FamilySearch is the largest genealogy organisation in the world. It is run and maintained by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Millions of people use FamilySearch for records, resources, and services to learn more about their family history, and why wouldn’t you since there are literally billions of records listed here … for FREE!!

For over 100 years, FamilySearch has been actively gathering, preserving, and sharing genealogical records worldwide. Users can access this data free online at FamilySearch.org, their new FamilySearch Pilot site, or through over 4,500 Family History Centres in 70 countries, including the renowned Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The Latter-Day Saints trace their ancestry as part of their religion. Like it or not, there is no way that genealogy would be where it is today without them.

For anyone who has ever ordered films from the LDS, either online or through your local Family History Centre, here is a spectacular look inside where these records are stored. Not only the mountain and vaults itself, but also in the workings of FamilySearch and their new digitisation project.

Social media seems to be the dominant theme through the latest news, with new new blogs, Twitter accounts and Facebook pages from groups. It is great to see them embracing the newer means of communications that people are wanting (and sometimes expecting).

Some of the following news articles have been submitted to us, while others have been found from websites, newspapers and other articles.

We love promoting genealogy and history throughout Australia and the smaller groups are just as important as the big state societies. So if you have news, events, need for help or donations, or have a request – please advise, we’d love to hear.

Campbells in Australia – Forum
I’ve been notified of the Campbell’s in Australia Group. This is a Forum and Network for those who are seeking genealogical and family tree information about the Campbell surname in Australia/New Zealand and their ties and roots to the surname “Campbell”. To subscribe, send an email to CampbellsAustralia-subscribe@yahoogroups.com or subscribe directly off the web-site at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CampbellsAustralia

Johnston/e’s in Australia/NZ – Forum
As the search for surnames is popular in a global sense many would like to niche their research to a Country or indeed a Province or County, the newly created Group of “Johnston’s in Australia” is a Forum and Network for those who are seeking genealogical and family tree information about their Johnston/e [and all derivatives] surname in Australia/New Zealand and their ties and roots to the surname Johnston/e. To subscribe, send an email to JohnstonAustralia-subscribe@yahoogroups.com or subscribe directly off the web-site at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/JohnstonAustralia

New South Wales

Hawkesbury – Hawkesbury Family History Group on Facebook
For Facebookers, you may be interested to hear that the Hawkesbury Family History Group have made the jump into social media, and now have a Facebook page. Become a fan of their page by clicking on the “Like” button.
South Australia

Burra – Heritage Threat
How ironic it is that the heart of the Burra heritage story is the historic Monster Mine, and that the State Government is now deciding whether to overturn the mine’s heritage listing. It seems nothing is sacred in this state when it comes to mining. Phoenix Copper company wants to dig down below the mine in search of more copper, and possibly gold. Phoenix applied for a “variation of proclaimed area” which basically means getting rid of the heritage protection that so many people spent so long putting in place. The Burra copper discovery changed copper mining in the 1840s and 1850s just as Roxby is changing copper mining today. So even if something is “heritage protected” that seems to be meaning less and less these days. The full article can be read on the AdelaideNow website.

Glandore – Adelaide Proformat and social media
While not news to do with a Society or Group, this is still related to genealogy. Adelaide Proformat, business of professional genealogist Graham Jaunay, is moving with the times. You can keep now up with news not only from his email newsletters, but also through his blog, on Twitter and on Facebook.

Hamley Bridge – Past and Present Website and Facebook
The small town of Hamley Bridge, north of Adelaide is a community located at the junction of the Gilbert and Light rivers, as well as the site of a former railway junction. With no local history group in the area, local resident Sharon Norman, became engrossed in the history of the town, and began collecting all information to do with the town’s history. In a bid to make her information readily available to all, she has created her own Hamley Bridge website, and Facebook page. If you have any information or photos relating to Hamley Bridge, Sharon would love to hear from you.

Victoria

Bendigo – Cornish Association of Bendigo and District
The Cornish Association of Bendigo and District have ventured into the world on social media, and can now be found of Facebook. Become a fan of the Cornish Association of Bendigo and District by clicking on the ‘Like” button.

Echuca – Echuca-Moama Family History Group
Another place you find on Facebook, is the Echuca-Moama Family History Group. So if you wish to keep up with their news and happenings, become a fan of their Facebook page.

Marysville – Marysville Historical Society and Marysville Museum
A new museum is to open in Marysville north-east of Melbourne to replace the one burnt down by bushfires on Black Saturday in 2009. This is welcome news for the local Historical Society who have had thousands of items donated to them since the fire. You can watch the news report on the ABC website online.

It is true that Australia seems to be behind the rest of the world (well, the US and UK) as far as getting family history data online. But it is coming, bit-by-bit.

This is a listing of new ‘Australian’ data added on to these online data websites recently.

ANCESTRY.COM.AU
Ancestry.com.au continue to add to their collection, by adding the following:
New South Wales, Australia, Applications and Admissions to Orphan Schools, 1817-1833

ANCESTRY WORLD ARCHIVE PROJECT
The World Archive Project, is a division of Ancestry.com which “lets you help us bring free historical record collections to the public. Contributors become the first to see new collections as they type in information that creates searchable record indexes.”  Keep an eye on this site, or better yet, register as an indexer, as there are LOTS of Australian records being worked on here. And the sooner they’re indexed, the sooner everyone has access.

AUSTRALIAN NEWSPAPERS (NLA and TROVE)
The availability of the Australian newspapers continues at an amazing speed (though no doubt, just the one we want isn’t yet online!!), but still to even have these coming is a phenomenal resource for all. These newspapers appear both on the NLA Australian Newspapers website, as well as on TROVE.
Camperdown Chronicle (Vic, 1877-1954)
- From 1880-12-03 to 1882-04-29
- From 1883-12-01 to 1885-05-30
- From 1899-09-02 to 1900-08-30
- From 1903-07-02 to 1904-02-27
- From 1908-03-03 to 1908-10-31
- From 1911-07-01 to 1914-01-31
- From 1914-10-01 to 1915-05-29
- From 1917-06-02 to 1918-04-20
- From 1919-05-01 to 1919-12-30
- From 1931-07-02 to 1931-12-31
- From 1936-01-04 to 1937-06-29
- From 1940-07-02 to 1940-12-31
- From 1942-01-06 to 1942-12-29
- From 1953-01-06 to 1953-12-29

The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA, 1889-1931)
- From 1870-01-01 to 1871-12-30
- From 1889-04-01 to 1890-03-31
- From 1891-04-01 to 1892-03-31
- From 1892-04-01 to 1893-03-31
- From 1893-04-01 to 1895-03-30

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic, 1848-1954)
- From 1951-01-01 to 1951-04-30
- From 1954-01-01 to 1954-04-30
- From 1954-05-01 to 1954-12-31

The Mercury (Hobart, Tas, 1860-1954)
- From 1921-01-01 to 1921-12-31
- From 1922-01-02 to 1922-08-31
- From 1922-09-01 to 1925-06-30
- From 1927-10-01 to 1928-03-31
- From 1928-10-01 to 1929-03-29
- From 1929-04-01 to 1929-09-30
- From 1932-07-01 to 1933-12-30
- From 1934-01-01 to 1934-09-29
- From 1936-03-02 to 1936-08-31
- From 1937-03-01 to 1937-08-31
- From 1938-03-01 to 1948-06-30
- From 1949-01-01 to 1949-04-30
- From 1949-05-02 to 1949-12-31
- From 1950-01-02 to 1950-12-30
- From 1951-09-01 to 1952-04-30

The Queenslander (Brisbane, Qld, 1866-1939)
- From 1884-01-05 to 1884-12-27
- From 1897-05-01 to 1897-12-25
- From 1906-09-01 to 1907-04-27
- From 1908-09-05 to 1909-04-24
- From 1914-01-03 to 1914-12-26
- From 1916-01-01 to 1916-04-26
- From 1916-05-06 to 1916-12-30
- From 1920-01-03 to 1920-12-25
- From 1924-01-05 to 1924-12-27
- From 1925-01-03 to 1925-12-26
- From 1927-01-01 to 1927-12-29
- From 1937-01-07 to 1937-12-29

The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW, 1842-1954)
- From 1879-07-26 to 1880-03-12
- From 1880-10-28 to 1883-02-12
- From 1885-04-20 to 1886-03-31
- From 1886-09-27 to 1898-10-31
- From 1899-05-25 to 1907-07-20
- From 1908-01-13 to 1913-02-07
- From 1913-07-01 to 1913-11-19
- From 1916-01-26 to 1916-07-08
- From 1929-07-29 to 1929-11-12
- From 1930-04-07 to 1931-02-28
- From 1932-01-01 to 1933-02-28
- From 1943-01-01 to 1945-06-30
- From 1946-01-01 to 1946-04-30
- From 1946-09-02 to 1948-03-31
- From 1949-03-01 to 1949-08-31
- From 1951-09-01 to 1951-12-31

The West Australian (Perth, WA, 1879-1954)
- From 1901-03-05 to 1901-11-26
- From 1901-11-27 to 1902-08-13
- From 1903-05-06 to 1903-12-31
- From 1904-09-14 to 1906-07-07
- From 1906-11-01 to 1906-12-28
- From 1936-02-29 to 1936-05-15

FAMILY HISTORY SA
Family History SA, which is a site dedicated to South Australian records has recently added the following to their colelction:
South Australian Births 1836-54

FAMILY TREE OZ
This is a site dedicated to scanning old books, and publishing them online for free.
South Australian Motor Vehicle Registrations 1906-1920
Wise’s Tasmania Post Office Directory 1945-1946

FAMILYSEARCH
The FamilySearch Pilot Site continues to grow, and although not currently focussing on Australian records, the following has recently been added:
Australia, NSW and ACT, Masonic Lodge Card Indexes 1831-1930 (images only)
Australia, NSW and ACT, Masonic Lodge Registers 1831-1930 (images only)

QUEENSLAND STATE ARCHIVES
The Queensland State Archives has a long list of newly added records to their collection, you can see it here.

THE SHIPS LIST
Passengers:
– barque August, from Hamburg, to Port Adelaide 9th May 1855
– barque Johann Caesar, from Hamburg, to Port Adelaide 1st January 1855
– barque Wilhelmine, from Bremen, to Port Adelaide 1st October 1855
– ship Australia, from Hamburg, to Port Adelaide 4th March 1855
– ship Grand Trianon, from Liverpool to Port Adelaide 23rd April 1860
– ship La Rochelle, from Hamburg, to Port Adelaide 3rd September 1855
– ship Peter Goddefroy, from Hamburg, to Port Adelaide 18th November 1855

Happy searching … and keep an eye online for more good Australian data to come!!

Continuing on in my (so far) monthly update of news from primarily regional (but not exclusively) Australian genealogy, history and heritage groups. This covers  news from any group, society, museum, archive office throughout Australia. Some of the following news articles have been submitted to us, while others have been found from websites, newspapers and other articles.

We love promoting genealogy and history throughout Australia and the smaller groups are just as important as the big state societies. So if you have news, events, need for help or donations, or have a request – please advise, we’d love to hear.

NEW SOUTH WALES
Bega – reunion
The Bega District News recently made mention of the recent Wood family reunion. The reunion centered on the descendants of Peter Horsman Wood (1838-1907) who once lived at Yarranung from 1869 to his death in 1907. When the Wood brothers arrived in Sydney in Jun 1860, Peter came to Bega while his else brother John went droving in Queensland and lost touch with the family. John spent his time well, and recorded his experiences in the form of a novel. The recently published “Tom Hurstbourne or A Squatters Life” can be bought from various bookshops. For more on this book there is a good write up on the GG Books site.

Hunter Valley – website
If you have queries or research relating to the Hunter Region (which encompasses Maitland, Morpeth, Murrurundi, Newcastle, Paterson, Raymond Terrace, Seaham, Stroud, and Wollombi), the Hunter Valley Genealogy website has a forum you can put queries on.

Taree – Manning Wallamba Family History Society
2010 marks the 25th year of the Manning Wallamba Family History Society, and they have been celebrating with various events throughout the year already. One thing they are doing all year is asking founding and long-term members to contribute their memories of the early day of the Society. These are being published in their quarterly journal The Fig Tree, which you can find on their website.

QUEENSLAND
Nerang – Gold Coast Family History Society
The Gold Coast Family History Society (GCFHS) recently became an affiliated library of the Famiy History Library of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). Access has been granted to over 2.4 million rolls of microfilm and 727,000 microfiches sheets. These can be ordered online at Family Search and viewed at GHFHS library for a nominal charge.

Warwick – Smitten family history
Lindsay and Marcella Berry of Warwick have been painstakingly penning books on their family history. But these books are not available in any old book store. They are for the Berry’s personal library, a documentation of their lives for future generations. The series is called Smitten and the Berrys have already finished the first three instalments, with another four in the pipeline. Starting with themselves and recording their own history, they say there is plenty to come, with some future editions set to date back to their ancestors. The full article can be read on the Warwick Daily News.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Avon – Town history
The South Australian country town of Avon held a reunion as part of SA History Week and at the same time the local district hall’s 50th birthday. Avon was once a vibrant little farming village and many have a story of either growing up in the community or visiting for some reason.  Although this is a little late, and missed the reunion as they were asking for people who had stories relating to the town and its residents to contact them, I have no doubt that those organising the event would still love to hear from anyone who would like to pass on their stories. Email avon5501@yahoo.com.au or mail RSD Box 1050, Avon SA 5501.

Lobethal – Lobethal Museum
Also as part of the SA History Week 2010 celebrations, the Lobethal Museum recently celebrated it’s 50th Anniversary. This church museum also houses the little “seminary”, erected in 1845, the first three Australian-trained Lutheran pastors graduated in 1855. For inquiries regarding the museum please phone Rose on (08) 8389 6825.

Lobethal – National Costume Museum
‘The Courier’ newspaper recently reported that the privately owned National Costume Museum which has been on diplay in the former Onkaparinga Woollen Mill at Lobethal, now has a new home. Previously reported on Postcards, the owners of this spectacular 4000 piece collection, which contains items of clothing dating from 1812 through to 2000, rejected numerous offers from overseas buyers, as they wished for the collection to stay in South Australia. The collection will be left to the National Trust and it will be housed at the Millicent National Trust Living History Musuem.

Quorn – Quorn Masonic Lodge
Quorn Masonic Lodge No. 59 are celebrating their centenary on July 10-11 2010.  Photographs are wanted for inclusion in booklet and for display on the weekend. Also, photographs of the building in Railway Terrace when occupied by the Salvation Army until 1908 and Quorn High School from 1909-1923. Phone Maureen (08) 8648 6420 or email emmccoll@yahoo.com

Tea Tree Gully – Library Local History Room
The City of Tea Tree Gully Local History room has embarked on a project to dicover more about the story of the men listed on the plaques on the War Memorial arch. Twenty-four men’s names are recorded on this memorial. Sixteen were born in this area, went to school, worked and married local girls from this area. Five paid the supreme sacrifice. Each one has an incredible story to tell. To learn more about this and other local history, contact the Tea Tree Gully Library Local History Room on (08) 8397 7467 or www.teatreegully.sa.gov.au.

Scott Creek – Scott Creek History Group
The Scorr Creek comminuty recently celebrated the opening of new clubrooms at the Scott Creek Oval. The Scott Creek History Group was involved by setting up a display of photographs tracing the history of the oval.

Wallaroo – Welsh history
The Yorke Peninsula Country Times reports that as part of the St David’s Day Copper 150 sesquicentenary celebrations held in Wallaroo, local historian and chairperson of the Wallaroo Heritage and Nautical Museum and National Trust, Colin Boase, presented a brief synopsis of the Welsh influence in Wallaroo and the history of the Welsh churches. As the Welsh were experts in the field of smelting, their services were much sought after in the 1860s. A number were brought direct from Wales to settle in Wallaroo. The full article can be read online here.

South Australia’s Historic Buildings in Danger
The Sunday Mail recently had an article making mention that 100s of ‘character’ buildings and old homes across South Australia are at risk of demolition because of a perceived “lack of will” towards protecting the state’s heritage. In a survey it found about half of SA’s 66 councils (mostly rural), do not have heritage lists or registers that protect buildings of local significance. Among the 29 councils without heritage protection are Yankallila, Naracoorte Lucindale, Port Lincoln, Whyalla, Yorke Peninsula and the cradle of the state’s mining past, the Copper Coast. You can read the full article here.

VICTORIA
Brighton – Brighton Historical Society
The Brighton Historical Society was a recipient of the ‘Sir Rupert Hamer Records Management Award for providing greater understanding and access to community archives for cataloguing their entire map and plan collection. Volunteers contributed more than 500 hours to digitise the maps and plans. The originals are now preserved and copies are made available for the public to use. Fantastic work!!

Drysdale – Bellarine Historical Society
Congratulation to the Bellarine Historical Society, on their recent ‘Sir Rupert Hamer Records Management Award’. They were recognised for their work digitising and indexing original school registers. The project began after a committee member retrieved from the rubbish old records from two schools closed in the 1990s. The historical society has also transferred the original registers, indexes and photographs to PROV, and written a brief history of each school. So many records would be lost without groups like this historical society. Thank you for helping to preserve history!!

St Kilda – Jewish Museum of Australia
Recent news on the Tracing the Tribe blog mentions that The Australian government will contribute $200,000 to develop the Zelman Cowen Gallery of Australian Jewish History at the Jewish Museum of Australia. The museum is planning to raise $1.5 million to bring the project to life. The government hopes its contribution will encourage the Jewish and general Australian community, State government and other sectors to support the project. The Jewish Museum of Australia was established to explore and share the Jewish experience in Australia and benefit Australia’s diverse society.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Harvey Districts – Oral Histories Online
This site provides information on the collections of Oral Histories recorded by members of the Harvey Districts Oral History Group. Also, includes Cemetery Records and other articles of  historical interest relating to the Shire of Harvey and surrounding areas.

Now this “IS” GREAT NEWS! ScotlandsPeople, Scotland’s premier online genealogy data website, would like to offer all customers who have existing credits in their account the opportunity to re-activate and use the credits at no cost through the use of a voucher code. They are doing this to allow customers who have expired credits to take the opportunity to use these without making a purchase.

All customers who have existing credits can now use the free voucher code SCOTLANDSPEOPLE which will re-set the credit expiry to 90 days in their account. Customers may use this voucher any time until 1.00 p.m. on Thursday 17th June, 2010. The voucher may only be used once in each account.

For information on how to use the voucher code, click here.

Last month I did a blog post relating to news from regional South Australian groups. I have now expanded this theme to cover any group, society, museum, archive throughout Australia. Some of the following news articles have been submitted to us to make mention of, the others we have found from websites, newspapers and other articles.

We love promoting genealogy and history throughout Australia and the smaller groups are just as important as the big state societies. So if you have news, events, or need help, or have a request – please advise, we’d love to hear.

NEW SOUTH WALES
Broken Hill History – Facebook Page
There is a Facebook page which has just started up for those wanting to find out and share information about Broken Hill, particularly relating to the 1920s-1950s era.

Port Macquarie and Districts Family History Society – Port Macquarie
The Port Macquarie and Districts Family History Society have been busy compiling  the “Port Macquarie-Hastings Pioneer Register 1821-1900″, a new book due to be released soon. This will be available direct from the Society only, and they currently have a special offer of $25.00 per book (+ postage) for orders received before 31^st May 2010 (the price will normally be $30.00). To place your order, click here to print the pre-order form, and post the completed form to the Secretary with payment. The Society does have a website you can visit for more information.

QUEENSLAND
Central Queensland History – Wiki
The Central Queensland History Website has now become a Wiki, this means the site will be user editable (very soon). So if you’ve got an interest in the history (people, places, business, and events relating to the Central Queensland area) keep an eye on this one.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Adelaide Northern Districts Family History Group – Salisbury
News from the Adelaide Northern Districts Family History Group is that they continue to grow. Their Legacy User Group is an active part of their group, and their “Adelaide Family Tree Maker User Group” has just had its first official meeting this month, which appears that it will be as successful as the Legacy User Group has been. As part of their continued growth, they now have acquired their own Domain Name:  andfhg.org.
If you wish to find out more about the Adelaide Northern Districts Family History Group, check out their website.

Golden Grove Uniting Church – Golden Grove
Do you have any family links with the settlement of Golden Grove? Discover the part that the early Scots played in settlement here from 1846. As part of SA History Week, the Golden Grove Uniting Church will have a display on Wednesday 26th May, that showcases the spiritual, educational, working and social lives of the pioneer families. Entry is free, and light refreshments are provided.  Open from 10.00am-4.00pm.

Kensington and Norwood Historical Society – Norwood
2010 is the Kensington and Norwood Historical Society’s 31st year, and to commemorate  has published a book containing a walking trail map and information about the plaques the Society has installed, which celebrate significant people and places in Norwood, Kensington, Kent Town and Marryatville. The book “Now and Then” is available direct from the Society.
VICTORIA
Cornish Association of Bendigo and District – Bendigo
The Cornish Association of Bendigo and District is now on Facebook.
And if you wish to check out the Society’s website, you can find them here.

Hopetoun Cemetery Preservation Group – Bacchus Marsh
The Hopetown Cemetery Preservation Group is looking for photographs and information about the St Laurence O’Toole Chapel building also used as the Hopetown Denominational School, situated at the base of Anthony’s Cutting, Bacchus Marsh, Victoria. If you can help out contact the: Hopetown Cemetery Preservation Group, PO Box 175, Bacchus Marsh, Victoria 3340 (email: bammlove@westconnect.com.au)

Port Melbourne Historical and Preservation Society – Port Melbourne
We’re 150 years old … 2010 marks 150 years since Sandridge (later Port Melbourne) achieved local government. So keep an eye out for an exhibition at Port Melbourne Town Hall around the middle of the year. Their website has more information.

Prahran Mechanic’s Institute – Prahran
Short History Prize
In keeping with the Prahran Mechanic Institute’s objective to encourage and facilitate historical research, we invite you to participate in our Short History Prize 2010.

Entries are to: be non-fiction, be up to 15,000 words, cover the history of a place or aspect of a place in Victoria (Australia), and  to be written by a member or members of a Victorian historical society or similar organisation.

The prize is: $1,000  (being $500 for the author/s and $500 for the associated historical group), and the closing date: 4pm Friday 27 August 2010 and winner announced Monday 25 October 2010

For further details and an entry form, all enquiries to be directed to Tim at library@pmi.net.au or (03) 9510 3393

WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Heritage Listing for Soldiers’ Park – Collie
It has recently bee reported that Soldiers’ Park in Collie, which has been central to ANZAC Day celebrations since 1921, will now be permanently listed on the State Register of Heritage Places. To read the full article click here.

Margaret River and Districts Historical Society – Margaret River
The Margaret River and Districts Historical Society’s website reports that the Society has begun the digitisation and preservation of their collection of photographs and documents.  However “progress has been less speedy than we would have wished owing to time constraints on our members and the single computer available to us, but we hope to have the initial collection uploaded to the Mosaic system within two years, and protected and archived in approved materials at about the same time. Of course we welcome new additions to our collection and these will be included after the original collection is dealt with. When the collection is securely uploaded, it will hopefully be viewable in a public domain.” If you wish to contact the, their details are on their website.

While Australia is a little behind the rest of the world in online genealogy content, it is coming bit-by-bit, and as some significant databases have gone online recently I thought I would make mention of it – just in case you missed them.

FAMILYSEARCH
In amongst the 300 million new records that FamilySearch added to their Pilot Site a few weeks ago, were:
Australia Births and Baptisms 1792-1981
Australia Deaths and Burials 1816-1980

ANCESTRY
Ancestry.com.au continue to add to their collection, by adding the following:
Queensland, Australia, Passenger Lists, 1848-1912
Western Australia Post Office Directory 1910
Western Australia Post Office Directory 1926

FAMILY HISTORY SA
While not new, the following from Family History SA have been updated and extended:
South Australian Cemeteries Burials now includes Nailsworth North Road Anglican Cemetery – up to 1900
South Australian District Constables 1853 to 1920
South Australian Marriages 1836 to 1855
South Australian Naturalizations
South Australian Police 1838 to 1920

BDM REGISTRARS
New South Wales Births, Deaths & Marriages
This index contains the births, deaths and marriage recorded in New South Wales between the years: births 1788-1909, deaths 1788-1979, and marriages 1788-1959.

Queensland Births, Deaths & Marriages
Index records are available for births registered up to and including 1914, deaths registered up to and including 1964 and marriages registered up to and including 1934.

Victorian Births, Deaths & Marriages
The Historical Index contains entries relating to births in Victoria from 1853 to 1908, marriages in Victoria from 1853 to 1942, deaths in Victoria from 1853 to 1985, and church baptisms, marriages and burials in Victoria from 1836 to 1853.

Western Australian Births, Death & Marriages
Free online searching of Western Australian birth, death and marriage indexes is available for the following ranges of years: Births 1841 to 1932, Deaths 1841 to 1965, and Marriages 1841 to 1936.

Happy searching … and keep an eye online for more good Australian data to come!!

There are numerous books available on researching your Scottish ancestry, but none quite like this one.

Chris Paton’s “Researching Scottish Family History” has made beginning your Scottish less overwhelming, by keeping it simple, concise and providing plenty of website links.

Chris is professional genealogist at Scotlands Greatest Story, and writer of the Scottish Genealogy News and Events blog, which is an excellent read by the way.

Divided into twelve chapters each covering a different topic (ie. getting started, parish records, FamilySearch and the IGI, Censuses, Wills and so on). The Appendixes contain details of regional archives, and Family History Soceities throughout Scotland.

With a stack of tips mentioned throughout, together with hundreds of useful websites – this will be of use to not only those beginning their Scottish research, but also for those looking for other possible avenues to search.

“Researching Scottish Family History” is now in stock, and sells for $25.00.

The popularity of genealogy seems to continue to grow, and this is partly to do with the popularity of TV shows such as “Who Do You Think You Are?”.

The program first aired in England showing celebrities tracing their family history, and the interest has grown from there. The UK are currently showing their 8th series, while the 3rd series of the Australian version is due to air later this year. For a full listing of countries and episodes, Wikipedia is the place to check.

Lisa Kudrow, executive producer of the the US version, and also a star in the show, has brought the “Who Do You Think You Are” progam to the United States.

Presented in a similar format as the UK and Australian versions, the show allows you to watch seven US celebrities trace their history, and be truly amazed at what they uncover. Names such as Matthew Broderick, Lisa Kudrow, Spike Lee, Sarah Jessica Parker, Susan Sarandon, Brooke Shields, and Emmitt Smith all find their history.

“Who Do You Think You Are” (US version) premiers in Australia on Wednesday 28th April, 9.30pm, Channel 9.

If you would like to find out more about the stars of the program, the NBC website has more information (note, they also do have each episode on there, but they’re only viewable if you’re in the US), and also the ‘Who Do You Think You Are?: The Essential Guide to Tracing Your Family History” by Megan Smolenyak as a companion book to the US series.

So much happens throughout the year, not just in the cities and large populated regions, but in the smaller regional towns as well. Many of these places have genealogy groups or historical societies which are set up to preserve the history of the town and pioneer settlers.

This is a small post to keep you informed of some of the happenings in the country regions of South Australia.

Clare Regional History Group – Clare
The ‘Northern Argus’ newspaper recently reported that the Clare Regional History Group received a book to help them stage a memorabilia display of bicycles and cycling in the district for the Tour Down Under, as the Lions Club of Clare presented the group with $250 for the display. While this isn’t mentioned on their website, you can find more about the Group there.

Gumeracha and Distrist History Centre – Gumeracha
The Gumeracha Historical Trail was featured in a recent episode of Postcards. Created using the help of members from the Gumeracha and District History Centre, this highlights the history that is around the town, and is an excellent way to learn about its past. For SA History Week, the History Centre will be holding an open day on Tuesday May 25th 2010, 9 a.m. -  7 p.m. Situated in the Civic Centre, Albert Street, Gumeracha. More details can be found of their website.

Mount Horrocks Historical Society – Watervale
A new history room has been opened by the Mount Horrocks Historical Society in a second room at the Watervale Institite building. Also the Mount Horrocks Historical Society is participating in SA History Week, and will have several events this year. Informaion on these can be found on their website.

If you have any information relating to History Groups, Museums or Genealogy Societies that you would like mentioned, please send and email to Alona (alona@gould.com.au), and we’d be happy to do so.