Maps

Place is central to your Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander family history research. Knowing where your ancestors lived helps you to locate records about them, but it also helps you understand what their lives were like. For example, you can track how they moved throughout their life – whether they stayed close to where they were born, or whether they moved long distances.

Contemporary maps, like a printed road map or Google Maps online, show things how they are today. They’re a good place to start to work out where exactly it was that your ancestors lived.

Historical maps show places as they were at some time in the past. If possible you should try to find one from the period you are researching.

Historical maps are particularly helpful if your ancestors lived on a rural property or a small or remote place that may not exist today. It can be hard to locate such places on contemporary maps, but if you know the general area you might be able to find them on a historical map. Historical maps can also help when the spelling of a place name has changed.

Probably one of the best places to search for maps or to find out a map that includes the place you are interested in is Trove: Maps

Historical maps are held in many library collections around Australia. A growing number are digitised and available to view online, while others you will need to view in the library itself. Trove will help you to find many of these or you can also do searches in state/territory library catalogues. You might also try your local library or historical society.