Researching the history of a house: Online Resources

Trove

Trove provides access to digitised newspapers in South Australia from 1836 until 1954. Some of the information you can find through Trove includes:

• personal notices and articles about landowners and tenants
• advertisements for businesses, houses/rooms for let (rent), and auction notices
• photos of people or buildings published in the newspaper
• on the rare occasion, building plans or proposed building developments
• information on builders or architects

For additional support, see their website. 

Land Services SA

The exclusive service provider to the South Australian government for transactional land services and property valuation services. Some key services include:

• Providing property information such as sales, ownership, valuations, and building details
• Registering property transactions
• Examining plans for land division
• Giving access to databases like SAILIS which contains up-to-date information on South Australian land and property

Architects of South Australia Database

Contains biographical information and identifies principal local works of selected state architects from 1836-present. It documents architects' professional lives, contributions, and lasting legacies.

Department for Environment and Water

Offers guidance and resources to identify, conserve, and celebrate built, archaeological, geological, and indigenous heritage in South Australia. Search the State and Local Heritage Registers for information on the significance of heritage buildings. Get advice on renovation, restoration, and conservation. You can also access digitised copies of State and Local Heritage Surveys.

State Records of South Australia

Holds some records about house and land history. Primarily council rates (Rate Assessment Books) and records of land ownership.

• House or Property History

South Australian Property and Planning Atlas (SAPPA)

A free online map from the Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure. It provides spatial data on property, planning, zoning, heritage places, and environment across South Australia. Users can search properties or areas to view relevant layers integrated from databases like SAILIS and NatureMaps.

National Library of Australia

The NLA has produced a useful webinar demonstrating how a variety of archival records, resources and collection items can help you piece together the story of a property. Watch the video linked here to discover how the National Library’s collection may assist in your research, and how you can apply this information to other institutions collections.

Click the image to see the advertisement on Trove.

From this newspaper advertisement published in The Advertiser in 1954, we can identify the following information: a photo of the house, the possible name of the landowner (Mrs Gordon McFarlane), a description of the house, and the auctioneers (Matters & Co.).

Here are some other State Library guides that may be useful when researching the history of a house:

• Adelaide City Acres
• Almanacs and Directories
• Architecture in South Australia
• Archival Collection (how to search for photos)
• Mapping Sources for South Australian History
• SAILIS: South Australian Integrated Land Information System
• SA Newspapers