Patience is a Virtue

A few weeks ago we received an email from Ryan at BDM .It seems that he had difficulty trying to access the spreadsheet I had given him because it was composed on an Apple Mac (even though the spreadsheet was Microsoft Excel) After I Googled the problem I found that it irredeemable so decided to create a new spreadsheet ( less colourful though ) on Lynne's Windows computer and sent it to him, but have heard nothing since . He indicated at the time it was very close to completion ; should I just be patient or should I phone . I think that I will phone right now ! Keep posted.

Still learning .......

Now we have figured out how to put PDF files onto the blog, you can see below the up to date database which we hope isn't too confusing. Also we have uploaded the report from Till Sonnemann who undertook the GPR survey in 2012. We are on hold for now with regard to research, awaiting the return from holidays of our contact at BDM Brisbane, Ryan, who promises he will get straight onto helping us. Also Helen, from Tully has gone to Brisbane and while at Archives is going to make some enquiries!!

Database

Did the GPR survey help?

Till Sonneman calibrating the Ground Penetrating Radar

While we were hoping to see coffin shapes or even skeletons in the Ground Penetrating Radar survey, that was not to be.
It is the nature of the site , we learned , that made it hard to get definitive
results. Rocks and trees were obstacles to nice straight grid lines and radar penetration. It seems that trees like to grow in grave sites, probably due to the seeds being caught in the hollow and water gathering there as well to nurture them. A number of graves seem to be backfilled or covered with rocks . So the GPR survey helps along with other methods; such as observation of the ground undulations and comparing it with graves at the main cemetery and probing with a steel rod to determine where the graves are located. It is probably always going to be difficult to identify infants graves, when there is no surface indicators.

Story of the "Lost" Death Records

From the beginning of our journey to discover who is buried at Rose Lane, the main stumbling block has been the lack of documentary evidence of deaths in Herberton between 1880 and 1885.  We know that all the deaths would have been registered, but where?   

Eventually we were able to ascertain that the death records for our town were sent to the Deputy Registrar in Cardwell and included in their Death Register.  At that time Cardwell was a significant township and Herberton was located within the Parish of Cardwell.  In 1886, Herberton itself was significant enough to have it's own Deputy Registrar of Deaths and these were recorded and held locally.  The Register subsequently was held at the Atherton Court House and we were allowed to view it 3 years ago.  We aren't sure where it is now.

It would seem when Cardwell became "less important" all their records were sent to Brisbane and archived, so it's been a while since they would have been viewed by the public.  It took us a long time to discover that the Cardwell Death Register is held in the Qld State Archives, but is owned by Qld Justice Dept - Births, Deaths and Marriages and cannot be viewed without their permission.  Despite many requests, such permission hasn't been granted.  They state they are preserving these records, but for what purpose?  The records originated in our town and we are researching them, why can't we see them?  The preservation process should include all Registers being digitised and once digitised they should be freely available to researchers.

Education in Blogging

Last week, Sandra attended at State Library course on social media.  It would seem that what's relevant to us, is a blog, anything else can come later.  Now, because of our new knowledge of blogging we are revisiting our site and will be posting each week (or thereabouts), current and past research discoveries, events and successes.