The default operator between fields is AND.

If you type two or more words into a search box, they will be treated as a phrase (e.g. East Ballarat). If you wish to search for words that may not necessarily appear next to each other (e.g. "Ballarat" and "teacher"), use Ballarat AND teacher. You can also refine your search by using OR and NOT (e.g. grazier OR farmer NOT pastoralist), and an asterisk for right-truncation (e.g. manage* to match manage, manages, manager, management etc.)

Searching for names can be done in normal form or inverted form, e.g. to search for "John Smith" type either John Smith, or Smith, John. You can use an asterisk for right-truncation, e.g. Rob* will match Robert, Robin, Roberta, Robertson, etc.

You can browse by last name by selecting the Browse tab. Another method of browsing is to use truncation, (e.g.) type H* to match last names beginning with H. Other fields may be browsed in a similar manner.

Dates must be entered in the form: Day MonthName Year (e.g. 23 November 1973). You can search for date ranges by placing a colon between them e.g. to search between two dates (inclusive) 1 December 1995 : 22 January 1999

The brief list of results can be sorted by name (alphabetically), or by start date (descending) by choosing the sort option and clicking the Sort button.