Periodicals published in Australia during the period 1840-45 are now freely accessible online via the World Wide Web. Here is a great opportunity for family historian to search early Australian publications including some newspapers. 

These works - digitised as part of the ARC funded Australian Cooperative Digitisation Project 1840-45 - provide a record of a seminal period in the development of Australian colonial culture. The project has been a collaborative initiative between the University of Sydney Library, the National Library of Australia and the State Library of New South Wales.

The project sought to preserve and provide enhanced access to these scarce works through an integrated method of microfilming and digital conversion. The partners investigated and developed - in conjunction with industry contractors - a production process which would enable this work to be carried out as seamlessly and effectively as possible. The need to address and test production specifications with a goal of generating the highest quality images prolonged the project beyond initial planning dates. More information about the project is available through the Project website at http://www.nla.gov.au/acdp/

Periodical publications and novels are accessible by following the links listed below, or directly through records in Kinetica, the national bibliographic database. Where necessary specific help instructions are available at each site, and feedback can be sent using the facilities provided.

1) Australian Periodical Publications 1840-1845 http://www.nla.gov.au/ferg/
54 titles are currently accessible with more to be added in the near future. The project will also be providing searchable indexes and table of contents where they have been published as part of the periodical, and is testing OCR (Optical Character Recognition) conversion of the text of some periodicals as a means of providing a form of keyword access.
The titles are provided in PDF (Portable Document Format) to facilitate zooming, browsing, printing and cutting and pasting. Instructions on use of PDF are provided at the site

LIST OF TITLES
The Adelaide independent and cabinet of amusement. Adelaide; 1841.
Arden's Sydney magazine of politics and general literature. Sydney; 1843.
The Atlas. Sydney; 1844-[1849?].
The Australasian odd fellows' quarterly magazine. Sydney; 1845.
The Australian and New Zealand monthly magazine. London; 1842.
The Bee of Australia. Sydney; 1844.
The Colonial and Asiatic review. London; 1852-1853.
Colonial literary journal and weekly miscellany of useful information.
Sydney; 1844-1845.
The Colonial magazine and commercial maritime journal [London]; 1840-1842.
The Colonial magazine and East India review. London; 1849-1852.
The Colonial observer. Sydney; 1841-1844.
Colonization circular. London; 1843-1859.
Commercial journal and advertiser. Sydney; 1835-1840.
Commercial journal and general advertiser. Sydney; 1845.
Commercial journal, general advertiser and Odd Fellows' advocate. Sydney; 1845.
Cumberland times. Parramatta, N.S.W. ; 1845-[1911?]
The Dispatch. Sydney; 1842-1844.
The Examiner. Sydney; 1845.
Fisher's colonial magazine and commercial maritime journal. London; 1842-1843.
Free press and commercial journal. Sydney, N.S.W.; 1841.
The Guardian. Sydney, 1844.
The Launceston courier. Launceston, Tas. ; 1840-1843.
The Melbourne courier. Melbourne; 1845-1846.
Melbourne times. Melbourne; 1842-1843.
The Melbourne weekly courier. Melbourne; 1844-1845
The New South Wales examiner. Sydney; 1842.
The Odd Fellows' magazine. Adelaide; 1843.
The Omnibus and Sydney spectator. Sydney; 1841-1843.
Parramatta chronicle. Parramatta, N.S.W. ; 1843-1845.
The Satirist and sporting chronicle. Sydney; 1843.
The Shipping gazette and Sydney general trade list. Sydney, 1844.
The South Australian colonist, and settlers weekly record of British, foreign and colonial intelligence. London; 1840.
The South Australian magazine. Adelaide; 1841-1843.
South Australian news. London; 1840-1852.
South Australian Odd Fellows' magazine. Adelaide; 1843.
The South Briton, or, Tasmanian literary journal. Hobart Town; 1843.
The Star. Sydney; 1845-1846.
The Star and working man's guardian. Parramatta, N.S.W; 1844-1845.
The Sun: and New South Wales independent press. Sydney; 1843.
The Swan River news and Western Australian chronicle. London; 1844-1849.
Sydney dispatch.
Sydney free press. Sydney; 1841-1842.
Sydney protestant magazine. Sydney; 1840-1841.
The Sydney record. Sydney; 1843-1844.
Tasmanian evangelical miscellany.
Tasmanian journal of natural science, agriculture, statistics &c. Hobart, Tas.; 1842-1849.
Tasmanian literary journal
The Teetotal advocate. Launceston, 1843.
The Teetotaller and general newspaper. Sydney, 1842.
The True catholic. Hobart Town; 1843.
The True sun and New South Wales independent press. Sydney; 1843.
Van Diemen's Land temperance herald. Launceston, 1845
The Voice of Jacob. Sydney; 1842.
The Weekly register of politics, facts and general literature. Sydney; 1843-1845.

Ross Coleman - Collection Management Librarian - University of Sydney Library - University of Sydney. NSW 2006 Australia. email: r.coleman SEND TOlibrary.usyd.edu.au