100 Things To Do You’ve Never Heard Of #085 Delve into your Immigrant Past

Do you know where you come from? And we’re not talking about the birds and the bees here. We mean how much do you know about where you and your family are from? Can you account for exactly how you ended up living in Australia? Do you know what your great-great-great grandparents did for a living? The National Archive of Australia welcomes you to undertake research and uncover your immigration history.

“I HADN’T HEARD OF THIS ONE EITHER! BUT THANKS FOR THE TIP. I’D LOVE TO DO THIS.” – Catriona Rowntree

The collection holds mainly records created by the Federal Government since Federation in 1901. If records are more than 30 years old they’re available to the public and may hold information regarding the marital status, country of last permanent residence, nationality and more on your relatives. Your history awaits!

WHERE // The NAA has galleries, a reading room and offices in Canberra and a reading room and offices in each State capital and Darwin (www.naa.gov.au).

DID YOU KNOW? // The earliest record the National Archives of Australia holds dates back to 1804 and is the deed of title signed by Governor King approving the purchase of the site currently occupied by the Sydney General Post Office.