Useful websites

AskNumbers.com
Online conversions between different metrics of length, weight, temperature, pressure, energy, frequency and more.

Australian Stock Exchange
Get the latest stock prices, read current business news, complete the online tutorials to learn how to trade and more.

Weather
Get the latest weather forecasts and details from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. Includes weather charts and satellite photos.

Your Lucky Numbers
Check your numbers online at Tattersalls, find out what the actual odds of winning are, check sports results and more.

What time is it?
Discover the time in any country in the world.  Flags for all countries also available.


Australian Government

Australian government information
Compiled by the National Library of Australia, this is a good place to start a search. Quicklinks to the Australian Parliament, the Prime Minister, Australian Tax Office, Centrelink, Jobsearch and all Federal departments and agencies.

Bayside City Council
This is the webpage of the Bayside City Council, the local government responsible for providing the Bayside Library Service. By searching under services you can find out about the different services the council provides.

Local government information
A comprehensive site developed by the Department of Victorian Communities with information on the 79 local government areas of Victoria. A general overview of the work of local councils, providing information on their key function, how they make decisions, how they are funded,  and who to contact if you have a concern or complaint.

Victoria's government
This is the homepage for the Victorian state government. A menu on the left helps you select the section you are interested in. Featured online services include: find a job, register a business name, find a public transport timetable.

Business & consumer affairs

Business Channel
This Victorian Government site provides overviews of the current state of any industry and information on licensing, establishing and managing a business. Information on support from local councils is also available.

Australian Competition & Consumer Commission
Promotes competition and fair trading to prevent price exploitation and encourage awareness in the public domain.

Consumer affairs
Consumer rights protection checklist when buying on the internet and product safety standards. Lists consumer affairs and fair trading national and state agencies.

Choice
Before buying, check these reports on goods for an assessment of their product quality on this easy to use site.

Education

Education channel
Victorian Government site contains information on education for students, teachers and parents from pre-school to adult. Where is my closest school? How can I help my child to learn? Where can I enrol to continue studying as an adult?  All these issues and more are addressed.

Education Network Australia
EdNA (Education Network Australia) is a network of and for the Australian education community (government and non-government schooling systems, vocational education and training, adult community education and higher learning).

Encyclopedias & dictionaries

Australian Dictionary of Biography
Online access to this pre-eminent dictionary of national biography. Provided by the Australian National University this database includes biographies of notable Australians who died before 1980. Searches are made principally by name or occupation. Advanced searches can also access the database by gender, religious influences and cultural heritage.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Provides a free, searchable on-line dictionary and thesaurus, word games, a word of the day, and many other English language and vocabulary reference tools and resources.

your Dictionary.com
The Web's most comprehensive index of on-line dictionaries with over 1,000 dictionaries in more than 190 different languages. This conveniently organized index includes glossaries of specialized terminology and other vocabulary aids. It includes an index of on-line grammars and several pages of linguistic fun.

The DICT Online Dictionary
Access many dictionaries, thesauri and other word resources simultaneously with just one search. Includes foreign language and technical dictionaries, guides and resources.  

Roget's Thesaurus
Roget's Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases, classified and arranged so as to facilitate the expression of ideas and assist in literary composition. Browse the six main classes of words, or search the main index.

Acronyms and Abbreviations
Acronyms and abbreviations alphabetically by one of 80 categories, including computing, internet, science, business and medical terms.              

Genealogy at the State Library
Summary of all that is available for the ancestor sleuth at the State Library, plus links to other genealogy sites.  An orientation tour of the Genealogy Centre is available and you can also attend a talk on how to begin searching your family tree.

Genealogy on the internet
Links to church records, ships passenger lists, cemeteries and censuses for Australia, New Zealand, the US, Canada and the UK.

Family Search
Search online for your ancestors on this world-wide database.  Includes the 1881 census for US, Canada and the UK.

Geography

The CIA World Factbook
Profiles everything about the countries of the world including maps, politics, flags, weather, major cities, and economics. 

Geography World
High school geography resource with resources on climate, time, plate tectonics, population, and culture. Includes maps and globes and games

Atlapedia
Colour physical and political maps as well as facts and data on geography, climate, people, religion, language, history, and economy on every country in the world.

Geography facts
Information on all aspects of geography from oceans, mountains and deserts, to world cities and explorers.

SBS – Special Broadcasting Commission
Link to their publication - World Guide – which provides information on history, geography, government, economics and education for all countries.


Health & medicine
This material is intended for general reference only. It is not a tool for self-diagnosis or a substitute for professional care.

Health & Wellness Resource Centre
Easy to use health site with journals, magazines and newspapers containing information on topics such as pregnancy, nutrition, alcohol and drug abuse, prescription drugs, herbal remedies, and many more.  Links to diet, cancer and health assessment sites as well as government databases.

Better Health Channel
Current issues and health recipes to choose from, a question and answer section and forthcoming conferences and workshops.  This Victorian Government site also has links to other health sites.

AIS – Australian Institute of Sport
Details research on sports science and medicine with information for those interested in sport on psychology, training and nutrition.

Medscape
Continually updated, state-of-the-art interactive e-med texts that define the knowledge base and treatment options within each medical specialty.

HealthInsite
A-Z of information on health issues for all the family, from asthma, birth, cancer, mental health and nutrition.


History & biography

Aboriginal history
Research Aboriginal culture, dreamtime and spirituality, land rights and the questions raised by the stolen generation debate.

Australian Dictionary of Biography
Online access to this pre-eminent dictionary of national biography. Provided by the Australian National University this database includes biographies of notable Australians who died before 1980. Searches are made principally by name or occupation. Advanced searches can also access the database by gender, religious influences and cultural heritage.

Australian history
This Australian Government site provides multiple links to information on many aspects of Australian history including our folklore, prime ministers, government and key documents in the founding of our nation.

Biography Resource Centre
Search this site for people based on personal facts such as occupation, nationality, ethnicity, gender or birth and death year. Full-text articles from hundreds of journals.

Biography.com
A huge database containing biographies of people from all around the world.

History
Ancient heritage, modern society. This Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade site provides a chronological snapshot of Australian history from Aboriginal times to the cosmopolitan society of today.

The Nobel Prize Internet Archive
The Nobel Prize Internet Archive contains up-to-date information of all latest and past Nobel Prize laureates.


Law

Commonwealth law
State by State information on court decisions, appeals, patents, privacy and immigration legislation.

Law for you
Find a lawyer online, or search this state by State guide for information on topics such as family, small business, immigration and cars.

Legalonline
Victorian Government’s legal information site. A-Z index to help you find legislation to help you in any questions of law. Links to legal practitioners.


Literature & music

Great Writers and Poets
A to Z pages for specific authors featuring bibliographies, biographies, reviews, quotes, texts and pictures.

Familiar Quotations
Collection of passages, phrases and proverbs from ancient to modern literature.  Word searchable with alphabetical index of authors.

Project Gutenberg
The full-text of classic books from the start of the 20th century and previous centuries, from authors such as Shakespeare, Poe, Dante, as well as well-loved favorites like the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the Tarzan and Mars books of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Alice's adventures in Wonderland as told by Lewis Carroll, and thousands of others. 

World music
Music from world and classical to country, jazz, folk, rap, blues, reggae and other styles.

Sport

Australian Sports Commission
Information about the Government's commitment and contribution to sport in Australia, including a range of topics such as club development and behaviour in sport.  Recent media releases are also available.

Indigenous sports stars and athletes
Detailed biographical information and other topics of interest  in indigenous sport.

Sport Central
All the latest sporting news both local and international, feature articles and more - brought to you online by Inside Sport magazine and Ozemail.

Vicfit
Community service organisation promoting physical activity and regular exercise across all ages with the walk and talk program. Also lists education and training workshops.

Wide World of Sports
Bringing you sports news as it happens.