Thanks to the efforts of members of the Deniliquin & District Pastoral Times Digitisation Project, volumes of the Deniliquin Pastoral Times from 1863 to 1870 have now been digitised and can be accessed online through the renowned history resource Trove.
Volumes from 1863 to 1866 are listed as the paper was known then, the Deniliquin Pastoral Times and Echuca and Moama Chronicle.
Editions of the renamed Deniliquin Pastoral Times from 1866 to 1870 are then listed in a block that will eventually continue through to 1895.
The volumes were made live on the Trove website late last week, and listed under The Pastoral Times (South Deniliquin).
Project committee member and Deniliquin Genealogy Society president Val Hardman said it is the realisation of a dream that has been many years on the drawing board.
“We formed the community and formally started this digitisation project about six months ago, but Bill Mulham and I would discuss doing something like this many years ago,” she said.
“I just wish he was here to see it.
“Bill was a wonderful historian and the records he kept were amazing. He was a wonderful advocate of history, and Jack Bushby before him.”
Mrs Hardman said while it does take some time to digitise the newpaper volumes, the project is moving along quicker than anticipated.
“It is just exciting to see some of it online, and we’ll see more and more go up.
“We have been astounded by the wonderful support from the Deniliquin and district community.
“This is not just about making our history available. This is a research tool people will be able to use for a multitude of reasons.”
Community grants, funding and donations to the Deniliquin Genealogy Society have enabled the project to come to life.
The initial fundraising goal is $50,000, which should allow newspapers right up to the early 1950s to be uploaded to Trove.
The cost is determined by page.
In the early days the Deni PT was only four pages, in the 1990s it increased to eight and now the average Tuesday edition is 16 pages and Friday’s edition ranges between 24 and 28 pages.
The digitisation project is being led by the Deniliquin Genealogy Society with support from the Echuca-Moama Family History Group, Deniliquin & District Historical Society, National Library of Australia, State Library of NSW, Deniliquin Pastoral Times, Edward River Council and Trove.
You can search volumes of the local paper online at trove.nla.gov.au.
If you need any assistance accessing Trove, Deniliquin Geneaology Society Society members can help you between 10am and 3pm each Friday at Edward River Library.
Library staff can also assist you in accessing Trove.