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Researching your property

Researching a heritage property's history is like unravelling a mystery - it's exciting, fascinating, and rewarding.You might want to research a place's history so you can nominate it for the Queensland Heritage Register. Or you might research a heritage property to help you restore it authentically. When doing your research, you can use a number of information sources.

Why research a property?
Would you like to find out how your heritage property got its name? You can with the help of a range of documents, a land description, and an inquiring mind.

Our heritage places reflect particular customs and beliefs for us as individuals or members of the community. Researching these places helps us to better understand and appreciate our cultural heritage.

If you want to maintain or restore a heritage place, it's useful to research its history to learn about its age, architectural style, and original appearance. A little research can help you restore your property authentically and protect its heritage value.Information sourcesIf you want to be a heritage place super sleuth, it's vital to use a number of sources to help piece together the historic puzzle. It's a good idea to use a combination of primary and secondary sources to paint a clearer picture.

Primary sources are documents, objects, photos, or materials created at the time of an historical event. For example, a newspaper from the time your house was built, a foundation stone laid when a bridge was opened, or a photo from the year a park was established are all primary sources. Secondary sources are books or other materials, written and interpreted by another person, about a place's history. They include history and reference books, architectural journals, and university theses.

Other information sources you can use include:

Doing your research
Researching a heritage property is interesting, rewarding, and worthwhile. Here's how to begin.

Step 1
Photograph your property to learn about its architectural style. You can compare the property's appearance today with original photos to see how it's changed.

Step 2
Read local and state history books to get a picture of what was happening during the period you're researching. You will need access to local, state, and university libraries.

Step 3
Ensure that you have the correct name or a range of possible names for the property. Visit your local council to view old maps and plans of your property. You could also contact the Queensland State Archives.If you have the real property (land) description, found on council rate notices, the Department of Natural Resources and Mines Titles Office (Ph: 3405 6900) can also help you.

Step 4
Speak to previous owners or people who lived near the property.Consult the local historical society or museum. Many societies have archival material including manuscripts and photos. You could also contact The National Trust of Queensland (Ph: 3229 1788).

Step 5
Build on your leads. For instance, if you find information about people who lived in the house, you could write to the letters section of the local newspaper asking people to come forward with information about the house.

Organising your information
Research allows you to piece together information to get an overall picture of a property's history. It's important to create a reliable note taking system to make sense of the information.
You could use:

Use protective plastic sleeves to file original photos. Write photo details on a tag and attach it to the plastic sleeve.

Last updated: 03 April 2006

Certified title
Certificates of Title only record the names and dates of owners who held the land and their mortgages and leases. They don't record information on buildings or other improvements to the land.

Fingers do the walking Post Office directories were the equivalent of a modern-day telephone book. When read with title information, they provide a way of working out when a building was built.

Historic information hunting
If you're looking for information about a company, a photo of a building, or the diary of an important family, you might find it at the State Library's John Oxley Library. It's Queensland's major repository of non-government historical documents.