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For anyone with links to 19th C Victoria, Ballarat and other goldfields will be an important part of your story, if not directly, then in providing background to the growth of the new Colony. In the coming month the GSV hosts a talk by Dr Joan Hunt on the wealth of research sources that are available in Ballarat.

'Resources in Ballarat'

Thursday 27 September 12.00 pm - 1.00 pm at the GSV. See  HERE for details and to make a booking.

City Hall, Ballarat c.1907. (Courtesy SLV Pictures H96.200/1381)

 

Ballarat is rich in both history and historical research sources. Dr Hunt will share with us the many resources that can help with local and family history research, revealing both on-line and personal contact responses from the Ballarat and District Genealogical Society, the Ballarat Historical Society and other societies such as those at Sebastopol, Smythesdale, Linton, Creswick, Clunes and other surrounding areas, the Ballarat Mechanics’ Institute, the Australiana Room of Ballarat Library, the Ballarat Archives Centre of the Public Record Office Victoria, the Gold Museum, and other sites.

Dr Joan Hunt

 

This is a great opportunity to be guided by an historian with a deep knowledge of these local research materials. Dr Joan Hunt recently retired from her position as an Access Services Officer at Ballarat Archives Centre, Public Record Office Victoria. Dr Joan Hunt is a past president of Ballarat Historical Society, a founder and past president of the Woady Yaloak Historical Society, has served two terms chairing the Ballarat & District Genealogical Society, and is an active member of other local historical societies.  She is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society of Victoria, where she served several terms on Council, partly as Vice-President, and partly as Convenor of the RHSV History Victoria Support Group.  Her work in community history spans thirty-seven years, from Dandenong Historical Society committee membership in 1974 to involvement in the Ballarat region since 1980.  She is a co-founder and inaugural secretary of the Central Highlands Historical Association.  In 1988 Joan was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to study how local and family history societies in the UK organise and administer themselves.  Joan has published a history of Ross Creek, a centenary history of Scarsdale Old Boys Reunion, a history of Smythesdale Cemetery, and many articles and papers. She is currently working on a history of the Springdallah goldfields.  

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August is  National Family History Month and we celebrate the finding and telling of our family histories.

Barbara Beaumont (left) accepting Nick Vine Hall Award 2018.

 

The GSV is particularly pleased to be awarded this year's Nick Vine Hall Award for Ancestor, our quarterly journal. This award and our previous wins in 2012 and 2015 show our continuing commitment to helping people tell their family stories. Our journal is produced wholly by a volunteer Editorial Team and special congratulations are due to our layout designer, Jay Wickham, and to our two articles sub-editors, Martin Playne and Barbara Beaumont, as well as all our contributing writers. Barbara accepted the Award on GSV's behalf at the launch of National Family History Month this week and her report of this successful event is this week's post. You can find out more about National Family History Month on AFFHO's website HERE.

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The Australian Federation of Family History Organisations (AFFHO) launched National Family History Month on Wednesday 1 August in Hobart. Vicki Montgomery, wearing her AFFHO hat, (she is Vice President of AFFHO as well as GSV Secretary), conducted the meeting. The building at 91 Murray St, Hobart is home to The National Archives of Australia and the State Library Archives Service. Short addresses by Celia Blake, Victorian and Tasmanian Director of the National Archives of Australia, and Caroline Homer, Manager of the State Library (Tasmania) Archives Service, emphasised the value of the co-location of these two organisations. Celia introduced us to some of the treasures available in the National Archives, then Caroline spoke about how Family History dovetails with the library’s aims and outlined some of the Archive Service’s current projects.

The winning issue of Ancestor, 33:7 September 2017

 

The Nick Vine Hall awards for the best family history journal/newsletter in Australia and New Zealand were then made. The GSV (yes us!) won the first prize in Category B, societies with a membership over five hundred. I was delighted to be able to go as a representative of our editorial team to accept the award. Look out for the beautiful plaque we were given when you next visit the Society.

The keynote address, ‘Why is Family History Important?’ was given by Dr. Dianne Snowden. Dianne’s entertaining talk drew on her own experiences of family history research and touched on several themes. Some that particularly appealed to me:

• In her childhood her grandmother’s exercise book of recipes and names and the big family bible sparked her interest in family history, and this led on to formal study of history and a passion for conserving heritage.
• Academic historians, once condescending about family history, were lately coming to see its value (when it is done correctly).
• Researching one’s family enables us to make connections with family both past and present, and helps to develop one’s own sense of identity.

The afternoon concluded with a lavish afternoon tea.

Barbara Beaumont

Most of us research family members who lived in various parts of regional Victoria. Many descended from pioneers or from those who took up land after the gold rushes. But there was also a significant exodus of families to the country from 'Marvellous Melbourne' in the severe financial depression following the collapse of the banks in 1893. Others took up land under various Soldier Settlement schemes. So visiting regional Family History Societies and their collections often provides a valuable local insight into the lives of our country ancestors. The GSV has 48 associated Member Societies based in regional Victoria. You can find their contact details on the GSV website. Next time you plan a trip, call in and visit these local collections. You will receive plenty of help and add local colour to your research.

In this post we feature the Wodonga Family History Society. Visit their website HERE.  They are holding their annual seminar and this is a great opportunity to visit this Society and the area.

FINDING AND PRESERVING MEMORIES

Saturday 1 September 2018, from 8.30 am to 4.00 pm.

Felltimber Community Centre, Ritter Rd, Wodonga.

The topics for the seminar will include:

• Dating photographs –Barb Toohey and Sue Pillans. Barb and Sue are members of the Heraldry & Genealogy Society of Canberra. 
• The Life of Emigration – the processes and experiences of 19^thcentury migration – Liz Rushen is the Chair of the History Council of Victoria, a social historian; Liz has published widely in the field of migration history.
• Finding shipping records –Meg Bate is the Assistant Library Manager at The Genealogical Society of Victoria.
• Restoring and preserving photos and documents –April Padbury. April holds an associate degree in Local and Applied History.

Exhibitors include Tony Stewart Photography, The Little Purple Dragon Scrapbooking, Archival Access, Eric Barton Books, Genealogical Society of Victoria, Officeworks Wodonga.

 Cost $40, $35 earlybird, if booked and paid for by 3 August, WFHS members $35. Morning, afternoon tea and lunch provided.

Contact:          Wendy:  0447 035 725 or 0260 563 220. Norma:  0448 356 125

Email:              secretary@wodongafamilyhistory.org

Mail:                Wodonga Family History Soc. Inc., PO Box 289, Wodonga, 3689.

A discount of $10 per room is offered for seminar attendees at the Murray Valley Motel, 196 Melbourne Road, Wodonga 3690; ph: 0260 241422; email: admin@murrayvalleymotel.com

People wishing to take advantage of this offer should speak to either Christine or Dean and mention that they will be in Wodonga to attend the Wodonga Family History’s seminar.

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The Wodonga Family History Society was formed thirty years ago.

On 8 May 1987 members of the Albury Historical Society and others met at St. Patrick’s Parish Church, Wodonga to establish a family history group. It began its life as the 'Wodonga and Districts Group of the GSV' on the 15 June 1988, with an inaugural meeting at the Wodonga High School attended by thirty-seven genealogically-minded people, seventeen of whom were already members of the GSV. In 1992 the group was incorporated as the 'Wodonga Family History Society Inc.' 

The Society's logo was created in July 1989, the result of the combined efforts of April Padbury, Wayne Bedella, Gavan Brown, and Susanne Pendlebury. It was designed to represent the areas of the district and the four points of the compass. Membership reached 100 in May 1996 and now fluctuates around this number as people complete their research and new members join up. A total of at least 508 members have passed through the Society since its inception.  

 

The Society established a research collection and is actively involved in preserving and transcribing local records for access by present and future generations. Details of their holdings are on their website.

WFHS members with new research publications 2015

 

The website was launched on the 9 September 2004 and has been a resounding success with over 54,600 visitors to date. Meeting places have varied but in March 2000 they began holding their meetings at the Felltimber Community Centre. Almost every year the Society has held a major seminar or event and in 2001 they hosted the Fourth Victorian State Family History Conference, which ran for three days and was attended by 150 people. The Society also sponsors two story writing competitions, the Townsend Trophy which commenced in 1996 in memory of Gwen Townsend, and which is run every two years, and the Wayne Bedella Trophy in memory of our former President, which is run yearly.  

The WFHS research and reference collection is held in the Upper Murray Regional Library, Hovell Street, Wodonga. The collection is open to the public at set times three days per week and there is always a willing member there to help. 

WFHS Meetings: 7.30 pm on the 3rd Tuesday of each month at Felltimber Community Centre, Ritter Rd, Wodonga. Gold coin donation. Visitors are always welcome.

Springtime is a great time to explore any family links in this region and join the Wodonga Family History Society at this year's Seminar.

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Military Genealogy at the Royal United Services Institute of Victoria

On Thursday August 2 at 12.00 pm - 1.00 pm at the GSV, Major General (Ret’d) Michael  O’Brien will give an insight into the extensive collection of military genealogy that is held at the library at Victoria Barracks- a real treasure trove of information to be explored.

The RUSI library at Victoria Barracks

 

Mike is a committed community activist and a believer in a fair go. He is an experienced manager and company director, has run an iconic Melbourne antiquarian bookstore for 17 years and is an advocate for small business as the main engine that drives our economy. He had an extensive military career but balanced it with directorships of a listed company and a non-bank financial institution. He has tertiary qualifications in Science and Management. He has lectured around the world on cruise ships for 10 years gaining an enviable number of days at sea, an excellent remedy for a former Infantryman. He writes local history and believes our built heritage should be highly valued.

This is a great opportunity to find out about this lesser-known archive of material, that could hold just the link you need for your own research.

Bookings are essential - you can book HERE

Cost $5 GSV members, $20 non-members, $15 CAV, RHSV, FHC members.

How often do we hear that someone wishes they had asked their older relatives more questions about the family?

Many of your relatives have memories and knowledge of the family that would be highly valued if recorded. Unmarked photographs could be identied and saved with some prompting.

You could help unlock these memories and give someone in your family hours of fun and interest. 

This Christmas consider giving a Gift Membership of the Genealogical Society of Victoria.

With the gift of a GSV Membership someone in your family could benefit from volunteers and research assistants to help them track down family facts. They may like to join any of the Special interest groups and discussion circles - making new friends sharing problems and discoveries. 

Do they need another set of bathroom products or a bottle of wine? Well, maybe, but this Gift may be a gift for the whole family.

Just ring the GSV office on +61 3 9662 4455 and speak to Linda or one of our friendly volunteers to arrange this.

See our website for more details about Membership BENEFITS HERE.

Gift sorted!

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GSV is privileged to have Elizabeth Rushen presenting 'Bounty and government emigrants 1836-1840 including Mr Marshall's migrants'.

Liz Rushen has written a number of books in this area and you can see more about them at her website HERE.

Her talk is on this coming Thursday 18 October 12.00pm - 1.00 pm. Bookings are essential but you can still get a place if you are quick.  Bookings can be made in person at GSV, via the website HERE.  Or you can book by email to gsv@gsv.org.au or by phone +61 3 9662 4455.

GSV Members $5.00, RHSV/CAV/FHC $15.00 and Non-members $20.00.

There were many emigration schemes and agents operating in the early to mid-nineteenth century and this talk by historian and author Elizabeth Rushen will give a broad overview of emigration in the 1820s and 1830s. Various emigration schemes were available until the formation of the Colonial Land and Emigration Commission in 1840 and John Marshall was the most active entrepreneur under the bounty scheme of assisted migration to Australia.

This is an area of our history with which many of us have links and this is a great opportunity to get a knowledgeable overview.

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Now that we are emerging from our winter retreats, it is a great time to pick up those challenges we set ourselves this year for our family histories. Even for those who have started, it is always good to have a refresher about what we can find and how to proceed. The GSV has scheduled a short course of three sessions in October which will give you all you need to really get going.

'Australian Family History'  - Wednesday 17, 24 and 31 October, 10.00am - 12.00pm.

This will be presented by John Bugg.

The topics to be covered include:

• Where do I start? How to gather and store information.
• Getting here - immigration, convicts, naturalisation and wills.
• State records - Private lives and public records.
• National Records - Finding families.

For BOOKING and details about this course go to the GSV website HERE. You can also book  in person at GSV, by email to gsv@gsv.org.au or by phone +61 3 9662 4455.

The presenter:  John Bugg has a background in Education and is a Fellow of the Australian College of Education. He has been chasing  eight family lines who arrived before 1870 and has published a small family Bugg history, before attending the family reunion in the UK. John enjoys the chase and detective work of family history and finding links to its wider historical context.

John tells us more about these planned sessions:

'Most of us have explored the commercial data sources and probably checked the odd family tree and been subjected to the afternoon tea-party about the family. What this course aims to do is to go beyond that and build up an originaldatabase of our family and to set it in the social context of the time. How do we find Will Smith; especially if this name is Wilfred Smyth, to say nothing of the transcription error of the clerks in a foreign port who may have little knowledge of German or Spanish?

Emphasis will be placed on original documents and where to find them from little used databases that will lead often to further searching and the unlocking of additional and sometimes surprising information. What is the value of the GSV database and how we may best use it. In the last course we discovered, among other matters, why a great-grandmother had a sister six months later from her same father and mother. Often our search is limited by the commercial databases. I am following eight Australian families and only one is on the official documents of immigration in the nineteenth century and that was further complicated by their arrival in Melbourne but their registration in Freemantle. We will aim to find some other sources of data through the sharing of ideas.

Finally the sessions are designed to be fun. By allowing a broad canvas of inputs, and by adding additional information from the group, you will develop a much better understanding of your family and an accurate family tree for all to share.'

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We are hosting two free talks at the GSV Research & Education Centre as part of Rare Book Week. This is a good opportunity to visit the GSV Centre and hear two interesting presentations - but you do need to book.

The first on Tuesday 3 July, 12.00 pm - 1.00 pm is: 

Preservation of books, photographs and paper-based items.

Conservator, Debra Parry will provide information on how materials deteriorate and how to handle, store and display such items to preserve them for the future.

Then on Thursday 5 July at 12.00 pm - 1.00 pm, Douglas Heywood will present: 

WO1 William Scott Heywood, 1941. (Photo courtesy of Doug Heywood)

 

For GSV members only -  25 and 27 July.

We need YOU to help us understand how genetics is understood.

• Have you had your DNA tested for family history?
• Are you interested in having your DNA tested for family history investigation?
• Are you worried about issues to do with privacy, ethics and bio data?
• Has testing your DNA changed your family history story?

Free of charge. Maximum of 12 participants. Bookings are essential and can be made online, https://www.gsv.org.au, by email, gsv@gsv.org.au, by phone +61 3 9662 4455 or in person at the GSV (9.00 am to 4.00 pm Mon - Fri).



Research Leader: Dr Jerome de Groot, Manchester University. The "Double-Helix" project is investigating what people think about genetic science and how it affects them. In particular, the project is interested in talking with family historians about their experiences of commercial DNA services offered by MyHeritageDNA or Ancestry.com.

Two separate focus groups will be run at the GSV Research and Education Centre on 25th and 27th July. These are discussion groups for people to share their experiences. The sessions will be structured debate and discussion, encouraging participants to share their experiences.

The discussions will be recorded for research purposes. Any use of the discussion will be agreed with participants. No biodata or information relating to genetic data will be sought.

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