from the text
"The Biographical register is a by-product of the preparation of the first twelve volumes of the A u stralian d ictionary o f biography.* A card index of biographical references, built up since the late 1950s as an aid to the publication of the Dictionary , now extends far beyond this basic function and encompasses material on many thousands more men and women than those deemed appropriate for a D ic tion a ry entry. In 1959 and 1963 roneoed compilations of names and references, called ‘short lists’ , were made available to libraries and favourably received. Since then many scholars and researchers have found our vastly expanded index indispensable. Publication of the Biographical register is an attempt to bring this resource to a wider public. It also brings to fruition the aim of Douglas Pike, the first general editor of the A D B , to publish ‘ancillary lists of names brought to light by research, with dates, brief epit aphs, and references'."