A generous local has safeguarded a vital glimpse into Kiama’s history with a $10,000 dollar donation to preserve 662 invaluable microfiche or microfilm reels.

For the uninitiated, microfiche is a flat piece of film containing microphotographs of the pages of a newspaper, catalogue, or other document. Over time, microfiche can deteriorate, also known as ‘vinegar syndrome’ where the film emits a vinegar smell and the film can shrink, curl or become brittle.

The collection of this important historical data has been an ongoing project for the Kiama Library and Family History Centre. Preservation of these archival records is no easy task, taking the group several years to get through the digitisation process.

A Family History Centre Officer Carolyn Morrow hosted a presentation in the community where a local member selflessly provided an anonymous donation of ten thousand dollars to preserve the remaining reels.

With the support of the donation, the project has been passed onto Imaging Australia and New Zealand, an organisation which specialises in digitisation. 

Erin Tierney from the Kiama Library noted if it hadn’t been for the donation, there was a very good chance some of their reels could have deteriorated to the point where they were unable to recover any information from them.

“We were blown away and so grateful. It is such a generous offer,” said Erin.

Some of the information includes “magistrate records from the early 1800’s; indentures of apprenticeship; colonial secretary papers; crew and passenger lists; clergy and school indexes and coroner inquests”.

Once digitised, the archives will be accessible in the Family History Centre and searchable in the Kiama Library database through optical character recognition.

“Many people come to the Family History Centre wanting more information about their ancestry or to view historical news articles or documents that aren’t available anywhere else,” Erin said.

The project is expected to be completed in November, with the priceless documents available for future generations. 

For further information on accessing the Family History Centre’s services, please visit their website here.