Help Us Save Millions of Census Records From Being Destroyed

3 Aug 201114 comments

The Australian Census is coming up on August 9th and millions of records are at risk of being destroyed forever, stopping future generations from benefitting from the information.

We need your help to stop this, even if you are not in Australia. Please read on to see how you can help.

The Australian Census Night is on August 9, and it is a big moment for all Australian citizens. Of all the questions on the census, the one garnering most attention is Question 60, which asks respondents if they want their paper response stored in the national archives, to be released publicly in 99 years' time or if they want it destroyed immediately.

Those of you familiar with historical information in England, Wales and Scotland, for example, will probably be thinking “What’s so special about that?” considering the fact that census data from those countries has been preserved since 1841.

In Australia, however, that hasn’t been the historical case. Instead, once the statistical data has been captured, the actual census records have been religiously destroyed.

This changed in 2006, but even then, as with this year’s census, there was only a check box which asked people to opt into preserving the identifying information as described above.

As family history researchers / genealogists who understand the immense value of census records, you would imagine that most people checked that very box, right? Wrong.

I spoke to Andrew Peake, President of the Australasian Federation of Family History Organistions (AFFHO) who had this to say:

“In 2006 only 54% of people ticked the box.

We’re hoping for more than 70% in 2011, so that by 2016 the Bureau of Census and Statistics, either have an 'opt-out' provision or it is automatically preserved. Particularly as there are no privacy concerns as the information is inaccessible for 100 years.”

While I’d like to think achieving a 70% opt-in rate is possible, the early signs aren’t particularly promising.

A recent report showed that 40% of people aged 18-34 don't want their census papers preserved, with 68% of those citing privacy concerns. That’s coming from a group of people who are probably more liberal with their private lives than any other previous generation. If they aren’t into the idea of sharing their census data, 99 years down the track, then we’ve got an uphill struggle to convince the rest of the population.

So, we need your help.

Whether you’re Australian or not, it’s critical that as many people as possible help build awareness of the issue, so we're asking everyone with a Twitter account to please tweet the following:

@myheritage says #justsayyes to Question 60 on the Australian Census. Help us preserve the present, for the future http://bit.ly/p8XpwJ

or just click HERE and a tweet will be created for you

We’ll then collate all of these tweets and build awareness of the issue more generally.

If you don't have a twitter account you can still take part by putting words of support, or stories about how identifying census data has helped you in the past, in the comments to this post and we'll include them in our awareness building campaign.

It will only take a minute but it will help us to make a difference and we can make a big change for future generations, they will know who their ancestors were.

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Post Image from The Mercury

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Posted by Kim on August 3rd, 2011 - 15:47

Tagged as: australian census, Census, Family History, Genealogy, myheritage.com

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Comments (14) Trackbacks (1) ( subscribe to comments on this post )

Donella
August 3rd, 2011 - 17:06
census records are so important to preserve! please consider checking the box to preserve this record for genealogists of the future. for instance, I was thrilled to find my 4th GrGrandparents and their daughter, my 3rd GrGrandmother, in Scotland's 1841 census!!! wouldn't have found them if those records hadn't been preserved. I have found many records I needed to trace my family in the USA as well, in census data. and am very much looking forward to the release of the US 1940 census next year!
CRAIG
August 3rd, 2011 - 21:05
I WOULD LIKE TO HELP YOU IN YOUR QUEST I STAY IN UNITED STATES AND I KNOW HOW IMPORTANT CENSES RECORDS ARE PLEASE EMAIL ME AT CRAIG.ROGERS7@GMAIL.COM MAY BE WE CAN HELP EACH OTHER
Sylvia Seddon
August 3rd, 2011 - 21:40
census records are really important to genealogist world wide - don't let the Australian Government destroy vital information so tick the box heck box which asked people to opt into preserving the identifying information
Kim
August 4th, 2011 - 00:28
Great work everyone! Thanks for your support with this. Together I'm sure we can build awareness of this issue.
sonya staffolani
August 4th, 2011 - 04:51
My family will definitely be participating in the important step, to secure these vital records for future generations - if only our ancestors could have done so...for genies and fam researchers, to destroy these records, is tantamount to sacrilige. Let's not let this happen on 9th Aug. Please photocopy the document and keep with your treasured documents. cheers
Maureen Hurst
August 4th, 2011 - 18:55
Census records are a vital primary source not only to family historians but for students of social history.
Kim
August 5th, 2011 - 05:07
Keep up the good work team. We're getting great exposure for this cause across the world!
Keith Sayers
August 5th, 2011 - 23:59
At the very least that question 60 should be the other way round - assuring us that our census will be kept confidential for 100 years before being made public unless we opt out.
Ann
August 6th, 2011 - 10:32
I live in Australia and I'm researching my family tree. I have gained so much informaton from census records from my ancestors in the UK and realise just how important they are for family research.

I've forwarded this blog on Twitter and Facebook and asked my Facebook Aussie friends to keep passing it along...saying 'Yes' to Q60
Catherine Crout-Habel
August 6th, 2011 - 15:59
I'm a born and bred South Australian whom, without the UK Census would never have discovered so much of my heritage and that of my children and grandchildren. Is something we all cherish.

Such a disgrace, and embarrassment, that Australia has never valued this information and must make the rest of the world wonder what it is that we are trying to hide.

The time for change is way overdue and the law needs to be changed to ensure that this valuable info is retained for future generations.

A step forward, is to "check" AGREE on Qu 60 of the 2011 Census and encourage others to do the same.
Kim
August 7th, 2011 - 01:35
@Keith - completely agree.

@Ann - thanks for the support. The more people we share the message with the more likely we'll be able to reach our target

@Catherine - Agree the time for change is overdue.
Froggy
August 7th, 2011 - 06:20
I agree with "DONT DESTROY" It is so important for Future Generations
Wal French
August 7th, 2011 - 06:25
I am using all the English often
Please don't destroy this Great aid for future generations
Valerie Brotherton
May 5th, 2013 - 21:36
Please keep Australia's Census in the Archive. This is very important.