Genealogy Seminars Coming Up & Other News - Genealogy Notes 4-28 Feb 2017

Traditional fabric making, Dili, Timor-Leste

Well finally home from the holiday (highlights at the end of this blog post and photos to tempt you to read further) and catching up with all the news. I have just said yes to seven more talks in 2017 - one in June for the local Bribie Island Family History Group and six for Moreton Region Libraries during National Family History Month.

The list of where I am speaking in 2017 has been updated and is available on the Events & Services page of my website.

Speaking of National Family History Month I have heard from a few more sponsors and I will be updating the website in the next few days. It's a little nerve wracking as this is the new website and I just hope I can remember how everything works. It is quite different from my other websites so wish me luck.

Inside History Magazine have asked me to write an article on a very interesting and challenging topic. Looking forward to it but the deadline is a fairly tight - two weeks. I find deadlines useful as it helps to focus priorities and my main priority this week will be finalising my three talks for the Queensland Family History Society seminar this Saturday 3 March. The talks are all based around different aspects of my research guide Family History on the Cheap. Should be a great day and an opportunity to catch up with friends too.

World War 2 war memorial, Dare, Timor-Leste

For those in Adelaide or those who want an excuse for a weekend away in Adelaide, Unlock the Past is running a two day seminar on 5-6 May 2017. Titled Exploring and Writing  Family and Local History there are nine speakers, eight local plus Kerry Farmer from Sydney. As well as looking at writing family history, there are topics on DNA, immigration,  oral history, military ancestors, historical photos and more. Check out the program here.

I'm already going to the Queensland conference Footsteps in Time in May otherwise I might have been tempted to zip over to Adelaide. The UTP expo in Adelaide last year was really good and worth the trip. Can't go to everything!

Now for a few words on the latest trip which ticked a few items off the bucket list. Cruised out of Brisbane and up the Queensland coast to Port Douglas (a bit weird sailing past Bribie Island) then on to the top end of Queensland. I'd always imagined it was a pointy bit of land but it really is a whole series of islands which seem to go for a long way. Torres Strait is really quite narrow in places so a fascinating area to see and it makes me wonder how those early explorers and later immigrant ships ever found their way through the Strait and then down the Queensland coast with all those coral reefs everywhere.

Then to Darwin where we caught up with family before heading to Dili, Timor-Leste. Here we saw some local markets, cultural dancing and visited the WW2 memorial to the Australian and Dutch soldiers.  I didn't know that Timor was invaded by the Japanese the same day they bombed Darwin. Next stop was the highlight of the whole trip (for me) a visit to Komodo Island, a world heritage site and the home of the famous Komodo dragons.

These amazing animals wander freely around and have right of way on paths and given that they are carnivorous I can't imagine why you would want to challenge them. Local guides are all around to ensure people's safety but all they have are wooden staffs so definitely best not to upset a dragon. We even saw a baby one but as soon as it saw us it scooted back into the bush.

The start of the crossing of the Equator ceremony

The next port was Bali a place we always like to visit, do some shopping and eat some amazing food.

Crossing the Equator by ship has a long established ceremony which was interesting to watch, if a little messy. How they got people to volunteer to be part of it amazed me, but then those people are now in everybody's photos of the event!

We were even given a crossing certificate signed by the ship's captain and King Neptune, and who knew he was a merman. The things you learn travelling.

The skywalk at the Gardens by the Bay  

Singapore was the final port and we had a few more days there with the highlight being a visit to the Gardens by the Bay (doesn't sound much but truly spectacular) and we also visited Chinatown, did a river tour and dined at Clarke Quay. We stayed at Boat Quay, which was easy walking to Chinatown not to mention an almost endless stream of restaurants/cafes on the river either side of the hotel. Amazingly most of them were super busy for the three nights we were there. No one must eat at home!

While I love travelling it is always good to be home and I'm looking forward to a great genealogy year in 2017.

By next Diary I hope to be back doing some of my own research and blogging the family stories.

Until next time, happy researching.

Writing family history, genealogy events & other news - Genealogy Notes 15-21 Jan 2017

Transmission by Death notices
are good for discovering freehold land ownership

With visitors in the house it's not that easy to spend time quietly on the laptop pleasing oneself. I managed to write a Trove Tuesday blog post but was then persuaded to go swimming. By the time we came back I had forgotten that I hadn't published it. At least I won't have to worry about writing next Tuesday's post. To be realistic I think managing two posts a month is more manageable. My first Trove Tuesday's blog on transmission by death notices here if you missed it.
is

Some of my geniemates have already arrived in Salt Lake City for Rootstech so I'm a little envious. Although all those photos of snow on Facebook aren't doing a lot for me, but then neither is this incredible steamy heatwave we are having at the moment. Looking forward to more Facebook and Twitter posts about Rootstech  as it gets closer (8-11 February). Although I will be overseas then and miss most of it.

Finally managed to do my review of Carol Baxter's two books - Writing Interesting Family Histories and Writing and Publishing Gripping Family Histories, two companion works to help those wanting to write up their family stories in an interesting way. Read Writing Up The Family History With Carol Baxter.

Unlock the Past have a mega event coming up in National Family History Month in August. Chris Paton (Scotland) and Dirk Weissleder (Germany) are doing a 7 city Australian and New Zealand roadshow. I don't have any German research but I will probably make the trip to Brisbane for Chris Paton's talks. Read more about it here.

My GGG grandmother's handwriting from a distant cousin

Smart matching and handy hints seem to be all the go with many of the genealogy databases at the moment and to be honest I find most of them a distraction. Some are obviously not related and you wonder why they have come up as a match. Others are really obscure and while I'm all for contacting distant cousins as I have been sent some wonderful family treasure, some connections are just too obscure for me. The one that has me truly puzzled is  where the person is my grandmother's sister's partner's sister in law's grandmother. I don't even think that is a blood relation but then I must admit it has me confused.

We all love free stuff and I was reminded that GenEbooks often have a free download and I have got quite a few genealogy ebooks that way. This month's free offer is Etiquette in Australia 1902 by Mrs Erskine and I love these kinds of books which tell you how things used to be. Thankfully we don't have to dress up to go to the shops anymore! But I do miss some of those other manners and behaviours of the past.

Life will get back to normal from Australia Day, which reminds me I should do an Australia Day blog post. Which family to choose to write about? I've just done a Google search to see which ancestors I've written about previously (see the advantages of blogging) and I can't see one for my earliest ancestor born in Australia. So stay tuned for her story.

Have a great genealogy week and here's to some wonderful discoveries. Until next time, happy searching.

Adelaide Expo report, Book review & Other News - Genealogy Notes 8-14 Oct 2016

My little trip to the Unlock the Past Genealogy & History Expo in Adelaide last weekend was fantastic but not without drama. I'm actually wondering if they are good for my health or am I just a little accident prone. We flew in on Thursday afternoon and I noticed that the rings on my fingers were very tight and there was a bit of swelling. My partner was the same and we both thought it would go down in the evening as Adelaide was hot and humid that afternoon.

Before bed I managed to get all but one ring, my engagement ring, off. The finger was still swollen and the ring was very tight. Hoping that all would be well in the morning we went to sleep until I woke up in a fair bit of pain and an extremely swollen finger about 12.30 am. We didn't hire a car so we couldn't drive to a hospital and there was no night reception so after a chat with the Ambulance folk they suggested we probably needed the Fire Service to cut the ring off. To cut a long story short, I was the one wearing only a nightie, with bare feet on the footpath on Anzac Highway in the wee hours of the morning while the lovely firemen worked every so carefully to cut me free without further damage to my finger. While I was extremely embarrassed at having to call on their services, they graciously said it was good to come out and be able to help someone.  Emergency services people really are wonderful. Thank you all.

Thankfully the rest of the weekend went better and you can read my Day One and Day Two reports for all the details. It really was a good event with lots of lectures, exhibitors and networking with friends and colleagues. My partner spent the time with his son and grandkids so a great weekend all round.

While in Adelaide I went without checking emails, spent practically no time on social media and generally did things the old fashioned way. I managed to read Nathan Dylan Goodwin's new book The Spyglass File and you can read my review here. The trouble with his fictional forensic genealogist Morton Farrier is that I want to read all his adventures straight away but of course, each book takes time to research and write. If you are only just discovering Nathan's books, there are three earlier Morton Farrier adventures and a novella. May the fifth book appear as soon as possible.

The University of Tasmania is offering a family history unit over Spring and Summer as part of their Diploma of Family History, entitled 'Writing Family History'. The unit is fully online and has a 100% HECS scholarship for domestic students, meaning that you will not incur a tuition fee or debt for studying the unit. It provides an introduction to writing non fictional and fictional narratives based on genealogical records. Applications are open now and you can apply here.

I'm thinking of enrolling in this unit but the last time I enrolled in one of their family history subjects I broke my right elbow (on another Unlock the Past event) and had to withdraw. Thanks to the 'firies' I still have my finger on my left hand so perhaps all will be well this time.

Last night I gave a presentation to the Bribie Island Historical Society on the early Presidents of the Amateur Fishermen's Association of Queensland, giving it a family history twist. There was lots of interest and questions and my research on the Presidents will expand to take in all the suggestions. It was my last talk for the year. A quick count shows that I did 28 presentations in 2016, that may be an all time record and they can be seen on the Resources page of my website, scroll down to Presentations.

It's been a full on week and I'm still catching up on research reports, blog and article writing, and the online Education Records module. This week will also have my fingers on the keyboard as I have a holiday coming up in November and I want to go away with a clean desk!

Until next time, have another great week geneasearching.

Genealogy Expo Bound & Other News - Genealogy Notes 1-7 Oct 2016

This Diary post is being written in advance as I am about to leave for Adelaide and the Unlock the Past Adelaide expo on Friday and Saturday. It will be genearaging while you read this. Wondering if this will get me another entry in Geniaus' geneadictionary? Last week's geneaenvy made it and if you haven't caught up with Geniaus' latest inclusion, read it here.

I'm giving two talks at the Expo - one on digitised newspapers which seems to be the most popular talk after the organisers did a survey of who was attending what session. Sadly my other talk on sporting ancestors didn't poll as well and I'm now in a smaller room. Most people automatically assume they have no sporting ancestors but the reality is that they have probably never looked. It's not just cricket! All those fishermen, hunters, shooters, swimmers and others must belong to someone. My book is available from Gould Genealogy & History and on sale at the Expo.

Usually I try to do daily posts when I attend these types of events, but since breaking my right elbow last year travel has been more complicated. It's hard to tow a suitcase, laptop and handbag with only one arm so I need to become more techno with the tablet. I have an old model IPad but was given a smaller Android tablet which I haven't quite got the hang of yet.

I could do photos easily with the IPad but the new tablet only seems to take selfies and I'm not quite into that. You can't seem to turn it around and take photos and see what's in the frame. Others have looked and confirmed its not just me being silly. I could use my phone but then I have to get my reading glasses out and as they are a new addition to my wardrobe, I quite often find they are at home!

There will be a full report once I get back but in the meantime I'm sure there will be lots of tweets and Facebook posts from other geneabloggers at the Expo. As well as local South Australians, I know others travelling from Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria so it will be a busy time with all the talks, exhibitors and catching up with geneafriends.

If you want time to go fast then get involved in following a daily blog or challenge. I'm a fan of Amy Johnson Crow and she is currently doing 31 Days to Better Genealogy with a different post each day. It's National Family History Month over in the USA and it's similar to what I have done here as a NFHM online event for the last few years. The timing is not great for me with the trip to Adelaide and other projects but each day gives new ideas from someone else's perspective. I can always follow up at a more leisurely pace. The first five days have gone so quick that when I see the email pop up I can't believe it is 24 hours later!

This week saw me send off my monthly blog and article for The In-Depth Genealogist. These are always on Australasian topics and the blog posts tend to favour archives and libraries (no surprise there) and what you can use online.

Max and I as part of the 200th anniversary of
the closure of the First Settlement 2007

We are thinking of going back to Norfolk Island (for a third trip) with some of our Bribie friends. It seems we have raved so much they now all want to experience it themselves. A friend on Norfolk Island reminded me that next year is the 10th anniversary of our convict reunion over there. Seems like 2017 is the year to go back but where have the last 10 years gone?

Last week the family were hassling me about Christmas but now they seem to have twigged that I'm about to enter a new decade, which I had thought I could slip quietly into. I wonder if the swinging 60s still applies or, now that 60 is the new 40, is it back to the 40s? Not sure that I could deal with another mid life crisis.

Either way over the last few weeks of my 50s I thought it might be interesting to try and find photographs from each decade. This might keep the family amused if they insist on the big party. The hard part is that having been a gypsy for a good part of my life, there is not a great photographic store to choose from. Perhaps some of you who have known me through family history for the last 40 years have some interesting photos of me?

Have a great genealogy week and if you are in Adelaide, do say hello. Happy searching until next time.

Maryborough, Memories & the Unexpected - Genealogy Notes 11-16 Apr 2015

Maryborough Family Heritage Research Institute

This week's Diary is a little early as it is Mum's 81st birthday party this weekend and I know I won't get time to write this at her place. The three talks went well in Maryborough (QLD) and I think there are some lessons for all genealogy and family history societies in my trip. So I blogged about the experience, why not read Genealogy Society Seminars - Why You Should Have Them. As usual, I put the talks online and you can find them on the Resources page of my website, scroll down to Presentations.

After last week's Diary I was thrilled to receive some advice on including photos in my mother's draft family history from fellow geneablogger Library Currants. It sounds so easy reading her notes, but when you are working alone at home things can seem difficult and too hard. So remember there is an online circle of geneafriends out there to seek advice from and this is yet another example of how blogging can pay off.  Yes it is great for cousin bait but we can also seek assistance from others who are doing the same things we are.

I neglected to mention that I took Nathan Dylan Goodwin's Orange Lilies with me to the AFFHO Congress in Canberra. The plan was that I would read it at night before bed but each night I arrived back at the hotel too tired to read anything. Anyway I have now managed to catch up with the adventures of Morton Farrier, forensic genealogist (fictional) and his investigations into his own family history. Now I can't wait for the next book to come out.

I also managed to finish The Convict Theatres of Early Australia, 1788-1840 by Robert Jordan recently republished as an e-book by Currency House. Read my review here. I didn't think this book would have anything directly relevant to my own family history research but I was wrong. There is a whole chapter on Norfolk Island and as we have a convict family in the First Settlement this started me wondering if they were theatre goers.

Tonight there is a Google Hangout with Geniaus looking back on Congress which I am planning to attend. It is a little easier now as daylight saving has finished and it is a more suitable time for me. Plus I won't get confused as to what time it really is on. Details here.

As well as Mum's party at the weekend, I am also going to the Colleen Fitzpatrick (real life forensic genealogist) seminars in Brisbane, co-hosted by the Genealogical Society of Queensland and the Queensland Family History Society. There are three talks which I have not heard before and an opportunity to catch up with my Brisbane geneafriends. No doubt both societies will also be selling their publications so temptation will probably be present as well.

The other major occupier of my time is Trove as they have now started to release some of the digitised issues of the Brisbane Telegraph and there are literally dozens and dozens of references to my families in the newspaper. Some of the information I have already got from the Courier Mail but in a lot of cases there is more information in the Telegraph or it is only in the Telegraph. This means I need to check every reference. Some entries are not yet available and some look really exciting so I have asked to be emailed when they go live.

Next week I have to do my contribution to Kintalk's Trans Tasman ANZAC Day blog challenge and on the ANZAC day weekend there is an RAAF reunion on Bribie Island so we will be going to quite a few functions between Friday and Sunday. The march is on Saturday but Max won't be walking this year as his ankle and leg are still recovering from his fall at the end of January. I have offered to wheel him in the wheelchair or he could go with the older guys in the community vehicles but that is not quite the same as marching himself.


The must do item on my list is to continue the Australian occupations course I am writing for the National Institute for Genealogical Studies. I had been doing quite nicely with that but Max's broken leg, Congress and Easter were all big distractions. Hopefully I will slip easily back into where I was up to and complete it over the next few weeks. I need to clear the decks as National Family History Month will be gaining momentum from May onwards as I add events to the web calendar and start doing some publicity. How quickly a year passes!

Until next week, happy searching.

Genealogy notes 1-14 March 2013 reading and talking

Well I'm back from Bali and totally relaxed having had no access to TV, mobile phone, laptop or tablet while I was away. I didn't mean to be so totally cut off but I inadvertently left the phone on the charger!!

Coming home I found a small mountain of surface mail which included new issues of some of my favourite genealogy magazines - Inside History, Australian Family Tree Connections and the Genealogical Society of Victoria's award winning Ancestor. Of course there was a similar virtual  mountain of emails and online e-magazines including Irish Lives Remembered and this month it includes a 16 page Irish-Australian research supplement (wow), Queensland Family History Society's Snippets and the Society of Australian Genealogists' journal Descent along with a reminder that my subscription is about to expire! How quickly a year goes!

Then there are my e-newsletters from State Records NSW, Queensland State Archives and Public Record Office Victoria (PROV) - these are all free and don't take that long to read but they are great for letting you know what is new. For example here is the 2013 list of newly released records from PROV.

I've also rejoined the Genealogical Society of Queensland now that I'm back home and they have asked me to speak at their June seminar. I'll be looking at 19th century immigration records which is always a popular topic. The Chincilla family history group should be finalising the date of their seminar in July on online newspapers very soon and I'm really looking forward to heading out west again.

I've also been asked what topics I would like to cover on the 4th Unlock the Past genealogy cruise in 2014 and I'm working on some new topics and new books so that will all be new and exciting next February. I'm already looking forward to that especially with Thomas MacEntee and Chris Paton as the international speakers.

Also on the looking forward front, I've already booked for the NSW/ACT genealogy conference in Canberra in September. I missed last year's as I was in the middle of moving out of our Melbourne home and as this year's is being held near where I first lived when I moved to Canberra I'm keen to see that area again.

Yesterday I went to the Bribie Island Family History Special Interest Group meeting and caught up with everyone there. They will probably get me to give a talk in September or November and they seem to have a fondness for something Irish! I also met the convenor of the U3A Bribie Island family history group on and she has also invited me along to their meetings which are every week on a Monday at 8.30am (who said retirees get to sleep in???). I've got medical appointments next Monday but I'm a definite starter for the following Monday.

As part of my getting back into genealogy again, I went and joined the Bribie Island Branch of the Moreton Bay Regional Council Library Service. Sadly they don't seem to have a great genealogy collection and I'm told the Redcliffe Branch is better but then that's a bit further to drive. I've written 7 genealogy guides now and sadly none are in the local library but Redcliffe has two of them and Caboolture and Strathpine have one each. When I launch the next research guide I will have to make a bigger splash in my new pond!

I'm really more interested in the local history collections so I've got to make contact with the Bribie Island Historical Society and also visit the Caboolture Historical Village which I haven't done in decades. Visiting the Abbey Museum of Art and Archaeology at Toorbul is also on my list but finding the time to do all of this seems to be a challenge!

In our absence and all of the rain, the weeds seem to have taken over the yard and we still have some unpacking and sorting to do from the move. Plus new things we want to do around the house. It's funny but I never believed my friends when they said they were busier than ever in retirement - now I know that it really is true but then who wants to be bored? Can someone doing genealogy ever really be bored?

As you can see I've really thrown myself back into my genealogy research and there are all those notes and new ideas to follow up post genealogy cruise that I need to work through. Stay tuned for lots more news as I settled back into genealogy in my new home.

Genealogy notes 26 - 30 Oct 2012 Cornish Cultural Celebration

I'm writing this Diary entry on the shores of Lake Macquarie near Swansea in NSW. We are on our way back up the NSW coast to Queensland. This is an area that we have always wanted to visit, but never quite made it before so we are here for two days to soak up its natural beauty and to visit some of the historic areas as well.

Our stopover in Nowra for the Cornish Cultural Celebration organised by the Southern Sons of Cornwall was great and we caught up with quite a few old friends as well. On the Friday afternoon there was a group whale watching tour on Jervis Bay and it had to be one of the coldest windiest days I've ever seen there. However that doesn't seem to bother the humpback whales and we spotted quite a few mothers with their calves. Towards the end of the tour one mother and calf entertained us with quite a few fluke slaps, tail waves and semi breaches as well as swimming around the boat. Having seen the whales at Hervey Bay many times, I have to say the whales seem to be more active in the warmer waters but then it was such a miserable day perhaps even the whales didn't want to jump up into that cold wind!

Saturday was the official start to the Celebration (of all things Cornish). As I have two great great grand parents who were Cornish, I've always had an interest in Cornwall and its differences with the rest of England. I've always wanted to go to the Cornish festival in South Australia (Kernewek Lowender) but something always seems to clash with it so when I heard about this one organised by my Shoalhaven friends, I couldn't resist.

After registering I raced off to my first session which was a Cornish cookery class where we were shown how to make 'real' pasties and I have the recipe! But I can't practice until we get another house and an oven! Sonia and Trina had precooked some pasties for us to taste and I can confirm that the smell and taste were spot on. For dessert they demonstrated what you can do with really soft bread rolls, cream and golden syrup. I hesitated to try them as it seemed a bit weird but I'm willing to try exotic foods overseas so this wasn't that different and I was pleasantly surprised at how good they tasted.

Then there was morning tea and delicious muffins followed by the official opening ceremony. My next session was Nigel Pengelly on Cornish Communications and Keeping in Touch with our Cousins in the 21st Century. As you may have guessed from the title this was based around social media especially blogs and I was able to have a chat with Nigel about this at lunch on Sunday.

After lunch on Saturday there was a bardic ceremony which I found fascinating. It was all in the Cornish language although an English overview and transcript was provided. It seemed strange watching the bards in their flowing blue robes against an Aussie bush backdrop. I really need to read up more on Cornish customs and rituals. The ceremony was followed by a photo opportunity and afternoon tea.

The Celebration dinner was at Worrigee House and of course dinner was a pastie and 4 vegies (not as good as Sonia's, less moist but then cooking for so many is more challenging) followed by apple/berry pudding or chocolate tarts both very nice. Dinner was accompanied by a Celtic concert with Scottish pipes and dancing (there was a fascinating session with the pipes in conjunction with a didgeridoo), an Irish harp, Manx and Welsh dancing, Cornish songs and dancing. All really interesting to watch and listen too. It was a much later night that we usually have.

The raffle was also drawn during the evening and as usual I didn't win but it was good to see that both Ancestry and FindMyPast donated subscriptions as well as Cornish World magazine. There were beautiful paintings and quilts as well for those not into family history.

Sunday's sessions started with a Cornish service followed by morning tea. My talk on Tracing Your Cornish Mining Ancestor was next (on my website Resources page, scroll down to Presentations) and it was well received and there was lots of follow up discussion over lunch. The last session I went to was Julie Wheeler talking about Famous and Infamous Cornish and this was an interesting and often funny look at people who I didn't even know were Cornish or of Cornish descent. Then there was a final afternoon tea and everyone started to say their goodbyes.

The only exhibitors were a Cornish sales table and I bought my Cornish by Descent badge and a Cornish tartan scarf so that I looked a bit Cornish (although most people assume that the Hicks part of me is Cornish but it isn't). Claire Gleeson was also there demonstrating her wiresmith jewelry with Cornish stones and these are really beautiful and I was very pleased to receive one of them as a speaker's gift.

While I didn't advance my Cornish genealogy I did learn a lot more about Cornwall and the place my two great great grandparents came from. I also caught up with a fellow GOON member and had a wide ranging chat with him. I chatted to lots of other people and heard all sorts of family stories which I encouraged people to capture by either recording or writing down.

It was a great weekend and the organisers are to be congratulated on a smooth running event and if they ever decide to do a 4th Cornish Cultural Celebration I'll be one of the first putting the date down in my calendar! I'm told there is a Cornish group in Queensland so I will have to look them up when I get home. But for now I'm in Lake Macquarie and this afternoon we are doing the touristy thing and I have a number of historic places I want to visit if we have the time to fit it all in! Safe travels as they say in caravan world.

Genealogy notes 14-18 Oct 2012 Denilquin & Wagga genealogy events

Trying to keep up with this Diary while travelling around in the caravan giving genealogy talks is harder than I thought and it doesn't help when you are in areas with no internet access. I had thought my new mobile wi fi would find a network anywhere but that doesn't seem to be the case but I am getting ahead of myself!

Back to the rest of the Deniliquin genealogy muster report. In the last Diary I gave a general overview and talked about the speakers. To me what really adds value to genealogy events is all the exhibitors who are usually a mix of commercial people and not for profit organisations who hold resources of interest to family historians and genealogists. There was a fantastic number of exhibitors in Deniliquin which kept people occupied for hours when they weren't attending talks or chatting to others.

There were the usual suspects including Gould Genealogy & History, Unlock the Past, State Records NSW, Public Record Office Victoria, State Library NSW, State Library of Victoria, Archival Access Victoria, Guild of One Name Studies, Inside History Magazine, Irish Wattle, Keith Johnson and the Biographical Database of Australia, Ballarat Heritage Services, Joy Murrin, Mostly Unsung, Pixel by Pixel, Creative Memories, Nepean Family History Society and their bookstall, Dave Evans and his Mining Accidents database, GSV's Scottish Ancestry Group, Openbook Howden and I always enjoy catching up with my friends from these various places. Local exhibitors included Charles Sturt University Regional Archives, genealogy and family history societies from Deniliquin, Shepparton, Echuca/Moama, Cobram, Yarrawonga, Bendigo, Swan Hill, Griffith, and Wagga Wagga plus the Huguenot Society of Australia, Yarkuwa Indigenous Knowledge Centre, Victorian GUM and Garry Baker a local author and publisher. Perhaps those who travelled the furtherest (apart from us) were the Convict Connections group from the Genealogical Society of Queensland.

Both Ancestry.com.au and FindMyPast Australia & New Zealand had free access to participants over the two days and I didn't see those chairs vacant very often! There were also frequent demos of the Flip Pal mobile scanner and information on the next Unlock the Past genealogy cruise in February 2013. I hope I haven't forgotten anyone!

After a day of rest (catching up with things like the laundry) we then moved on to Wagga Wagga were I was giving a talk at the monthly meeting of the Wagga Wagga & District Family History Society. When I lived in Canberra I remember giving a few talks to this group and it was great to catch up with old friends again. It was also great to see that they had to get out more chairs as more people turned up than they were expecting - that always makes a speaker feel good. As usual my presentation It's Not All Online leaves people talking as I try to get people to think really broadly about all the possible places to look for ancestors. The talk is based on my research guide It's Not All Online: A guide to genealogy sources offline. There are versions of this talk on my website Resources page, scroll down to presentations.

As it was a late night we gave ourselves an extra day in Wagga Wagga to see the sights and simply relax. Then we were back on the road heading for Ulladulla where I am giving an all day seminar (3 talks). This drive took us past areas we knew quite well having lived in Canberra for a few years. We stopped and had lunch in Bungendore (made and toasted our own sandwiches, which is easy when travelling in a caravan) and so avoided our usual stop at the Braidwood Bakery!

We decided to stop for the night in Nelligen on the upper reaches of the Clyde River as it is one of those places we have always wanted to stop at but were always too busy to find the time. Tourist brochures describe it as the place where you can forget about your computer and your mobile phone and just soak up the natural beauty and watch the wildlife. Well that's certainly true as my you beaut mobile wi fi couldn't find a network anywhere!

The next day we made our way to Ulladulla but I'll save that for the next Diary entry. Until next time safe travelling!

Genealogy Notes 1-3 Jul 2012 - Audrey Collins in Melbourne

Well flying back home to Melbourne from Brisbane was a bit of a shock - Brisbane was 21C and Melbourne was 2C! As we had been away for 10 days the house was even colder but we have thawed out now. Yesterday was the last Unlock the Past Audrey Collins seminar in Australia and I was fortunate to be one of the speakers with her at the State Library of Victoria.

However to get into Melbourne on time, I had to leave home early to catch a train and because I have been away, I didn't realise that the system had converted over to Myki at the weekend! I wasn't alone and there was quite a bit of confusion at the local train station with a poor Metro official trying to help everyone in the freezing cold. Eventually I bought a Myki card, topped it up with enough money for the day trip into Melbourne and arrived in time for the first talk.

Audrey's first of three talks for the day (she deserves a medal for the overall number of talks she did on the trip) was on tracing Irish ancestors at the National Archives UK. I found this really interesting and was surprised at the number of Irish records or records with Irish people in them and there are a number of references I want to follow up. You can read Audrey's adventures in Oz on her blog The Family Recorder.

After a break I finally managed to hear Carole Riley's talk on Australian land records (and the subject of her new book with Unlock the Past). A very complicated subject which is different for every State and Carole helped simplify it by showing the types of documents that could be found and the amazing detail that can be gleaned from land records.

The third session was Audrey again with nonconformist records in England and Wales which was another interesting talk although not all that relevant to my own research. Then it was lunch time and I was pleased to have lunch with Nicole from Cobram (I think she might have traveled the further-est if that's really a word).

The afternoon kicked off with a brief chat from Alan on Unlock the Past, planned webinars and of course the genealogy cruise in February 2013. Then a representative from the Genealogical Society of Victoria spoke for a few minutes on the benefits of belonging to a genealogy/family history society. When he asked who was already a member of the GSV I was really surprised to see most of the audience put up their hands. Obviously it was a seminar that appealed to GSV members in Melbourne.

I then gave my talk on Ancestors in Church and there is a copy of the talk on my website Resources page. Again I received good feedback and I'm happy to say that my next book on this topic is about to go to Unlock the Past for publishing. It should be available within a month or so and definitely in time for the  Queensland Coast roadshow.

Audrey's final talk in Australia was an interesting story on will forgeries which she also gave in Brisbane, but I missed it up there so it was good to have the opportunity to hear it in Melbourne. For someone who has given so many talks in a relatively short time, Audrey appeared to be still quite cheerful and energetic whereas after roadshows I'm usually worn out! I must ask what her secret is!

After a short break Rosemary Kopittke talked about the new FindMyPast Australia and New Zealand website. This was another talk I missed in Brisbane so really good to have a second chance at hearing how to use the new site effectively. From 17 July there will be a new range of subscription options combining the various FindMyPast sites which will be good and the other amazing bit of news is that there will be another 50 million records added to the Australia and New Zealand site.

Then it was time to head back to the train station and the long ride home thinking about all the new information and ideas. I still have to write up an overall review of the Brisbane expo including Audrey's seminar in Melbourne. My talk for Family History Feast is due in two weeks so I need to finalise that - it's a new talk taking another look at using various Google tools and resources for genealogy and my five talks for Yarra Plenty Regional Libraries during National Family History Week also have to be finalised. It might be cold but there is lots of genealogy happening over the next month or so. Just the way I like it!

Genealogy Notes 17-23 April 2012 - Online or Offline

When you are travelling it's easy to lose track of the days and fall behind if you don't log on everyday. In my last Diary entry I was excited about going to the Society of Australian Genealogists' (SAG) library in Sydney and I did have a great day. What wasn't so much fun was the 'rain episode' Sydney had while I was there and I managed to get quite a bit damp as I walked to SAG and other places around the CBD over those few days.

I found the SAG library fascinating and managed to spend all day there, stopping for some lunch and a coffee with Heather. Like most older libraries SAG still has card indexes that have not yet been keyed into a database (although there are ongoing projects but it takes time and volunteers) so these indexes were a priority for me to check and I found some interesting references. I can't wait until they are all keyword searchable online as cards can only be filed in one place or only under a person's name and not by place or other identifier.

My next activity was to have a look at some of their books which I had previously looked up in the SAG online catalogue and again I made some interesting finds. You can save a lot of time by doing your catalogue searches at home before visiting a library, certainly beats the 'old days'. However for most of the morning I was the only one down that end of the room, everyone else was up the other end on the computers. Not everything is online but perhaps they had already looked at all the non online materials?

After lunch I could stand it no longer and I went down and took up a terminal, only to be surprised that there were over 1100 items to choose from! My purpose was to look at SAG's Australian Genealogical Computer Index (AGCI) four CD ROM's which have a wide variety of material on them but I could see others using FindMyPast, Ancestry, Origins and the older gentleman next to me was even using TROVE - I hadn't thought about those members who might not have a computer at home to do free web searches let alone access all the different subscription databases and material on CD ROMs. Fifteen minutes before closing I made a terrific find but of course there was no time to follow it through so I will need to access the AGCI CDs again either at the Genealogical Society of Victoria (GSV) or perhaps even the State Library of Victoria.

SAG's volunteers on duty were very helpful and as a new (rejoined) member they kept asking me if I was ok or if I needed any help which was great. It always mystifies me that more people don't join their local society as you can learn so much from the library volunteers not to mention all the great resources you can access in the society library. I'm currently a member of three societies, SAG, GSV and the Queensland Family History Society (QFHS) which somewhat reflects my own nomadic lifestyle but also that of my ancestors.

The following day there was even more rain so I bunkered down in the hotel room and consolidated my notes and did some online searching of digitised newspapers on TROVE. It's very easy to lose a few hours of time that way and even when I poked my head outside for lunch and a bit of a walk, my umbrella was not up to the winds whipping down Oxford Street!

Thursday was my flight home to Melbourne and Friday was a catch up with the housework, shopping and washing and all the mail, including a large envelope from London. Rosemary Morgan of London Roots Research has been doing some research for me and she found the death of someone whose death had been eluding me. His wife was called a widow in the 1851 census but not the 1841 census so I had assumed (that often fatal word) that he had died between 1841 and 1851 but without finding him. Rosemary took it back to the birth of his last child and it turned out he died in 1832! Some times it pays to get professional assistance with brickwalls, especially when you have looked at everything you can think off. Someone else's view and approach may be quite different from our own.

The weekend was wet here in Melbourne so I tackled some more decluttering and identifying items for our garage sale at the end of May. We have so much 'stuff' piled up everywhere it will be good to see it go, either at the garage sale or to a charity afterwards. We've also given away a lot to our children, friends and neighbours and also to some charities. Yet there still seems like a lot of 'stuff' left.Wherever we end up moving to, we have to make certain that we don't end up rebuying all this 'stuff'!

Over the last week I've been in discussion with a couple of people about doing talks later in the year so once details are finalised I'll be able to put those up on my Events calendar. I'm also putting some finishing touches to some new research guides for Unlock the Past - I have a tendency to want to include everything but that's not always possible so completing a guide is always hard for me. My ANZAC Day blog this year will be on my mother's eldest brother who was a Rat of Tobruk and he also served in New Guinea as well as the Middle East. Time to get back to work!