Need Help?
This page describes how you may search and browse Mura Gadi and
what results to expect:
- Searching Mura Gadi
- Browsing Mura Gadi
- Viewing results
- Copyright issues
- Quick Tips

Searching Mura Gadi
Searching Mura Gadi is simple. From any page choose one of the
available search options: Search, Advanced Search, Search by Region. You may
also opt to search using the Name or Subject Indexes.
The search options are listed on the left of each page, with the
exception of the home page where they appear in the centre and right of the
screen. At any point, the browser's back button will return you to the previous
screen.
If you cannot find the information you require, try the
Quick Tips or
Contact Us. For books,
periodicals and other publications try searching the Library's
Catalogue.
Search
To perform a standard Search, enter one or more words (or numbers)
in the 'Search' box provided, then click on the Search button. The search
engine will conduct a keyword search and retrieve those records that contain a
match for your search terms in any part of the entry.
An entry will only be retrieved if all of the words in a search
occur in the same record, in any order. When using this search option, avoid
using alone very commonly used words in Mura Gadi such as Aboriginal,
Aborigines, Australia and Australian or use them in combination with
other words. If you are unsure of which search terms to use, consider browsing
the Name and
Subject Indexes as a starting
point. For an explanation on viewing entries, go to
Viewing Results.
Search Syntax
All of the search options provided through Mura Gadi search fields
are keyword searches. Words used in these searches can be input in any order.
For example, a search using the words 'message sticks' or 'sticks message' will
retrieve the same results. Records will only be retrieved if all of the words
used in the search are found and if they are in the same Mura Gadi record.
Words can be of any length, including single letters, and may be
truncated using the operator '%' for example, 'fish%' to search for
fishing and fisherman. However, you may receive a database timed out
message if you search on single letters or very common words such as 'and',
'or' or 'the' without combining them with other words. The search is non-case
sensitive and you can use capitals or punctuation - or not - as you prefer.
Mura Gadi converts all input to lower case and replaces punctuation (including
hyphens) with a space:
S.T. Gill = s t gill, Adam-Smith = adam smith
There is one exception: the apostrophe in words like
O'Connor must be included for a match to occur.
Personal or family names
When searching for personal or family names, use as many words as
are needed to produce a manageable Result Set. For more common names, also use
one or more of the person's given names, surname or initials for example
Jack Tjakamarra, Rhys Maengwyn Jones, J.A. Thomas.
If you are uncertain of the full form of a name, you can browse
the Name Index to see how the name
has been recorded and to identify variant forms. For example Truganini,
also known as Trugernanner, Trucanini and 'Lalla Rookh'.
Organisation names
When searching for organisational names, use the most significant
words from the name of the organisation. Commonly used words such as
association, committee, Australia and Australian should be omitted from the
search where possible, or used in combination with more specific terms from the
name of the organisation. Words that are frequently abbreviated such as
department (dept), company (co) or limited (ltd) should be omitted to ensure
that variant forms of the same name are retrieved. Also try alternative forms
of the organisation's name and acronyms for example, look under both
Torres Strait Islander Independence Movement and Magani Malu Kes,
National Aboriginal and Islander Day Observance Committee and NAIDOC.
If you are uncertain of the correct form of the name, you can browse the
Name Index to see how the name has
been recorded.
If you cannot find the information you require, try the
Quick Tips or
Contact Us. For books,
periodicals and other publications try searching the Library's
Catalogue.
Advanced Search
The Advanced Search page offers a number of additional retrieval
options for the performance of more complex searches. You can combine up to
three sets of search words using combinations of the Boolean operators 'AND',
'OR' or 'AND NOT'.
When using the Advanced Search form only select the options that
are relevant to you. Leave the other options blank or at the default. The
Search button submits the search, Reset removes all previous input.
To perform an Advanced Search, type in the word or words you want
to find in each input box. Then specify the field or fields you wish to search,
and how you want the searches to be combined by making selections from the
drop-down lists. The available search options in the drop-down lists are:
Search options
| Any word |
Searches for matching keywords in
any field |
| Name |
Searches for matching keywords in
Personal, Corporate and Geographical name fields |
| Subject |
Searches for matching keywords in
any of the Subject headings that were assigned to the item or collection |
You can also use the Advanced Search form to restrict a search by
collection format (Manuscripts, Oral Histories, Pictures), or to a specified
date or date range. The available limits are:
Limits
| Collection |
Limits search by one or more
collections (Manuscript, Oral Histories or Pictures) |
| Date |
Limits by date or date range of
material |
To limit your search to one or two specific collections, click on
the relevant box or boxes next to Manuscripts, Oral Histories, Pictures.
To specify the date range type the year or years in the From and
to boxes. Use whole years only for example From: 1867 to: 1911. To
retrieve items for a single year, it is also necessary to enter the year in the
From and to boxes.
If you cannot find the information you require, try the
Quick Tips or
Contact Us. For books,
periodicals and other publications try searching the Library's
Catalogue.
Search by region
Using the Map Search form, select a State or Territory to search
on by clicking on the corresponding region on the map of Australia. The system
will retrieve all entries which have been assigned a geographical location for
the nominated area in the Names field of the record.
The standard Search and Advanced Search options provide
alternative approaches to finding geographical names in Mura Gadi. To identify
materials associated with places or regions at a more specific level than State
or Territory for example, Victoria River (NT) - use the standard Search
and Advanced Search functions.
If you cannot find the information you require, try the
Quick Tips or
Contact Us. For books,
periodicals and other publications try searching the Library's
Catalogue.
Browsing Mura Gadi
The browse function enables you to browse selected Mura Gadi
indexes if you are not sure which search terms or spellings to use, or if you
wish to gain a general view of the types of materials described in the
catalogue. Mura Gadi may be browsed by Name or Subject, either independently,
or to complement a keyword search.
Name Index
The Name Index is an alphabetically arranged list of personal,
family, organisational, geographical and other proper names, including the
names of Aboriginal communities, language groups, events, movements and
legislation. For example - Jabirrjabirr people (WA), Dharawal language,
Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972 (WA), Aboriginal Sunday, Jindyworobak
Movement. Names have been established in accordance with standard cataloguing
practice, and the index can be browsed in order to identify the correct form of
heading.
The index includes names responsible for the creation of the
material described, as well as those with secondary responsibility, such as a
correspondent in a collection of letters, or a subject in the case of a
portrait.
To browse the Name Index, select the applicable letter from the
alphabet bar at the top of the page.
[ A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
F |
G |
H |
I |
J |
K |
L |
M |
N |
O |
P |
Q |
R |
S |
T |
U |
V |
W | X |
Y |
Z ]
At the page for the selected letter, browse up and down the list
of headings until you locate the required name. To link to records which
include this name in the entry, click on the selected heading.
For example Not sure if an artist's name is Richard Brown
or Browne? Position cursor on letter | B | and select. Scan down the list of retrieved terms to
select the correct heading: Browne, Richard (1776-1824)
The standard Search and Advanced Search options provide
alternative approaches to finding names indexed in Mura Gadi.
Subject Index
The Subject search option enables you to browse Mura Gadi by the
topics which have been allocated to materials in the catalogue. Subject terms
are derived from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander thesaurus
(Canberra : National Library of Australia, 1997). Examples of the many topics
indexed in Mura Gadi include: Aboriginal law, Birth, Ethnomusicology, Farming,
Genealogy, Kinship systems, Military service, Pearling, Scarred trees,
Trackers. It is important to note that not all items in Mura Gadi have been
assigned topical headings.
To browse the Subject Index, select the applicable letter from the
alphabet bar at the top of the page.
[ A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
F |
G |
H |
I |
J |
K |
L |
M |
N |
O |
P | Q |
R |
S |
T |
U | V |
W |
X | Y | Z ]
At the page for the selected letter, browse up and down the list
of topics until you locate the required name. To link to records which include
this name in the entry, click on the selected topic.
The standard Search and Advanced Search options provide
alternative approaches to finding subjects indexed in Mura Gadi.
If you cannot find the information you require, try the
Quick Tips or
Contact Us. For books,
periodicals and other publications try searching the Library's
Catalogue.
Viewing Results
A search of Mura Gadi will initially result in one of three
outcomes: a full record display, a list of brief records, or an unsuccessful
search message.
Full record display
If only one entry is found to match your search query, the Result
Set will be a full record display.
Every item in Mura Gadi has a full entry, the content of which
will vary slightly according to whether the record describes a manuscript, oral
history or picture. A screen shot of a Pictures Entry is below:
Most of the fields are common to all formats, and may include the
following elements:
Pictures Entry
Creator: Unknown artist
Title: [Plaques of Truganini and King Billy]
Date: c.1880
Extent: 2 plaques: plaster overpainted
Size: height 12.3 cm
Call number: PIC OBJ A40005437 NK10,851
Short description: Two plaster portrait plaques
of the heads of Truganini and William Lanney (or 'King Billy') presumably
intended as a pair. Crafted by moulds and then overpainted. The casts
have...
Significance: William Lanney or 'King Billy' was
from the Wybalenna and Oyster Cove settlements in Tasmania. When discovered by
G.A. Robinson...
Biographical/Historical Note: The artist of
these plaques is unknown, however they have a sticker on them saying that they
were made by 'Donald Mou... of Hobart'...
Index terms: Names: Lanney, William
('King Billy') (1834-1869); Tasmania (Trowunna); Truganini (Trugernanner,
Trucanini, 'Lalla Rookh') (1803-1876); Woolley, Charles Alfred (1834-1922)
Subjects: Photography 19th century; Portraits,
19th century
References: Horton, David (ed.),
Encyclopaedia of Aboriginal Australia... Kerr, Joan (ed.),
Dictionary of Australian artists... Ryan, Lyndall, The
Aboriginal Tasmanians...
Your comments | Using this material
When the whole entry is displayed, all the fields that have been
included in the record will appear on the screen, but fields that do not
include any information are suppressed from display. All of the names and
subjects listed under Index Terms are searchable links and can be used to
locate other materials relating to the selected heading.
Use the Your
comments link at the foot of the entry to send us your comments or queries.
Select the Using this
material link to find out how to access and request specific items.
Digital images
If there is an online image relating to a Mura Gadi record, a
small version (called a thumbnail) will display in the full record display. To
view the image in greater detail, place the cursor on the thumbnail and click
to enlarge.
Collection entry
A collection entry is an entry that describes a group of items
that are closely related or that may have been created as part of a project. In
such cases, Mura Gadi provides searchable links from the parent record for the
collection, to each of its component entries (known as child entries). For Oral
Histories, the child entries for each collection are listed in the parent
record under the heading Component parts; Pictures are listed individually
under the parent record. Click on a relevant child link to be taken to a full
entry display for the chosen record.
Brief record display
If more than one entry is found, the Result Set will be a list of
brief records which match your search query. Mura Gadi search results are
sorted alphabetically by creator name. Entries that do not include a creator
field file at the end of the alphabetical sequence, whilst Unknown creators
file under U.
At the top of the Results Set page you will find a summary of the
search results, for example:
Displaying 6 records from your search on Any word: 'kakadu'
An icon which indicates the form of the material precedes each
brief record: Text (for Manuscripts), Image (for Pictures), or Sound (for Oral
Histories). Please note that audio is not yet available through the Mura Gadi
site. We hope to make some Oral History recordings available in the future.
|
Anderson, Ian Philip Smith (1965-). [Interview with Dr Ian
Anderson]. 29 Nov. 1995. Part of: Various interviewees.
Seven Years On: Continuing Life Histories of Aboriginal Leaders Oral
History Project. 1995-2002. |
|
Batman, John (1801-1839). Diary. 3 March to 30
September 1830. |
|
Beattie, John Watt. Coal tribe last of the race. c.1858
(copied c.1893). Part of: Kerry, Charles Henry (1858-1928) and
Beattie, John Watt (1859-1930). [Tasmanian, New South Wales and Queensland
Aborigines]. 1866-1891. |
The information recorded in the brief record is sufficient to
identify the item and includes the creator name, title and date. If the entry
is for an item that is part of a collection, the details displayed will include
a brief citation for the collection entry, following the words Part of:. The
citation will also provide a link to the collection entry. Click on the icon to
view a full record display for the selected
item.
Unsuccessful search messages
If your search has been unsuccessful, you will receive one of the
following messages:
No query defined: You have forgotten to
enter a search term. Type a search term in the box under Try Again, then click
on the Search button to re-enter.
Database timed out: The search terms you
have used are too broad for the search engine to retrieve a manageable result.
To narrow your search, try again using more specific terms or combine with
other terms.
Sorry, no records found: No entries were
found using the combination of search terms you entered in the search box. For
alternative strategies, try the Quick Tips listed on screen below the
message.
Copyright issues
For general information about copyright relating to the National
Library's web site, see the
About
this Site page.
For more specific information on copyright for Pictures, refer to
the document
Copyright in Pictures.
Contact the
Manuscript or
Petherick Reading Rooms for more information on copyright
specific to these materials.
Quick tips
- Check that the search term has been entered and is spelt
correctly.
- Try again with more general terms or fewer terms. Think of
alternative terms; replace singular with plural and vice versa. Try truncating
the search term using the operator '%' for example, 'fish%' to search
for fishing and fisherman.
- Try browsing the Name
Index for proper names or Subject
Index for topics.
- Use Advanced Search to 'OR' terms
together.
- Use Search by
Region to search broadly by State or Territory.
- If using Advanced Search, remove any search limits or use fewer
search options. You can always add another search option if the Result Set is
too large.
- Check other resources listed on our
Links page.
- For books, periodicals and other publications try searching the
Library's Catalogue.
- Contact Us.
There may be items of interest to your research in the National Library's
collections that are not listed on this database. We are happy to advise on
ways to search for other materials.
|