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Digitising in Mauritus

Digitising in Mauritius had been going on for quite some years until recently when the authorities withdrew the permission for the CGMR to digitise documents of genealogical value.  Earlier when the digital cameras were not affordable, the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints managed to obtain the permission to microfilm some of the genealogical registers. This process was also suddenly stopped by the authorities some time before the nineties.
It started way back around 2007 when Henri Maurel formed the Dynarobin group and obtained permission from the authorities to digitise the French period (1722-1810) Parish records. At that time, the volunters were Jérôme Giblot-Ducray, Philippe Chaperon, Gerard Yves Heeraman and Guillaume Devienne. They managed to digitise most of the registers pertaining to that period.
Subsequently, after the formation of the Cercle de Généalogie Maurice - Rodrigues (CGMR), the Ministry of Arts and Culture granted permission to the CGMR to digitise the civil status index for the British period. This task was carried out by Gerard Yves Heeraman and Jean-Claude Dantier who manage to digitise two decades of births, marriages and deaths registers. Alain Benard, one of CGMR's supoorting member managed to digitise all the indexed for the period 1811- 1840. For some unknown reasons, these permissions have been withdrawn by the authorities. 
The main objectives of digitising these documents were to make them available to the public in digital form and stop the handling of the fragile registers by the public. At that time, requests for certificates from the Civil Status Office required that the researcher made a trip to the Mauritius National archives, consult the index registers to find the information relevant to the certificates requested. This system worked well for quite some time until the civil status authorities withdrew these registers from consultation by the public.
Following the Truth and Justice commission, quie some digitising of registers related to genealogy and family story. These digital documents should be traced out and placed in custody of the Mauritius National Archives before they become completely useless.
Other documents digitised by the CGMR are the parish registers of the Christian dioceses older than 100 years.  These registers are being transcribed and the transcriptions can be found on the websites of the CGMR. The decision of the dioceses to have these registers digitised is very laudable. The originals are no longer needed for consultation, except in rare cases, and can be preserved for generations to come.

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Digitising by Dynarobin


Jerome Giblot-Ducray is seen to be photographing a parish register. The digitisation bench was donated by Gerard Yves Heeraman and is still available at the Mauritius National Archives.
Digitisation of the Catholic Diocese Archives

Our volunteers Alain Benard and Serge L'Ecluse at the Évéché in Port-Louis. Preparing the digitisation of a register.


Digitisation of the Catholic Diocese Archives

CGMR member Ronald Bégué at the Évéché in Port-Louis. Using natural light.
Digitisation of the Catholic Diocese Archives

Alain Benard a at the Évéché in Port-Louis. Getting the most out of the register.




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