Hello Fellow Goldfields Listservers. Some of you have received replies to your Bendigo and district queries from me in the last 6 months. I thought it might be worthwhile to provide you all with details about the Bendigo Regional Archives Centre (BRAC), which first opened to Researchers in April 2009. BRAC was jointly established by the City of Greater Bendigo, the Goldfields Library Corporation, and Public Record Office Victoria (PROV). We aim to preserve local records in their place of origin and provide a first-class service to Researchers in person. While some assistance online and by phone is also available, the onus is on Researchers to visit BRAC and use the original records themselves with guidance from staff. We are located within the Bendigo Library, North Central Victoria, where there is a significant collection of secondary resources available. www.ncgrl.vic.gov.au<http://www.ncgrl.vic.gov.au> BRAC is open to Researchers on Wednesday and Thursday 1-5 pm. Records are accessed onsite. Currently available are the Rates and Minute Books created by the former Councils of Sandhurst/Bendigo, Eaglehawk, Huntly, Marong, Strathfieldsaye, McIvor, Heathcote and Raywood. We also have an extensive collection of Sandhurst/Bendigo Council's Inwards Correspondence covering 1856-1899. Details about most of these series are available in BRAC Guide 4, on our website www.brac.vic.gov.au<http://www.brac.vic.gov.au> . BRAC Guide 3 details the types of information you will find in any Rate Book, but also elaborates upon the quirks specific to different series of our Rate Books eg. the Bendigo Rate Books are the only ones which contain an extra column from 1910, which shows exactly how many people were living in each house. New records are being processed and added all the time. We may also have other records that can be used to find those elusive relations. Please feel free to send your initial query to brac@ncgrl.vic.gov.au<mailto:brac@ncgrl.vic.gov.au> We look forward to meeting you in person. Regards, Michele Matthews, Archives Officer, Bendigo Regional Archives Centre, PO BOX 887, BENDIGO 3552, 03 5449 2700, www.brac.vic.gov.au<http://www.brac.vic.gov.au> michelem@ncgrl.vic.gov.au<mailto:michelem@ncgrl.vic.gov.au>