Online Repository Assistant (ORA) Templates for Australian Researchers

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: [unknown]

These templates are commonly used by researchers of Australian records. Occasionally websites are changed; if the template no longer works properly, please contact the template author so that it can be updated.

Template authors please feel free to share your templates below.

Due to the design of some websites, ORA is not able to capture all of the data and some manual entry is required. However it can still significantly reduce the effort required to manually key the information.

Contents 1 National Sites 1.1 Billion Graves 1.2 Commonwealth War Graves Commission 1.3 Dept of Veterans Affairs - WW2 Nominal Roll 1.4 National Archives 2 Ryerson Index 3 Trove 3.1 Newspapers 4 New South Wales 4.1 New South Wales BDMs 5 Queensland 5.1 Queensland BDMs 6 South Australia 6.1 Genealogy SA 6.2 FindMyPast 6.3 State Records of South Australia 6.3.1 GRG 35/48/1 Official Assisted Passage Passenger Lists 1845 – 1886 6.4 Adelaide Cemeteries Authority 6.5 Council-Adminstered Cemeteries 6.5.1 Copper Coast Council 6.5.2 Goyder Council 7 Victoria 7.1 Victoria BDMs 8 Western Australia 8.1 Western Australia BDMs 8.2 Metropolitan Cemeteries Board 9 International 9.1 England 9.1.1 GRO 9.2 Scotland 9.2.1 ScotlandsPeople 9.3 Wales 9.3.1 GRO

National Sites

Billion Graves

Author: Leandra Ford

Burial Record (Billion Graves, https://billiongraves.com/ : accessed [Page.Access Date]) grave for \[[URL] [Name]\], <Birth Date: [Birth Date], >Death Date: [Death Date], Cemetery: [Cemetery], [Cemetery Address], [Cemetery Locality] [Cemetery Region].

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

Author: Leandra Ford

Commemoration Record (Commonwealth War Graves Commission, https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/ : accessed [Page.Access Date]) database entry for \[[Page.URL] [Name, Rank & Service No]\]. Unit/Regiment/Country of Service: [Unit, Regiment, Country of Service]. Date of Death: [Date of Death]. Commemorated at: [Commemorated at].

Dept of Veterans Affairs - WW2 Nominal Roll

Author: Leandra Ford

Department of Veterans' Affairs, Australia. World War 2 Nominal Rolls. (DVA Nominal Rolls, https://nominal-rolls.dva.gov.au/ : accessed [Page.Access Date] entry for [[Page.URL] [Name]] (Service: [Service], Service Number: [Service Number], Date of Birth: [Date of Birth], Place of Birth: [Place of Birth], Date of Enlistment: [Date of Enlistment], <Locality on Enlistment: [Locality on Enlistment], >Place of Enlistment: [Place of Enlistment], Next of Kin: [Next of Kin], <Date of Discharge: [Date of Discharge], ><Date of Death: [Date of Death], >Rank: [Rank], <Posting at Discharge: [Posting at Discharge], ><Posting at Death: [Posting on Death], >Prisoner of War: [Prisoner of War], <Roll of Honour: [Roll of Honour], >Honours: [Honours])

National Archives

Author: Maree Evans

Generic Template - Replace Recording_Agency & Series_Title with appropriate values
Recording_Agency; < [Series no]>< [Series number:split:,:1]>, Series_Title (\[https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/ National Archives of Australia\], : accessed [Page.Access Date]);< '''[Control symbol]'''><, [Item title]>< [Title]> {{National_Archives_Australia|[Item ID]}}

Permalink - to avoid session timeout issue
https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/scripts/AutoSearch.asp?O=I&Number=[Item ID]

Author: Leandra Ford

WW1 Attestation Papers
Australian Imperial Force, Base Records Office; B2455, First Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers, 1914-1920 (National Archives of Australia, https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/ : accessed [Page.Access Date]) [Item title] {{National_Archives_Australia|[Item ID]}}

Ryerson Index

Author: Leandra Ford

Newspaper Notices (Ryerson Index, http://ryersonindex.org/search.php : accessed [Page.Access Date]) index entry for [Surname], [Given Names] (Event: [Event], Date: [Date], <Age: [Age], ><Other Details: [Other Details], >Publication: [Publication], Publication Date: [Published])

Trove

Newspapers

Author: Leandra Ford

Column must be entered manually, or remove it from template
[Publication.Title], [Publication.Location], [Publication.Date], page [Publication.Page], column x, \[[URL] [Title]\] (Trove, National Library of Australia, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/?type=newspapers : accessed [Page.Access Date])

New South Wales

New South Wales BDMs

Author: Leandra Ford

ORA cannot capture the data from the NSW BDM site but the template can be used so that only names, district and registration number have to be typed manually.

Birth Index (Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages, New South Wales, https://www.bdm.nsw.gov.au/familyhistory, accessed [Page.Access Date]) index entry for xxx (Father: xxx, Mother: xxx, District: xxx, Registration Number: xxx).

Marriage Index (Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages, New South Wales, https://www.bdm.nsw.gov.au/familyhistory, accessed [Page.Access Date]) index entry for xxx and xxx (District: xxx, Registration Number: xxx)

Death Index (Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages, New South Wales, https://www.bdm.nsw.gov.au/familyhistory, accessed [Page.Access Date]) index entry for xxx (Father: xxx, Mother: xxx, District: xxx, Registration Number: xxx).

Queensland

Queensland BDMs

Author: Leandra Ford

Birth Registration Index (The State of Queensland, Department of Justice and Attorney-General, Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, \[[Page.URL] link to record\] : accessed [Page.Access Date]) birth index entry for [Birth registration] (Birth Date: [Birth date], Father: [Father parent's name], Mother: [Mother's name], Registration Number: [Registration details])

Marriage Registration Index (The State of Queensland, Department of Justice and Attorney-General, Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, \[[Page.URL] link to record\] : accessed [Page.Access Date]) marriage index entry for [Marriage registration] and [Spouse's name] (Marriage Date: [Marriage date], Registration Number: [Registration details])

Death Registration Index (The State of Queensland, Department of Justice and Attorney-General, Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, \[[Page.URL] link to record\] : accessed [Page.Access Date]) death index entry for [Death registration] (Death Date: [Death date]<, Birth Year: [Birth year]>, Father: [Father parent's name], Mother: [Mother's name], Registration Number: [Registration details])

Author: Maree Evans

Combined Template for all records
<[?:Birth registration]Birth Registration Index><[?:Marriage registration]Marriage Registration Index><[?:Death registration]Death Registration Index>, "The State of Queensland, Department of Justice and Attorney-General, Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages"; index entry for <[Birth registration]><[Marriage registration]>< and [Spouse's name]><[Death Registration]><, Birth Date: [Birth date]><, Death Date: [Death date]><, Birth Year: [Birth Year]><, Marriage Date: [Marriage date]><, Father: [Father parent's name]><, Mother: [Mother's name]><, Registration Number: [Registration details]>; \[[Page.URL] link to record\] : accessed [Page.Access Date]

South Australia

Genealogy SA

The various record sets allow a mix of complete and partial capture of information.

Author: Leandra Ford

Civil Births
South Australia Birth Index. (Genealogy SA, https://www.genealogysa.org.au/index.php : accessed [Page.Access Date]) birth transcript for [Surname], [Given Names] (Gender: [Gender], Birth Date: [Date of Birth], <Father: [Father], ><Mother: [Mother], ><Place of Birth: [Birth Residence]>) Reference: District: [District], Book/Page: [Book Page].

Civil Marriages
South Australia Marriage Index. (Genealogy SA, https://www.genealogysa.org.au/index.php : accessed [Page.Access Date]) marriage transcript for [Groom Given Names] [Groom Surname] (Age: [Groom Age], Status: [Groom Marital Status], <Father: [Groom Father]>) and [Bride Given Names] [Bride Surname] (Age: [Bride Age], Status: [Bride Marital Status], <Father: [Bride Father]>) on [Marriage Date] at [Marriage Place]. Reference: District: [District], Book/Page: [Book Page].

Civil Deaths
South Australia Death Index. (Genealogy SA, https://www.genealogysa.org.au/index.php : accessed [Page.Access Date]) death transcript for [Surname], [First Names] (<Age: [Age], >Gender: [Gender], Death Date: [Death Date], Marital Status: [Marital Status], <Relative: [Relative], >Residence: [Residence], Death Place: [Place of Death]) Reference: District: [District], Book/Page: [Book Page].

Newspaper Death & Funeral Notices
Age at death must be entered manually

Newspaper Death Notices (Genealogy SA, https://www.genealogysa.org.au/index.php : accessed [Page.Access Date]) transcript for [Surname], [First Names] [Other Surnames] (Notice Type: [Notice], Date: [Date], Publication: The Advertiser, Adelaide, South Australia, Publication Date: [Publication Date])

FindMyPast

Author: Leandra Ford

Civil Births
Early birth records did not record the birth place. Manually enter 'not recorded' where applicable. Also do the same where there are missing parents' names.

[Record set] (FindMyPast, https://www.findmypast.com : accessed [Page.Access Date]) transcript for [Last name], [First name(s)] (Birthdate: [Birth date], Father: [Father's first name(s)] [Father's last name], Mother: [Mother's first name(s)] [Mother's last name], Birthplace: [Place]) Reference: District: [District], Book/Page: [Registration number].

Civil Marriages
Status at marriage needs to be manually edited, e.g. 'S' in database translates to Single/Spinster for both males and females. 'W' translates to Widow/widower and 'D' translates to Divorced or Deserter for 7 Years. For early records where father's name or marital status is not recorded, manually enter 'not recorded'.

[Record set] (FindMyPast, https://www.findmypast.com ; accessed [Page.Access Date]) transcript for [Last name], [First name(s)] (Age: [Age], Status: [Marital status], Father: [Father's first name(s)] [Father's last name]) and [Spouse's last name], [Spouse's first name(s)] (Age: [Spouse's age], Status: [Spouse's marital status], Father: [Spouse's father's first name(s)] [Spouse's father's last name]) on [Marriage date] at [Place], Reference: District: [District], Book/Page: [Registration number].

Civil Deaths
Occasionally death place needs a manual entry of 'not recorded'.

[Record set] (FindMyPast, https://www.findmypast.com : accessed [Page.Access Date]) transcript for [Last name], [First name(s)] (Death Date: [Death date], Marital Status: [Status], Age: [Age at death], <Relative: [Relative's first name(s)] [Relative's last name] ([Relative]),> Residence: [Residence], Death Place: [Place]) Reference: District: [District], Book/Page: [Registration number].

State Records of South Australia

GRG 35/48/1 Official Assisted Passage Passenger Lists 1845 – 1886

Author: Leandra Ford

From the page listing the ships for the year, capture data into template, copy into WT. Right click on PDF link to capture URL for the passenger list and enter into citation. Then open PDF and manually enter details of passengers. If you wish to include departure details these may need to be obtained from elsewhere.

\[xxURL_of_PDFxx Passenger list for the [Description]\]. Departed xxx on xxx, arrived Port Adelaide on xxx. (State Records of South Australia. https://archives.sa.gov.au/. GRG 35/48/1 Official Assisted Passage Passenger Lists 1845 – 1886 : accessed [Page.Access Date]) Record for xxx (Age: xx, Occupation: xxx, Origin: xx), xxNamexx (Age: xx).

Adelaide Cemeteries Authority

Includes Enfield Memorial Park, Cheltenham Cemetery, Smithfield Memorial Park and West Terrace Cemetery

Name of cemetery must be entered manually. Where grave location is unknown this must also be entered manually.

Burial Record (Adelaide Cemeteries Authority, http://www.aca.sa.gov.au/Records : accessed [Page.Access Date]) database entry for [T3.Surname], [T3.First Name] (<Death Date: [T3.Date of Death], ><Service Date: [T3.Service Date], ><Age: [T3.Age], >Disposition: [T3.Disposition], Cemetery: xxx, Location: [Area], [Area S1], [Area S2], [Location Name])

Council-Adminstered Cemeteries

Many Councils administer cemeteries and have search facilities on their websites. Templates may be set up for each one applicable to you. There is only partial capture of data. Two examples below.

Copper Coast Council

Includes Greens Plains, Kadina, Moonta and Wallaroo Cemeteries

Author: Leandra Ford

Template contents can be captured from search results page. Last residence, plot, burial number and comments are on the record page and need to be entered manually. A direct URL to the record also needs to be entered manually, but is subject to change.

Burial Record ([Source.Site Name], https://www.coppercoast.sa.gov.au/your-community/cemeteries/search-cemetery-records : accessed [Page.Access Date]) burial transcript for [Name] (<Age: [Age], >Last Residence: xxx, Burial Date: [Date of burial], Cemetery: [Cemetery], Plot: xxx)

Goyder Council

Includes Apoinga, Australia Plains, Booborowie, Brownlow, Burra, Burra Kooringa (Old), Emu Downs, Eudunda, Farrell Flat, Hallett, Terowie, Upper Bright and Whyte Yarcowie Cemeteries

Author: Leandra Ford

Template contents can be captured from search results page. Last residence, plot, burial number and other information is on the record page and needs to be entered manually. A direct URL to the record also needs to be entered manually, but is subject to change.

Burial Record (Regional Council of Goyder, https://www.goyder.sa.gov.au/services/cemeteries/cemetery-records/cemetery-search : accessed [Page.Access Date]) burial transcript for [Name] (<Age: [Age], >Last Residence: xxx, Burial Date: [Date of burial], Cemetery: [Cemetery], Plot: xxx)

Victoria

Victoria BDMs

Author: Leandra Ford

This site does not allow for the capture of any data. Manually enter names, locations, registration numbers, age, spouse at death.

Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages, Victoria. Online index - Death (https://www.bdm.vic.gov.au/research-and-family-history/search-your-family-history : accessed [Page.Access Date]) index entry for xxx, xxx (Father: xxx Mother: xxx, Age: xx, Death Place: xxx, Registration number: xxx/xxx).

Author: A O'Brien

If you are logged into the Registry site with your username these templates should work while you are on the detailed results page. You will need to manually add 'age at death [age]' as this is only listed on the search results list and not on the details results page.

Source Citation (Birth or Death) ORA Template (Author: A O'Brien)

"Historical index", database, Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages Victoria(https://my.rio.bdm.vic.gov.au/efamily-history/- : accessed [Page.Access Date]), entry for [event:replace:s:] of [Given name(s)] [Family name:initialCapital], [Registration year]/[Registration number:split:/:1]; citing [event:replace:s:] certificate of [Given name(s)] [Family name:initialCapital], <<[?:event=births]born><[?:event=deaths]died>> [Registration year], [Place of event:split:,:1:initialCapital], Victoria, Australia. Family name [Family name] Given name(s) [Given name(s)] Event [event:replace:s:] Mother's name [Mother's name] Mother's family name at birth [Mother's family name at birth] Father's name [Father's Name] Place of <<[?:event=births]birth><[?:event=deaths]death>> [Place of event:split:,:1] Reg. year [Registration year] Reg. number [Registration number:split:/:1]/[Registration year].

Source Citation (Marriage) ORA Template (Author: A O'Brien)

"Historical index", database, Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages Victoria(https://my.rio.bdm.vic.gov.au/efamily-history/- : accessed [Page.Access Date]), entry for [event:replace:s:] of [Given name(s)] [Family name:initialCapital] and [Spouse's given name(s)] [Spouse's family name:initialCapital], [Registration year]/[Registration number:split:/:1]; citing [event:replace:s:] certificate of [Given name(s)] [Family name:initialCapital] and [Spouse's given name(s)] [Spouse's family name:initialCapital], married [Registration year], Victoria, Australia. Family name [Family name] Given name(s) [Given name(s)] Event [event:replace:s:] Spouse's family name [Spouse's family name] Spouse's given name(s) [Spouse's given name(s)] Reg. year [Registration year] Reg. number [Registration number:split:/:1]/[Registration year].

Western Australia

Western Australia BDMs

Author: Leandra Ford

Western Australia Birth Index. (Department of the Justice, Western Australia, [Page.URL] : accessed [Page.Access Date]) birth transcript for [Surname], [Given Names] (<Father: [Father], ><Mother: [Mother], ><Place of Birth: [Place of Birth], ><Registration District: [Registration District], >Registration Year: [Registration Year], Registration Number: [Registration Number])

Western Australia Marriage Index. (Department of the Justice, Western Australia, [Page.URL] : accessed [Page.Access Date]) index entry for [Given Names] [Surname] and [Spouse Given Names] [Spouse Surname] (<Place of Marriage: [Place of Marriage], ><Registration District: [Registration District], >Registration Number: [Registration Number], Registration Year: [Registration Year])

Western Australia Death Index. (Department of the Justice, Western Australia, [Page.URL] : accessed [Page.Access Date]) death transcript for [Surname], [Given Names] (<Sex: [Sex], ><Age: [Age], ><Father: [Father], ><Mother: [Mother], ><Place of Birth: [Place of Birth], ><Registration District: [Registration District], >Registration Year: [Registration Year], Registration Number: [Registration Number])

Metropolitan Cemeteries Board

Author: Leandra Ford

Capture data into template on search results page. Go to record to manually enter URL, day and month of death date and fields marked xxx. Change the name of the cemetery where needed.

Burial Register (Metropolitan Cemeteries Board, Western Australia, https://www.mcb.wa.gov.au/research : accessed [Page.Access Date]) burial record for \[xxURLxx [Last Name], [Given Names]\] (Age: [Age], Date of Death: xxx [Year of Death], Residence: [Suburb]) at Karrakatta Cemetery, xxx Section xx site xxxx, Application No. xx)

International

England

GRO

Author: Leandra Ford

England & Wales General Register Office, GRO Online Index - Birth (https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/ : accessed [Page.Access Date]) database entry for [Surname], [GivenName]. <(Mother's maiden name: [Mother's Maiden Surname]) >GRO Reference: [Registration Date] in [District], Volume [Volume], Page [Page].

England & Wales General Register Office, GRO Online Index - Death (https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content : accessed [Page.Access Date]) database entry for [Surname], [GivenName]. <Age: [Age at Death], ><Birth Year: [Birth Year], >GRO Reference: [Registration Date] in [District], <([District Code]) Reg [Reg] Entry Number [Entry Number].><Volume [Volume], Page [Page].>

Scotland

ScotlandsPeople

Author: Maree Evans

All Statutory and Church Records
[Source.Title:split:-:1] - [Source.Title:split:-:2], "National Records of Scotland", \[https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/ ScotlandsPeople\]<, [Event]> Index for [Forename] [Surname]< and [Spouse Name:split:/:1]>< and [Spouse Forename]>< [Spouse Surname]><, Parents: [Parents Other Details:split:/:1]>< and [Parents Other Details:split:/:2]><, Gender: [Gender]><, Date: [Date]><, Year: [Year]><, Birth Date: [Birth Date]><, Baptism Date: [Baptism Date]><, Death Date: [Death Date]><, Burial Date: [Burial Date]><, Date: [Event Date]><, Age at Death: [Age at Death]><, Age: [Age]><, Parish #: [Parish Number]><, Parish: [Parish]><, Ref: [Ref:replace: :/]><, County/City: [County City]><, Registration District: [RD Name]>; accessed: [Page.Access Date]

All Census Records
[Source.Title:split:-:1], "National Records of Scotland", \[https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/ ScotlandsPeople\], [Year] Census Index: [Forename] [Surname], Gender: [Gender]<, Age at Census: [Age at Census]><, Age: [Age]>; Ref: [Ref]<, Registration District: [RD Name]><, County: [County City]><, [Address]><, Census Place: [Census Place]><, Birth Place: [Birth Place]>; accessed: [Page.Access Date]

Wales

GRO

See England - GRO above