THE BICENTENNIAL DICTIONARY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIANS

After 1979 information was still coming in and the Dictionaries were being well received and used. Rica and her group of volunteers were constantly answering queries and updating the handwritten WABI cards housed at the Battye Library.

Rica Erickson then took on the role of general editor of Bicentennial Dictionary of Western Australians pre 1829 to 1888. The dictionary had its origins in the West Australian Biographical Index and in 1987 and 1988 the Bicentennial Dictionary was published to mark the bicentenary of white settlement of Australia in 1988. The four-volume dictionary had entries arranged alphabetically by name and contained all the additional information and corrections in one cohesive series.

In addition to the four volumes of the dictionary compiled by Rica, the Battye Library also holds volumes 5 to 10 that have been published since. Asian Immigrants to Western Australia 1829-1901 (1988), Aborigines of the Albany Region 1821-1888 (1989), Aborigines of New Norcia 1845-1914 (1989), Aborigines of the South West Region (1990), Convicts in Western Australia 1850-1887 (1994) and Far From Home - Aboriginal Prisoners of Rottnest Island (1997).