Indian Emigration Passes to Fiji, 1879-1916

Family history research is often full of frustrating dead-ends or missing information, especially when records relating to an ancestor moving from one country to another is concerned. The National Library of Australia has a rich array of records and resources to help you in your search.
In collaboration with the National Archives of Fiji, the National Library of Australia makes available over 60,000 individual records issues to Indian who were to come to Fiji as indentured labourers in the period of 1879-1916.
The original passes, held in 344 volumes, are kept by the National Archives of Fiji. They have been digitised and made freely available online through the National Library of Australia.
In 2011 these records, combined records of Indian Indentured Labourers of Guyana, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago were placed on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register.
Join research Reference Librarians Jack and Judith as they explore this vast collection and ways you can access it.
The Library acknowledges the National Archives of Fiji as custodians of the original collection material.
Contents:
00:00 - Introduction
01:40 - Historical context for Indian emigration records
03:23 - What actually is indentured labour?
05:17 - Why are these records so important?
06:22 - Are there other relevant records held by other institutions?
07:33 - Where can I access this collection?
08:42 - Overview of Indian emigration series within the catalogue
09:20 - What is a "unique identifier"?
09:50 - General Registers
11:00 - Repatriation Registers
12:06 - Death Registers
12:34 - Plantation Registers
13:36 - Emigration Passes
15:37 - Example: Information on passes
16:35 - Extracting information from passes
16:56 - Example: Tracing depot numbers
18:12 - How to access the Indian emigration passes online and other resources
18:47 - Indian emigration passes to Fiji 1879-1918 research guide overview
19:28 - Using Girmit.org
20:45 - Example: Tracing an individual - Daulat, son of Ramcharan
22:37 - How to download an image of an individual record
23:36 - How to link directly to an individual record
24:18 - Example: Tracing next of kin from passes - Finding Ramcharan, father of Daulat
27:51 - Example: Tracing a spouse from a passes - Saka, wife of Ramcharan
28:46 - Finding records by searching ship's name
29:30 - Fijian civil registration records
30:27 - Conclusion
Resources used in the video:
00.00 and 02.23 - Indian labourers with their families and European overseers gathered in front of a house with verandah, Fiji, 1890. nla.gov.au/nla.obj-2869590249
05.32 - UNESCO Memory of the World Register: en.unesco.org/memoryoftheworl...
06.29 - National Archives of the United Kingdom research guide - www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/h...
06.28 - Ministry of Education, Heritage and Arts: National Archives of Fiji - www.education.gov.fj/national-...
06.59 - Overview of AJCP Content research guide - www.nla.gov.au/australian-joi...
07.05 - Records of the Colonial Officer finding aide - nla.gov.au/nla.obj-728202615/...
07.10 - AJCP Learning Webinar - • Introduction to AJCP m...
07.56 - Digitised Indian Emigration passes - nla.gov.au/nla.obj-2586944660
08.57 - NLA Catalogue Search - Indian Emigration Registers - catalogue.nla.gov.au/Search/H...
18.47 - NLA Indian emigration passes to Fiji 1879-1916 research guide - www.nla.gov.au/research-guide...
National Library of Australia Resources:
National Library of Australia Homepage: www.nla.gov.au/
Catalogue: catalogue.nla.gov.au/
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