Articles by Ancestry Australia

Memories of the Darwin Bombing

From Brad Argent, Content Director at Ancestry.com.au
This Sunday, February 19th, marks the 70th anniversary of the bombing of Darwin.  I asked my nan, Nita (shown in the photo above), what she remembered of the day. 
At the time of the bombing – just two days after her 23rd birthday – she was pregnant with my mother… Read more

Famous faces in the 1930 US Census

What do funny man Mel Brooks, quizmaster Bob Dyer, and Winifred Patty Christensen all have in common?  They’re all in the 1930 US Census.
Many of you will be familiar with actor and producer Mel Brooks (born Melvin Kaminsky in 1926) and you can see him appearing in the 1930 US Census (shown below), living at 365 South… Read more

300,000 new Warwickshire records now available

If you have family from Warwickshire, England you may well find them in one of 300,000 new Warwickshire records we added this week.
Some records in these collections pre date 1837, making them particularly useful in finding people before civil registration began. Some records actually date back to 1564 (shown in the image above).
One interesting new… Read more

Image Viewer Updates – Print Current View Now Available

AUTHORED BY JIM MOSHER (FROM ANCESTRY.COM)
Thanks to all of you who have provided feedback on the Beta Image Viewer on the blog, via the message boards, through the survey, and directly via email (feedback-imageviewer@ancestry.com). We appreciate the input – both positive and negative – and have used it to further improve the viewer.
Today, an updated… Read more

New Convict Collections – Just In Time for Australia Day!

We have just added two key collections to the world’s largest online collection of Australian convict records.
For Australians exploring convict history, the NSW Convict Indents, 1788-1842 provides the ideal starting point, as all convicts on ships transported to Australia were listed in an indent. Details such as name, trial date/location, and sentence are available, with later… Read more

130 Years of London Electoral Registers Released Today!

AUTHORED BY RUSSELL JAMES (ANCESTRY.CO.UK)
Our NEW London, England, Electoral Registers, 1835-1965, take you back through the history of Britain and London’s democratic system. More than that, they let you trace your English ancestors’ movements between census years and well into the 20th century, giving you far greater precision in your timeline of their lives.
Electoral registers listed… Read more

Family Questions

Talking to your oldest living relative is always a great way to add to your family history research.
Print these fun family-oriented questions and sit down with your loved ones to hear their responses. Brace yourself; their response might surprise you – so don’t forget your pen and paper! You can then add the answers into your Ancestry.com.au… Read more

The Ancestry.com.au Android app is here!

Authored by Kendall Hulet, Ancestry.com
For all of our Ancestry.com.au users that have been patiently waiting for an Android app, your wait is over! We’re happy to announce the launch of our new Android app.

Download the app now.
The new Ancestry.com.au app for Android phones and tablets allows you to interact with your Ancestry.com.au family tree while… Read more

New research reveals the skeletons hidden in our family trees

We released new research this week that reveals that New Zealand trumps Australia in the celebrity stakes, as 16 per cent of Kiwis are able to lay claim to someone famous. However, Aussies should not fear as we are twice as likely as New Zealanders to be related to ‘convict royalty’, with almost one in… Read more

Version 3 of Ancestry.com.au App Out Now

Authored by Kendall Hulet from Ancestry.com
 
Wouldn’t it be great to be able to view and merge Ancestry.com’s “shaky leaf” record hints into your family tree directly on your iPhone, iPad or iPod?  We thought so, too. We are pleased to announce the availability of an enhanced version 3 of our free Ancestry iPhone, iPad and iPod app, that… Read more