It's been some time since I have written about Trove Digitised newspapers and, as it is one of my favourite historical resources, I thought it was time to look at it again. Trove Digitised Newspapers, found at
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper, currently have over 14 million pages of Australia newspapers digitised from 1803 to recent times, depending on the newspaper. The 14 million pages can all be searched using the one search box and you can then print off the articles, save the articles, just browse the entire newspaper or even create your own reference list on any topic you may be interested in.
The reference list facility is wonderful. You just need to sign in and create an account, It's free, you don't need to pay any money. You sign in and log in, using the buttons on the top right hand corner, see below.
This is a copy of the front page of Trove Digitised Newspapers - you sign up for an account and you log into the account on the top right hand corner.
Once you have created an account you can then create lists of articles - this mean that you can do a search, save the article to whatever list you want, and then you can go back and review all the articles without trying to find then again (which is what I used to do before I discovered this facility!) You can make the lists public which means that anyone can access them or you can keep them private, so only you can access them.
As an example, I have created a list of articles on the Berwick Boys Grammar School, which operated from 1882 to 1928. Click
here to access the list. I also have a list on the Emerald County Club, click
here.
Trove is adding content all the time. Just recently they have added 47 new titles from all over Victoria from 1914 to 1918 as part of the State Library / PLVN Digitising World War 1 Victorian Newspapers project. They have also uploaded 25 other titles from various States covering various years.
Trove truly is a treasure trove of information, covering local history, sporting history, world news, family history - if it was in the papers at the time you can find it. Don't just restrict your search to Victorian papers or to papers from your own area, you might find a mention of your town or family in a wide variety of newspapers. As an example, I have created a list about the Bailey family of Narre Warren, who were early orchardists in the area. I have found articles from five states and at least ten different newspapers. You can see the list
here.
This is James Bailey and his son, Sidney James Bailey, taken c. 1918 in their Narre Warren North orchard.
William & Fanny Bailey settled in Narre Warren North in 1894 and established the first orchard in the area on
Bayview Farm at the eastern end of Bailey Road. The Baileys had ten children - Annie Frances (Mrs Brown 1874 -1944), George Robert (1875-1960), James William (1877 - 1962) William Henry (1879-1942), Rose Emmeline (1881 - 1891), Alfred Percy (1883 - 1966), Charles Cornelius (1885-1965), Charlotte Myrtle (Mrs Krummeck 1891-1979), Violet Emma (Mrs Hill 1891-1952), Ivy Edith May (1893-1941)
Their eldest son, George (1875-1960), had a General store in Narre Warren, operated by family members until the 1970s. George and his wife Florence built
Brentwood (later called
Clarinda Park) in 1904. In 1993, the address was 271-299 Narre Warren North Road, I don't think it still exists. Another son James (1877-1962) married Lucy Agnes Webb, the daughter of Sidney and Anne
Webb. He was also a fruit grower. They built
Araluen in 1903 and their daughter, Lucy, lived there until she died in April 1997 and the land was sub-divided.
Araleun bunt down in mysterious circumstances a few years ago.
