Print this page Discovering Forgotten Lives: Investigating the ‘Old register’ and Parliamentary Papers.

In Association with the Royal Australian Historical Society

Speaker: Carol Liston

Learn how historians reconstruct the past using official records. This course explores early New South Wales through assignment registers and parliamentary papers. We examine how these documents recorded land transactions, legal agreements and government activity, and how they can be used to trace individuals and communities. By linking personal stories with broader policy decisions, this course reveals how archival records can bring colonial history vividly to life.

DELIVERY MODE

• Hybrid (F2F & Online simultaneously)

SUGGESTED READING

• Carol Liston, Colonial Social Life in Old Registers 1–9, MHNSW: https://mhnsw.au/articles/colonial-social-life-in-old-registers-1-9/
• MHNSW, ‘Old Register’ One to Nine: https://mhnsw.au/guides/old-register-one-to-nine/

COURSE OUTLINE

• Overview of the Registers of Assignments and Other Legal Instruments (1794–1824): purpose, structure, and historical context.
• How to read and interpret entries: understanding parties, transactions, and legal relationships.
• Introduction to NSW Parliamentary Papers: types of documents, content, and research value.
• Using the registers and parliamentary records together to uncover connections between individuals, events, and government activity in early New South Wales.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

1. Identify the scope, structure, and historical context of the Registers of Assignments and Other Legal Instruments (1794–1824) and interpret the information.
2. Understand the purpose and content of NSW Parliamentary Papers, including reports, debates, and inquiries.
3. Apply these sources to trace connections between individual lives and broader government processes in early New South Wales.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Associate Professor Carol Liston AO is an Australian historian who specialises in the history of early New South Wales (1788–1860). Her particular interest is the colonial development of the County of Cumberland (Greater Western Sydney), using land records, family history and surviving buildings to document the past.

Please note: If you are a member of RAHS and wish to apply your RAHS Member discount to this course, please contact us to have this added to your student record before you enrol (unless added previously). To become a RAHS Member, visit their website at https://www.rahs.org.au/