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 28-30 June 2012 - Expo exhibitors

The last three Diary entries, (Day One, Day Two, Day Three) have described what was happening over the three days of the Unlock the Past genealogy and history expo in Brisbane. This blog will have a look at all the exhibitors although I didn't get that much of a chance to look around because of all the good speakers and sessions.

This list is in no priority order just how I walked around the exhibition area. First up I saw the Royal Historical Society of Queensland of which I was a member for many years before moving south. They had their journals and publications on sale and tempting to many visitors. Next was the Genealogical Society of Queensland and their special interest group Convict Connections was especially eye catching and selling almost everything from soaps and Tshirts to publications including their latest release on the prison hulk Phoenix.

History Queensland was next and promoting the various member societies and around the corner was the State Library of Queensland with an array of their very useful and free guides on a wide variety of subjects of interest to genealogists. Find and Connect Queensland was next helping people who may have been separated from families in the past for a variety of reasons. Next door was Queensland State Archives and they had some interesting banners outlining German and Chinese history in Queensland as well as their handy fact sheets.

The National Trust of Queensland had quite a few interesting handouts on various buildings and I was particularly interested in the Queensland at War exhibit and was not aware of the website (so something else to follow up when I get back to Melbourne). As most of my ancestors were in a number of Brisbane's early gaols and prisons I have always had a fondness for the Queensland Prisons and Penal Historical Association and it was good to see their new publication and they even have a Facebook page.

The Friends of Toowong Cemetery Association were promoting their ghost tours and if I ever get back to Brisbane for a holiday then I will definitely try and do one of their tours. The Australian Scottish Community Association was a drawcard for anyone with Scottish ancestors and I particularly liked talking to the ladies from the Caloundra Family History Research Inc because Caloundra is one of the places on our short list of places to move to. I couldn't possibly live anywhere that didn't have a family history society close by.

The next part of the exhibition area was devoted to other local and family history groups including the Centenary Suburbs Historical Society, Ipswich Genealogical Society, Toowoomba & Darling Downs Family History Society, Nepean Family History Society (they were probably the ones that had traveled the greatest distance to be there), Baptist Heritage Queensland, the Gold Coast Family History Society, the Moreton Bay section of the Fellowship of First Fleeters, Genealogy Sunshine Coast, the Brisbane City Council Archives, the Professional Historians Association (QLD), Brookfield Historical Society, Coopers Plains Local History Group, Judy Webster (professional researcher), Genealogists for Families Project, and Graham Jaunay and his research business Adelaide Proformat.

On the Research Help Desk were Kerry Farmer, Eric and Rosemary Kopittke, Carole Riley and Helen Smith fielding questions most of the time and in that same space were Gould Genealogy and History with all their tempting publications including the excellent range of Unlock the Past publications. Jill Ball also had a table in that area where she capably demonstrated how easy the Flip Pal mobile scanner was to use and I saw lots of people walking around with them. At the end was Clean Cruising a partner in the Unlock the Past genealogy cruises.

Another area busy every time I looked was the Find My Past tables with Find My Past UK, Australia and New Zealand, Scotlands People and the British Newspaper Archive searches and questions. Inside History Magazine and Irish Wattle were also kept busy and I was interested to chat to a new group (for me). Blackbird reunites descendants of South Sea Islanders in Australia, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia, Samoa and Peru. Foto Masters were helping people with photo restoration queries and I finally got a chance to see the new History Queensland magazine that I had heard about.

FamilySearch also helped people with on the spot questions and searches, Stephen Dando-Collins talked about his books and willingly sold and autographed copies to new fans, and the National Institute of Genealogical Studies was there promoting a range of courses (which reminds me that I need to finish my Google course before 15 July). Customised Heritage Tours were there and I was interested to see that they are taking a tour to WDYTYA Live Event next February and I would love to go but the Unlock the Past genealogy cruise doesn't really get back in time for me to get there.

OpenBook Howden was there for anyone interested in publishing their research, the Ryerson Index (deaths and obituaries) is always worth a look and finally Johansen Systems for anyone with European ancestry. As you can see there was something for everyone and I think most people bought at least one book and everyone took home lots of flyers, leaflets and guides. I know my suitcase is going to be heavier when I pack it later tonight.

For me the value of a genealogy expo is not only the speakers and the exhibition area, it is also the ability to talk to and meet new friends and colleagues and to be part of the overall buzz that always seems to be present at a genealogy event. Now that I have done all my reporting type blogs I will start to think about my overall review of the expo and that will get finalised after I return to Melbourne tomorrow.

On Monday I'm participating in the Audrey Collins tour event at the State Library of Victoria so I'm looking forward to that. Some months I just seem to be on a never ending family history merry go round! But I love it!

Genealogy Notes 27 Jun 2012 - Day 3 Unlock the Past Expo Brisbane

Well the first  two days of the Unlock the Past Brisbane expo went amazingly quickly and the cold rainy weather has continued but that hasn't stopped all the eager attendees who are swarming around the exhibits and waiting outside presentation theatres. Day 3 was also a full on day with presentations in all three theatres and the Research Area going all day.

I had heard Carole Riley's talk on social media for genealogy before so my first session was Stephen Dando-Collins talking about his books including 'Captain Bligh's other mutiny' the Rum Rebellion. He's an interesting speaker and makes writing books sound very easy!

For my second session I decided to go to one of the free sessions and I'm glad I did. Jill Ball gave a great three part presentation on webinars (GeneaWebinars), Flip Pal mobile scanners and Picasa for genealogists. It was a practical session with Jill taking the mystery out of these areas and showing how simple it really is to use these great tools for our family history research. My only gripe was that it should have been longer and part of the paid talk series so that more people could have had the opportunity to attend. The great news is that Jill's slides for all three talks will be on the Unlock the Past Resources page soon.

Other sessions were Audrey Collins on the English census, Rosemary Kopittke on government, police and education gazettes and in the Research Area Kerry Farmer was demonstrating Family Tree Maker and RootsMagic.

Session 3 I gave my mining ancestors talk so I missed another Dan Lynch live from the USA talk on Google,  Pauline Williams from the Genealogical Society of Queensland on writing your family story, Lee Butterworth spoke about Find and Connect, and in the Research Area Graham Jaunay helped date photos and Rosemary Kopittke demonstrated Family Photo Books.

If I wanted lunch and  a bit of a break I had to skip the next session and the lure of those potato pies was too great so I happily settled down to one of those and a jumbo size latte to help keep the cold at bay. The great thing about the lunch area was that you were able to talk to others at the table and some people seem to have travelled quite a distance to attend. Just a pity that the weather wasn't more friendly!

Lunch meant that I missed Paul Parton talking about Family Search, Stephanie Ryan from State Library of Queensland on military records for WW1 and WW2, Sue Reid from Queensland Family History Society on finding people who died in Queensland and Clean Cruising talking about the Unlock the Past genealogy cruises. Jill Ball was in the Research Area giving all kinds of techno advice to people.


My sixth and last talk of the Expo was next with It's Not All Online with the other sessions being Graham Jaunay on old handwriting, Dan Kelly on book typesetting and printing, Rosemary Kopittke on Scotlands People and Carole and Helen demonstrating The Master Genealogist in the Research Area.


The final session was Audrey Collins talking about will forgeries, organised crime and identity theft in the 1840s and Eric Kopittke on internet resources for German research. I opted for Eric's talk which came with a useful handout of resources and as always Eric makes it all sound quite simple if you approach it in a logical fashion. Some of his online map sites were amazing.


I went back into the Exhibition area to say goodbye to people and while it is sad seeing everything packed up, it's also good to know that you will probably see them all again next year or every second year depending on how often a particular event is held. As we are genealogical gypsies/grey nomads we are able to attend more of these events than others plus it gives us the opportunity to visit families in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania, the ACT and the Northern Territory. Yes that's right, we have family and friends in every state which is probably why we can't pick a place to settle down ourselves!


I still have to write up the exhibitors and doing my overall review but hopefully that will be in the next day or so. Today is a rest day and we are taking my mother and my ex mother in law to lunch for a catch up chat and last night we visited Max's Aunty Mavis who has just turned 101 and is still up and about and loving life in Sinnamon Village. Truly inspiring and the stories she tells! Until next time.