Persons called before Queensland Government committees 1860-1920
State Library of Queensland

Explanatory Information
This open data file contains an index of persons called before select committees, royal commissions and boards of enquiry of the Queensland Government from 1860-1920.
About this index
This index lists details of persons called before select committees, royal commissions and boards of enquiry, as published in the Queensland Legislative Assembly Votes and Proceedings from 1860-1901 and the Queensland Parliamentary Papers from 1902-1920. Approximately eight thousand people provided information at these enquiries. They came from a variety of backgrounds, including civil servants, miners, farmers, graziers, labourers, railway employees, publicans, builders, seaman, clergyman and police.
The following information is provided:
•	the name of the witness
•	occupation, or other identifying details, of the witness
•	the name of the enquiry case
•	the source, year, volume and page of the publication
This data was originally published in the Queensland Legislative Assembly Votes and Proceedings from 1860-1901 and the Queensland Parliamentary Papers from 1902-1920. For more information, the Queensland Legislative Assembly Votes and Proceedings and Queensland Parliamentary Papers can be located on microfilm at MFL 328.943 on level 3 of the State Library of Queensland at South Bank, Brisbane.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander material is accessed and used in accordance with State Library's Protocols for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Collections.
Members of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities are advised that collections and records may contain names and images of deceased people.
Users should also be aware that certain words, terms or descriptions may be culturally sensitive and may be considered inappropriate today, but may have reflected the author's/creator's attitude or that of the period in which they were written.
About this data file
This index was prepared by volunteers transcribing the original gazette records into a database. The data has been extracted from the database and some records have been edited for clarity and consistency. Edits included:
•	source acronyms expanded to the full publication title
•	corrected spelling errors or variations in data
•	replaced blank or null values with “-“
•	for indigenous recruits, where only one name was recorded as a surname, given names are recorded as “n/a”
The data is provided in a comma separated values (CSV) file. The file can be opened as a text file, or in spreadsheet software such as Microsoft Excel. Please note that if you are using Excel, it is best to use the Text Import Wizard and import all columns as ‘text’ rather than ‘general’ format. This will prevent Excel making changes to numbers or dates in the file.
Fields in the dataset
Surname
Text – Surname of the person appearing before the committee. For example, ‘Bowman’, ‘Taraageda’, or ‘Campbell-Brown’. For indigenous recruits, only one name was recorded as a surname.
Given names
Text – Given names in full, or as abbreviations, initials and/or title of the person appearing before the committee. For example, ‘James Matthew (Captain)’, ‘Bridget’, or ‘T.F.’. For indigenous recruits where only one name was recorded as a surname, given names are recorded as “n/a”.
Occupation/Other
Text – Identifying information of the person, such as title of occupation and/or place of work, or other identifying details. For example, ‘Postmistress’, ‘Clerk of Petty Sessions at Warwick’, ‘Recruit from Normanby Island, Coiawata Village. (Arrived on the ship Hopeful)’, or ‘Connected with the hospital and lunatic asylum’.
Case
Text – Name of the enquiry before the House of Representatives, such as petitions, enquiries into government processes and management of government departments, elections and qualifications. For example, ‘’Recent Accidents at Mount Morgan mine’, ‘Proposed railway extensions’, ‘Petition of Dr Jonathan Labatt’ or ‘Election Tribunal’.
Source
Text – Source publication for the original data. For example, ‘Queensland Legislative Assembly Votes and Proceeding’ or ‘Queensland Parliamentary Papers’.
Source year
Date – Year of publication from that source. For example, ‘1860’ or ‘1883/84’.
Source volume
Text – Volume of publication from that year, if applicable. For example, ‘v.3’ or ‘s.2 v.4’.
Source pages
Text – Pages of publication from that volume. For example, ‘379’ or ‘725-747; 778’.
Please send any questions or feedback about any of the datasets released publicly by State Library to opendata@slq.qld.gov.au.