Family Tree Maker is one of the world’s most popular genealogy software programs, and as such has a large following of users in Australia.

While for most Family Tree Maker is an easy program to get into, interacting with a User Group will enable you to share your knowledge with others and learn from them too. There are always lots of tips and tricks to pick up and you will learn creative ways of using Family Tree Maker. If you are new to the Family Tree Maker (or new to a newer version), attending a User Group meeting will help you get started, both in finding out what you can do in Family Tree Maker, and how to how to use it efficiently.

New South Wales – Sydney
Meetings: once a quarter
Where: 120 Kent Street, Sydney
When: need to check the SAG website for details
Cost: $8.00 for members, $12.00 for non-members
Contact: the Society of Australian Genealogists
web: http://www.sag.org.au/
they also have an online forum for FTM Users

Queensland – Brisbane
Meetings: 1st Friday of every month, and last Sat of each even numbered month
Where: 58 Bellevue Avenue, Gaythorne
When: starts 10.00am
Cost: free (and non-members are welcome)
Contact: Kerri Kleidon familytree@qfhs.org.au
Organised by the Queensland Family History Society
web: http://www.qfhs.org.au/

South Australia – Adelaide
Meetings: 3rd Saturday of each month
Where: Salisbury TAFE Heritage Centre, 3 Ann Street, Salisbury
When: from 2.00pm
Contact: info@andfhg.org
Organised by Adelaide Family Tree Maker User Group, in association with the Adelaide Northern Districts Family History Group
web: http://www.andfhg.org/

South Australia – South East
Meetings: no meetings
Contact: http://www.sefhg.org/index_files/membership.htm
The South East Family History Group don’t hold regular Family Tree Maker User Group meetings, but they do have an online forum where you can post queries. Their Membership Page has information about how to do so.

Victoria – Melbourne
Meetings: 3rd Monday of each month (not December or January)
Where: Wadham House, 52 Wadham Parade, Mount Waverley
When: doors open 7.00pm for a 7.30pm start
Cost: $2.00
Contact: ftmusers@vicgum.asn.au
held in association with VicGUM
web: http://vicgum.asn.au or on Facebook

If you know of any other FTM groups around (even informal meetings), or are interested in starting one up, please send an email to alona@gould.com.au, so I can keep this list up-to-date.

We announced back in February 2010 about the possibility of getting a Family Tree Maker User Group up and running in South Australia. Today’s post is an update on this.

The Adelaide Northern Districts Family History Group have agreed to host the meetings at their Salisbury premises. Peter Applebee the President of the group has just sent out advice of their first Family Tree Maker User Group meeting:

… next Saturday the 17th of April is our gathering to attempt to set up a Family Tree Maker User Group here in South Australia. For those that are still interested or are new to this list, we have scheduled a start time of 2.00 pm. But I shall be there from about 1.30pm. I will open the full museum up for those who wish to browse the exhibits while they wait.

The address for the group is The Salisbury TAFE Heritage Centre, (Old Police Station), 3 Ann Street, Salisbury.

If you would like more informtion about the Adelaide Northern Districts Family History Group you can find them on the web or send them an email: andfhg@yahoo.com.au.

It has been mentioned in passing that Salisbury is too far for some people to attend. If  this is the case, and you would like to be involved or host a group in your area, please send an email to Alona at alona@gould.com.au (please include your name and area). Please note, there is no guarantee that any more FTM SA groups will be started, but the more interest we get, the more likely it is to happen.

Gould Genealogy would like to wish ANDFHG all the very best for their first FTM User Group meeting next week.

Last week in our newsletter we made a call for expressions of interest in Family Tree Maker user groups around Australia.

From our feedback there are a few people in Adelaide who would be interested in getting a Family Tree Maker User Group started. While we did have some response from our newsletter entry – it is not enough to warrant starting a group at this stage … so if you would be interested “please do let us know”, otherwise it may not happen.

You can send a email to Alona at alona@gould.com.au, or otherwise phone advising of your interest (08) 8396 1110.

Apart from more interest in a group, it will also need someone who is reasonably familiar with the program to demonstrate it to others. You don’t have to be an expert, just someone that knows their way around it reasonably well. If this is you please contact Alona at the above details.

We would love to see a User Group start up. These are important as you can learn lots about the software and also family history in general from interaction with others who are using the same program.

With a growing user base of Legacy Family Tree in Australia, there have been a number of User Groups start up. If you are new to the program, attending a User Group meeting can be very informative, both in finding out the program’s capabilities, and how to find out how to use it.

New South Wales – Caringbah
Meetings: 1st Tuesday every second month
Where: Port Hacking Community Centre, 184 Gannons Road (South), Caringbah
When: 4 May, 6 Jul, 7 Sep, 2 Nov from 2.30pm-4.00pm
Cost: $3.00 for members, $5.00 for non-members
Contact: http://www.bbfhs.org.au
Organised by the Botany Bay Family History Society

New South Wales – Lake Macquarie
Meetings: once a month
Where: Marmong Point Community Hall, George Street, Marmong Point
Contact: http://www.lmfhg.org.au
Organised by the Lake Macquarie Family History Society

Queensland – Brisbane
Meetings: 2nd Tuesday of each month
Where: Strathpine Library, Cnr Gympie & South Pine Roads, Strathpine
When: 9.00am-12.00pm
Contact: Charlie Nolan charlie.nolan@aapt.net.au

Queensland – Toowoomba
Meetings: 2nd Sunday of each month
When: from 2.00pm
Contact: Beverley Borey borjobe69@bigpond.com

South Australia – Salisbury
Meetings: 1st Monday of each month
Where: Salisbury TAFE Heritage Centre, 3 Ann Street, Salisbury
When: from 7.00pm
Contact: Adelaide & Northern Districts FHG – andfhg@yahoo.com.au
Web: http://www.andfhg.org/

Victoria – Melbourne
Meetings: 3rd Wednesday of each month (not December or January)
Where: GSV, Level B1 257 Collins Street, Melbourne (take lifts in Emirates Building at Collins Street entrance
When: Beginners session begins at 10.00am and main meeting from 10.30am-12.30pm
Cost: $3.00
Contact: Tom & Libby Luke, tomluke@optusnet.com.au or Susan Perrett, susanp@st.net.au
Organised by the Genealogy Society of Victoria

Victoria – Mildura
Meetings: 3rd Wednesday of each month (not January)
Where: Carnegie Centre,  Deakin Avenue, Mildura
When: 6.00pm
Contact: Leanne Watmuff, leannew08@gmail.com, or phone (daytime) (03) 5027 5060
Organised by the Mildura & District Genealogical Society

Western Australia – Perth
Many Perth DPS members use Legacy. There always seemed to be someone asking a Legacy question on list & they also meet once every 6 weeks according to their web pages.
http://members.iinet.net.au/~perthdps/
home page of their email list:
http://members.iinet.net.au/~perthdps/dps-chat.htm

Others with an interest in forming a group in their region:
New South Wales, Armidale interest in forming
Contact Colin Darby – hcdarbs@hotmail.com

Queensland, Gold Coast, interest in forming
Contact Rita Oakley – durrandell@yahoo.com.au

South Australia, Murray Bridge, interest in forming
Contact Deby Hills – shirljim@ripper.com.au

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