The portraits of about half the number of Queenslanders who served in the First World War have been digitised for the public to search online in time for Remembrance Day.
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Digital portraits of almost 30,000 Queensland soldiers who served in World War I can be searched online, commented on and downloaded as high-res images after a three-year project by State Library of Queensland.
Staff alongside 30 volunteers worked to digitise each image and create a link to their war service record on the National Archives of Australia's Discovering ANZACs website where possible.
State Librarian and SLQ chief executive Vicki McDonald said the digital portraits represent individual Queensland stories of husbands, fathers, sons, friends and brothers.
"We've had feedback from people who have used the resource, telling us that this is the first time they've been able to see photographs of their family members," she said.
"This is a powerful resource and one which truly serves to commemorate those who fought and sacrificed during the war."
The images were taken by Talma Studios and Fegan Studios who set up tents in the soldier's camp at Enoggera for the publication in The Queenslander newspaper.
Portraits continued to be published until the war ended in 1918 and were published when casualty lists were issued and when reports came through of wounded or missing soldiers.
Queensland Advisory Committee for the Commemoration of the Anzac Centenary chair Andrew Craig said digitising the collection of portraits furthered our understanding of Queensland's role in the First World War.
"Embracing 21st century technology has made it easier than ever for the public to understand and discover more about those Queenslanders who served in the First World War and their experiences," Captain Craig said.
To 'find your soldier', visit the One Search catalogue, search for a soldier by surname, include the word 'soldiers' in the search terms, and limit the search to 'SLQ Digitised Collections'.
