Western Australia’s Town of Claremont has brought the olden days to the new age by digitising more than 100 years of history.
With assistance from the State Records Office (SRO), Council records dating back to 1898 are soon to be available online via the Freshwater Bay Museum’s website.
Town of Claremont Mayor Jock Barker said the museum had decided to digitise the collections, meeting the ever increasing need for internet access to council archives.
“A few Perth councils have previously had their records digitised in a project with Ancestry.com and the State Records Office (SRO).
However, ours will be easily accessible through free online searches.”
Rates Books between 1903 and 1970 and Council Minute Books from 1898-1980 that were previously on microfilm have been converted. A microfilm master and working copy are retained by the SRO.
“Having these archives digitised means that all of the information will be easily accessible for everyone. You don’t have to live within our community to be able to find historical records, you will be able to access it from anywhere in the world.”
Records will be available to the public on the Freshwater Bay Museum’s website in the coming months.
Museum staff have also digitised a number of oral histories that were previously on cassettes to ensure the information is preserved in the most up-to-date format.
