We are delighted to present the winner of the 2025 GSV Writing Prize. In ‘The hostile housekeeper’, Louise Millar-Hoffman brings to life two very different characters from the Depression era, a staid and devout housekeeper, and an eccentric artist. The story will resonate further for anyone who has visited the astonishing St Mary’s Church in Bairnsdale.

Our other feature articles continue the focus on strong, resilient women. Elizabeth Hartnell-Young shares the adventures of her ancestor Philippa Legge. After emigrating from Wales to Port Phillip in 1841 she led an interesting and at times turbulent life. Helen Pearce tells the story her Irish forebears who emigrated to Australia in the 1850s and over time established themselves as successful publicans, timber merchants and property owners in inner Melbourne. 

We continue with the GSV Writers Circle ‘Ancestors home’ series, featuring three very different accounts, which take us to Anne Prince’s great grandparents’ ironbark homestead in rural Queensland, Anne McRobert’s grandfather’s childhood home a above a drapery store in suburban Melbourne, and finally Barbara Beaumont’s great grandparents’ close-knit community in the Oxbridge area of Stockton-on-Tees in County Durham.

What happens when historical facts meet a writer’s imagination? To what extent should a writer of family history include detail they cannot prove? These were questions explored at a recent Writers Circle discussion, and in this issue’s ‘Getting it write’ feature the discussion leaders, Barbara Beaumont and Clare Claydon, provide further food for thought on this topic.

Electoral rolls, rate books and directories can be useful resources for tracking your ancestors’ locations and occupations over time. In our ‘How-to’, Alison Dennison examines the sources of each for Australian ancestors and highlights some considerations in using them. If you feel inspired to consult an electoral roll, rate book or directory in one of the commercial databases, come into the GSV premises where members can freely use Ancestry, Findmypast, TheGenealogist, and MyHeritage (the latter two are now also available from home for members).
 

Emma Hegarty
Editorial team