Donation preserves priceless historical records

Published on 25 July 2024

Precious records of Kiama’s history are being preserved and digitised thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor.

The Kiama Family History Centre holds close to 1000 microfiche reels and more than 600 contain invaluable information that cannot be found anywhere else.

This includes magistrate records from the early 1800’s; indentures of apprenticeship; colonial secretary papers; crew and passenger lists; clergy and school indexes and coroner inquests.

These particular records are highly used by visitors to the Centre to trace and construct their family histories.

Our Centre staff and volunteers also use the reels to manage requests from professional genealogists, authors and academics all over the world.

However, over time, microfiche can break down when exposed to fluctuating temperatures, humidity, or pollutants.

The risk of deterioration, along with the high use and unique content of the reels saw the Family History Centre establish a project to preserve and digitise them.

Upon learning of the project our donor paid $10,000 for Imaging Australia & New Zealand to digitise and preserve the microfiche reels.

The funds continue a family tradition of support for the Family History Centre, as our donor’s mother originally secured the collection for the Centre.

The process of converting the microfiche to a digital format will mean greater access for users, as the records will be searchable using optical character recognition and preserved digitally.

The Family History Centre is managed by Kiama Council through our Library Services team.

In addition to a part-time Family History Officer, the Centre is sustained by a dedicated team of volunteers who contribute their time and efforts every week.

The Centre is located on the ground floor of Kiama Library and is open Wednesday to Saturday.

Further information: https://library.kiama.nsw.gov.au/fhc