Saturday 1 November 2014

Genealogy Notes 23 Oct - 2 Nov 2014 - back online

Well I am back home after a genealogy cruise followed by a history and genealogy conference on Norfolk Island. All up we were away for ten days and I presented ten talks during the five days and one night which were genealogy days. So I am a bit talked out! However as usual I have put the talks up on the Resources page of my website, scroll down to Presentations.

The whole purpose of my talks is to show attendees a broader picture and to get them thinking of how they can apply what I am saying to their own research when they get home. Feedback from both the cruise and the Norfolk Island conference attendees was exactly what I hoped for with people telling me they could not wait to get home and try out some new resources or search strategies. Makes all that preparation worthwhile.

I still have to do a report on both the genealogy cruise and the Norfolk Island conference but hope to get them done over the next few days. As usual internet connections are either expensive or you need to buy a package although the venue for the conference did generously allow wi fi access to attendees during the day.

But regular readers will know that I like to turn off my online access at least for a few days each year and it is usually easiest to do this when I am removed from temptation. So over the last ten days I only had one day of access in between the cruise and the conference. Does it make a difference? I find that I slow down as I am fitting less into my day and perhaps doing more things outdoors (touring and seeing the sights).

Although I do miss what all my geneamates are doing but that is part of the fun of coming home and catching up. There are lots of emails to catch up on, genealogy enewsletters to read and lots of blogs to skim from some of my favourite bloggers. One of my talks on Norfolk Island was about social media so it will be interesting to see if any attendees follow up on my suggestions.

I still have to finish unpacking and sorting out my notes and handouts from the trip so I will finish this Diary with a brief para on Norfolk Island which is a convict world heritage site. There were two convict settlements and the resettlement of the Pitcairn Islanders (descendants of the Bounty mutineers) so the Island is rich in history and heritage. We went on a progressive dinner to the homes of some of the descendants of the Pitcairners and it was fascinating to hear the stories of their ancestors and to see some of the memorabilia that some of them have from Tahiti and Pitcairn.

As some Islanders are of American descent they celebrate Thanksgiving and Halloween on the Island so it was interesting to be part of a Halloween celebration the night before we left. Although I am not sure about all that fake spider web and plastic spiders hanging everywhere to scare unsuspecting tourists.

The other major attraction for us is Norfolk Island's sheer beauty and incredible bird life. The weather was fantastic although they do need to see some rain soon. Of course there is all of that duty free shopping and some fantastic dining experiences with authentic Island food. We have now been twice and it would not surprise me if we do another trip in the future. Back next time with more of a genealogy update. Happy researching until then.




1 comment:

  1. I do hope you have another cruise and visit to Norfolk Island, it sounds wonderful.

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