CLICK INTO ANZAC RECORDS

Almost 10,000 hand-written records of Queenslanders killed in World War 1 have been digitised and are now accessible online through the Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages, the Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Yvette D’Ath said today. 

Following the war, the then Registrar-General George Porter decided to ensure those World War 1 deaths were registered.

“There was no statutory requirement to document these events and it was certainly not common practice, but he believed access to an official death certificate might provide bereaved families with some form of closure, given their fallen loved ones were buried overseas or had no known grave,” she said

The project took several years, requiring multiple checks and certifications with none of the modern technology available today and was completed by 1924. Porter was determined to ensure that the grieving families of service men and women who enlisted in Queensland and died while on active duty overseas were able to access detailed death certificates.

“This was an extraordinary effort in documenting their sacrifice and honouring their memory. In fact, Queensland is one of only three States to have registered the deaths of service men and women lost in both world wars,” she said. (The others are Tasmania and South Australia.)

Ms D’Ath said the hand-written entries provided a sombre record of the ultimate sacrifice made by thousands of Queensland soldiers and nurses.

“Every one of those deaths was tragic, but these records provide us with a tangible connection to our past and many of the events that helped shaped Australia as a nation,” she said.

“Nearly 10,000 hand-written records of these fallen Diggers have now been digitised and are accessible online through the Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages.

“Over the past three years, the registry has digitised nearly six million records. It took only eight weeks to create digital, searchable copies of the World War 1 records so painstakingly documented by George Porter between 1921 and 1924.

“The registry will also be supporting today’s service personnel and their families by donating $5 to veterans’ charity Soldier On from the sale of every commemorative ANZAC record,” she said.

The digitised records can be searched online at no cost. Images of individual registry entries and commemorative death certificates are available for a fee. 

A selection of these records can be viewed at http://anzac100.initiatives.qld.gov.au/remember/first-world-war-fallen/. The full collection can be searched at http://www.qld.gov.au/law/births-deaths-marriages-and-divorces/family-history-research/.

Media contact: Ross McSwain, 0407 657 614