This is a post that is nothing to do with genealogy or family history. Nothing to with local history. Not even history related. Instead it’s of those those “hey, let me tell you about the cool thing I’ve found” posts, that I wanted to write about.
A few of you may have heard of the Mobi EyeFi card, but I bet most haven’t. I first heard of the EyeFi Cards a few years ago, and got into using it for my Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner. Now I have the newer version and I use it in my camera. And by camera, I mean proper one, not my smartphone.
I thought the Eye-Fi cards were better known that I found when I went to buy my new one. While I’m sure of the bigger name camera stores have them, there isn’t any near me anymore as they do seem to be a dying breed. So I tried a number of electrical stores, but none of those had even heard of it. So I ended purchasing one from eBay instead. But look around and you’ll find them.
The idea of the EyeFi card, is that firstly they are like any SD card. They slot into your camera or scanner and store your photos or scans. But here’s the BUT … they also link in with your computer or other device and transfer those images wirelessly without you having to manually take the card out, slot it in, load them up and copy them off. I shouldn’t complain about having to do that, but apparently I am getting lazy, so I love the idea of the Eye-Fi cards.
While my camera is an ‘auto-everything-point-and-shoot’ one, it takes better pictures than my phone, so now I can take a photo on my camera, and it will be sent to my phone. Firstly I leave my camera on, then make sure that the wifi on my phone is showing as being connected to “EyeFi”, and then that photo will transfer to it, so then I can easily upload to social media from there.
The Mobi EyeFi cards coming two versions, the regular Mobi EyeFi card and the Mobi Pro EyeFi, with the difference that the Pro version also lets you transfer RAW photos as well as JPG images. And they also come in two sizes 16GB and 32GB.
But a word of warning, they’re not cheap. The one I bought which was just the regular version (not Pro), 32GB, Mobi EyeFi card cost $179.00 (that’s Australian dollars), but if you look around you can get them a bit cheaper.
It should be handy as it means that I can take my camera and phone to places without the need to take my laptop just to get the pics off. Or the need to wait until I get home to take them off, anyway.
So for those who like techy-toys, this is a good one for you.
Visit the EyeFi website for more info: http://www.eyefi.com/
I have come across an incredible source of information relevant to my research. One that includes local town news choc full of anecdotes relating to the locals, mentions of births, deaths, marriages and obituaries, and a heap of adverts from the local area. So just what are these records?
Church Journals!
Really? You bet.
Let me give you some examples.
Here is a page from the “Local News” section (also called “Editorial Notes”, “Miscellaneous” or “Church News” in various editions) …
So you’ll see from this one page of Local News we learn of several people’s health troubles, several people moving, the introduction of some of the new equipment in the district, election chances, local meetings, a new business venture, a prize a local business won, and a bunch more. And that’s just a page from ONE journal!
You’ll also find some marriage and death notices (sorry no births afterall. But how do you write BDMs without births? DMs just doesn’t make sense) …
And of course the obituaries which are just awesome!
As well as anniversaries …
And other newsworthy events, like town sports news and this brave deed!
There’s also general history on the church, town and pioneers …
And if all that wasn’t fabulous enough, then there’s the adverts. Many from local businesses – others from Adelaide. Here’s just a few examples of them.
So you see, there is potentially so much you can find in Church Journals. And while my family were heavily involved in the church scene, many other researchers would say their family wasn’t, so wouldn’t think to look in Church Journals.
So I hope this has opened your eyes to the possibilities of what could be out there. If you are fortunate enough to have a local church journal for your area, and it has survived, check it out! You just never know.
All of these samples have been taken from the Salem Messenger, which is the journal for the Salem Baptist Church at Gumeracha, South Australia. Apart from covering news about the town itself, it also mentions happening in the areas around North Gumeracha (now Forreston), Kenton Valley, Blumberg (now Birdwood), Mount Torrens, Cudlee Creek and a few other localities.
Fortunately for me (and everyone else with an interest in Gumeracha’s history), the Salem Messenger has been digisited and is available on CD from Gould Genealogy & History. And if you’re interested in finding out more about church records and church journals, I suggest having a read of Shauna Hicks’ book on Finding Ancestors in Church Records: A Brief Guide.
So just when did Australia’s biggest bank robbery occur?
Where did it happen?
How did it happen?
Who was involved?
And what was the outcome and ramifications of the robbery?
Can you answer any of these questions? I know I sure couldn’t. But you’ll find answers to all of these and many more in Carol Baxter’s book “Breaking the Bank“.
I have recently finished reading this book, and like her other titles, it is a true page turner. As with her other titles, this is none-fiction true story is written in the style of a novel. She makes you ‘feel’ the happenings through her words, and she educates you on an amazing part of Australia’s history while doing so.
I’m not going to answer the questions above … so this probably isn’t considered a “book review” as such, so I’m not sure if it qualifies for the “Australian Womens Writers Challenge“, however it is a book written by a female Australian author … so it still may.
Instead of answering the questions above, I’m going to suggest you either buy or borrow a copy of the book, and read it for yourself.
And while I know it is incredibly clichè to say that you won’t be disappointed, but I do truly believe that. Enjoy!!
Book Details
Title: Breaking the Bank: An Extraordinary Colonial Robbery
Author: Carol Baxter
ISBN: 9781741754490
Year: 2008
Available from: Carol’s website, and Allen & Unwin’s website
On rare occasions I have done the odd book review, and as I’ve just finished reading Carol Baxter’s “Black Widow: The True Story of Australia’s First Female Serial Killer” (… and wow what a read!), here’s one more for you.
Written in Carol’s usual style of “true crime” written as if it was a novel, it is rivetting and most certainly a page turner.
The story follows Louisa Collins, mother of seven. Was she really a husband killer? Inquests, trials, hung juries, it’s all here in this book, and it is all TRUE history! If you live crime or thriller novels, and history this is a must for you.
Readers are taken into Sydney as it was 1888, and Carol sets the scene beautifully, with little tidbits adding in detail.
With details from newspapers, autopsies, trials and so on … the words written are the words the people actually said! You can’t get better than that for a true crime thriller.
To read more about this title, or to order it, head on over to Carol’s website
I’m not a prolific reader, of books anyway (blogs and magazines, yes! which doesn’t leave so much time for books). But earlier this year I decided that I wanted to take part in the Australian Women Writers Challenge for 2015, which means reading books written by Australian women authors (fiction or non-fiction) and reviewing it. Sadly it is now September and this is my first one – still, one is better than none. For more about the Challenge, click here.