News
March
seminars
7 Mar: Tracing your English ancestors 6:30pm (WEA
Centre Adelaide)
17 Mar: UK research 1:30pm (Fleurieu
Peninsula Family History Group)
Seminar bookings must be made with the host organisation. See Graham
Jaunay's seminar schedule.
Ship paintings
The depiction of the vessel bringing your family's pioneers to Australia
as a water colour is becoming increasingly popular amongst clients of Adelaide
Proformat. We have teamed up with marine artist and historian
John Ford to ensure historically accurate depictions can be produced, Adelaide
Proformat
does the research and John Ford produces the watercolour.
The first step in the
process is to determine the vessel involved and the particular voyage.
Once this is known, we undertake a range of studies to determine
the circumstances
of the arrival. This work includes determining the ownership of
the vessel which in turn leads to the design of the vessel and the colours
of the hull etc, the rigging, and the weather to determine the state of
the sea, sky and the amount of sail being employed. This work also determines
the likelihood of any other vessels in the vicinity.
The client then determines
how the voyage will be depicted and this can be anything from embarkation
at an English port through to unloading in an Australian port or any aspect
of the voyage.
While these works are unique commissioned professionally framed paintings
and therefore not cheap, the smaller works are good value and can be passed
on down the generations.
For more information click on the link to the right.
 
Pictured L-R: China of Holdfast Bay Dec 1847; New
Holland off the Onkaparinga Jul 1840; China unloading at Pt Adelaide
Dec 1847.
Adelaide Northern Districts
FHG Meetings
14 Feb Andrew G Peake: The Value of SA Government Gazette as a source for
local and family history.
15 Mar Family History Help Night.
31 Mar Three Cemetery Tour - Salisbury St John,
Zoar Bible Christian and Willaston General.
Trivia
What was the most popular page on Adelaide Proformat's
site in Jan 2007?
Click for the answer.
20,308 visitors conducted 40,456 searches. Have you placed your research
interests online yet?
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In this issue:
News
•
March
seminars
• Ship paintings
• ANDFHG meetings
•Trivia
Land records in SA
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Land records in
SA
The Land Services Group at 101 Grenfell Street Adelaide includes
the office of the Registrar-General who maintains records of land
under the Torrens System. The Register
Book is a
public record
that includes Certificates of Title
and all instruments registered under the Real Property Act 1886. The Register
Book contains a wealth of information on South Australia's history that
can be accessed for research. One can trace the history of a particular
piece of land or the history of land ownership back to the foundation
of South Australia.
You can determine if a person held land in SA by searching the index
of owners which will enable you to view the scanned Title at no charge
that, if desired, in most cases can be printed out for a fee.
More significantly, researchers are continually coming across gaps in the records
and
accessing land ownership records may just help resolve these issues. Essentially
every time a land owner's personal circumstances changed, the information
should have been attached to these records. Usually this did not happen
before the introduction of the Torrens System but once this was in place
it became important to keep records up to date because basically the
Title was the proof of ownership. Thus when a land owner, changed their
name, married in the case of women prior to them being granted the right
to hold property independently of their husband, or
died, the matter had to be recorded on the Title. Likewise if the ownership
changed in any aspect whatsoever, the matter had to be recorded. Thus Titles
can be a source for finding births, marriages and deaths. Ironically in
South Australia while the modern records held by the BDM Registry are embargoed,
you can access the material via the Title.
Other material readily accessible by the public include:
• Power of Attorney Index
• Bill of Sale and Stock Mortgage Indexes.
Prior to the introduction of the Torrens System in 1858, the colony operated
under the cumbersome English system whereby the purchaser had to go to
considerable expense to
prove that the vendor was the legal owner of the property for sale. The
records held at the General Register Office (GRO) now commonly known as
the Old Land System Office at 39 Carrington Street Adelaide include land
transactions
under Old System
Titles and the original land grants. There are two main indexes to land
dealings held at the
GRO. These are the Memorial Index [a memorial is a precis of
an original title document] and the Deposit Index, which is a finding-aid
to
deposits [i.e. original title documents or certified copies of
them].
Both sites hold Real Property Act Application Packets but these can
only be accessed by current owners of the properties contained therein.
These
packets hold all the paperwork supporting the Title. Sometimes these
can be easily accessed if the property enclosed includes a government
instrumentality. So check the plans for railway lines, widened roadways
and the like and then make application to the appropriate office for
permission to access the packet. Rarely is such permission withheld!
Incidentally the GRO also holds Registrations
of deeds executed from 1837 and these include Deed Poll name changes),
Enrolments from original deeds and Deposits of original deeds and plans.
State Records of SA holds some useful records relating to land. Land-tax
was introduced
in 1885. The Land Tax
Returns are partially indexed and give details
of land owned,
location, area, name of owner and name of occupier. State
Records has other land records, such as the Lands Department Notes
on Early Purchasers and Lessees of Land [ref. 1324] and Crown Leases
and Plans [GRG 59/22].
Information about land grants often was
published
in the Government Gazettes and those gazettes reproduced on CD by Archive
CD Books Australia are easily searched.
It is possible to establish
online access to property and
land information using PropertyAssist.
This service is designed for and mainly used by most conveyancers,
financial institutions, real estate agents, solicitors, valuers and other
professionals
involved in land
and property related business. However, PropertyAssist is available
for any user with a simple and secure online payment via credit card.
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