bit of information you find helps to locate more Organise your information otherwise, you may go back to records you have already ruled out, or find it impossible to go back to records that have been of use.
- The Koorie Index of Names project is an ongoing project to progressively indexing names and places in records about Aboriginal held at PROV Helps researchers to locate records in PROV’s collection about particular person(s) or place(s) What’s included:
- Index is a tool – does not contain person information, tool to access the original record, without having to browse an entire file – points you to the exact page. VPRS 1694 – 21 boxes of correspondence
- FYS - initiative developed by PROV, AAV & the VKRT, published in 2005. It is a resource manual developed to assist SG members in Victoria to find records and agencies that may hold records of relevance to their research. It is also a useful guide for those people who generally experienced life in care or institutions to find information about themselves and family members. The publication also assists agencies supporting SG members on their journey of discovery and healing, by providing information about what agencies can provide either support or hold records, for referrals etc Hard copy for sale and an online PDF version for free download. MHIB - Comprehensive guide to records in PROV and NAA between 1830s and 1970s relating to Aboriginal people in Victoria. There is also has a section that explores some example records in the context of themes including health, life on missions, education etc. It was first produced in 1993, was reprinted in 1997. PROV and NAA are currently working together to produce a much needed updated version of this valuable resource. BTW – all copies of publications here today are available for purchase
- Koorie Records Unit webpage PROV’s online catalogue – Access the Collection PROV guides and research pathways Digitised records available online Family history publications Training and grants programs Online exhibitions Online journal Provenance Tools are available online to assist you . These include: Guides and research pathways - Koorie records, wardship records, BDM records – some printouts are available here today Digitised records accessible via Internet and reading room PCs – wills and probate to 1925; inquest files; indexes to prison, divorce, BDM, mental asylum, education records etc Online catalogue Info about more training and grants, exhibitions and publications
- Link to Koorie Records Unit Info about more training and grants, exhibitions and publications
- You can also check out the KRU website: Research resources Training Grants Travelling exhibition Read or Subscribe to our newsletter -
- Apart from the Aboriginal affairs records, information about Aboriginal people can be found in other series such as those relating to education, land, legal matters, health, wills, probates and inquests etc. Links to: Guides and research pathways - Koorie records, wardship records, BDM records – some printouts are available here today Digitised records accessible via Internet and reading room PCs – wills and probate to 1925; inquest files; indexes to prison, divorce, BDM, mental asylum, education records etc Access to PROV’s Online catalogue