AUS-Tasmania-L Archives

From: "Carol" <>
Subject: Back again
Date: Sat, 2 Apr 2005 09:25:53 +1000

Dear All,
I'm now back with this group after several years away, and thought I'd share with you a treasure trove of information in Hobart you may not be aware of.
In the basement of the Service Tasmania building, in Macquarie Street, between Murray and Harrington, are the original land titles for almost all Tasmanian land transactions from 1827 onwards. They are part of the Land Dep. on the second floor, and can be accessed by going to the second floor, paying, I think still, $20.00. This entitles you to one month's access at anytime you wish, free photocopying, access to the Service Tasmania computer, and full land titles to the present day.
You will be shown how the system works; everything is indexed and easy to understand, and you will be able to fossick to your heart's content. Old maps are also held there, but you will need assistance to access these.
The staff is wonderful, helpful, and friendly. Back on the second floor main area of the department, you can have photocopies of maps of entire streets or districts if you wish, giving most original title boundaries and the grantees' names.
The State Archives in Murray Street holds on microfilm the earliest titles, from 1804 to 1827, so you can get a pretty clear picture of where the original grants in Tas. were, between the two buildings. Finally, early street directories with residents named were published in the HTG annually, on microfilm at the Archives, and the Tasmaniana Library in the State Library has the later Hobart Valuation Rolls for the rest of the 1800's.
Using these resources, and a lot of collating of info., so far I have been able to actually find and photograph five extant buildings in Campbell Street , one in Smith Street, and one in Sorell, which belonged to my ancestors. You can imagine how exciting that has been: to walk where they walked.
And I've only just begun! I live in Melbourne, and each time I return to Hobart, I stagger back with reams of photocopies to be examined. So, happy hunting all,
Best wishes,
Carol Brill.

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• Back again by "Carol" <>