Australian Genealogy and History Snippets – May 2016

It’s been a while since my last Snippets post, but recently I’ve been coming across all sorts of interesting history and/or genealogy related tidbits that I wanted to share with you, so I’ve have collected them together to make up a new Snippets post.

These aren’t meant to be comprehensive in anyway, but rather they are just bits that I’ve found, and wanted to share with you.

If you have any news that you’d like to share, please do so by emailing Alona at inquiries@gould.com.au, or your can phone (08) 8263 205, M-F 9am-4pm.

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Footsteps in Time – an Event to Diary Date
Footsteps in Time the second Queensland state conference will be held in 2017 at Southport on the Gold Coast. They now have a website (http://www.footstepsintime2017.com.au/) where you can sign up to be kept informed of news about the conference, and they also now have a Facebook page. They are also calling for papers, so if you’d like to be a speaker at this event, you should get working on your presentations now. (https://www.facebook.com/FootstepsinTime2017)

Adelaide Northern Districts Family History Group – New Website
The Adelaide Northern Districts Family History Group (ANDFHG) in South Australia, have recently launched their new website, which looks and works much better than the old one, and also includes a Members Area. The new website address is: http://www.andfhg.org.au

WW1 Soldier’s Inscriptions Found in Bass Drum
The current day Footscray-Yarraville City Band from the Western Suburbs on Melbourne came across a drum in the bands’ storeroom which they were ready to throw out. But on closer inspection they discovered the significance of the drum. “On the inside of the drum we discovered faint marking of soldiers who had served overseas with the AIF during the 1st World War.” The soldiers have been identified as:
– No. 3833 Ossory Arthur Charles Fitzpatrick (born North Sydney, enlisted Dubbo)
– No. 2133 Alexander Lambert (born Wallsend, enlisted Newcastle), KIA 1917
– No. 2123 Edward Rees Harry (born near Broken Hill, enlisted Adelaide)
– No. 3715 Robert Lynch (born Glasgow, Scotland, enlisted Brisbane)
– No. 3307 Edward McCarter Brown (born Hamilton, Scotland, enlisted Sydney)
Many bandsmen were killed or wounded in action carrying out their duties as stretcher bearers, ammunition carriers and other tasks. The Footscray-Yarraville City Band marched with this WW1 bass drum at this year’s ANZAC commemorations to honour the service of these men and of all our Australian service men and women. The band is keen to hear from relatives of these men to they can add further details to their stories. You can contact the band by emailing anzaccentenary@fycb.com.au, or visit the band’s website www.fycb.com.au. As part of the band’s ANZAC Centenary Commemoration Project the band is committed to the preservation and public display of this drum and researching the history of these men.

Werchon Family Reunion
The Werchon Family Reunion will be held at Millicent, South Australia on October 1-3, 2016. Freidrich Werchon and Anna Kossatz came to Australia in 1959 with sons: Freidrich Wilhelm (11), and Friedrich (9). They settled in Blumberg, now Birdwood, and later moved to the South-East. Both boys married the Aberle sisters and had children. We would like to hear from anyone who has a connection with our family. Also seeing contact with anyone who can add to our family records, as we hope to have a display of records, memorabilia and photos. Dawn (08) 8733 3945, 0417 875 481 or singum1@bigpond.com [Sunday Mail, 1 May 2016]

Angaston and Penrice History
A request has been made for photos and stories of Angaston and Penrice houses and building that have been demolished or historic views of those still standing. The Angaston and Penrice Historical Society seeks to borrow/copy/return them for their Putting Angaston on the Map display from May 27-29. Owner will get recognition at the display. Old maps, street photos, stories of streets that you used to live in also wanted. In you can help contact: A&PHS, Box 337, Angaston, SA 5252. Bill Gransbury (08) 8564 3222, email: billgran@chariot.net.au or Barry Chinner (08) 8564 2460, email: barchin@bigpond.com. [Sunday Mail, 1 May 2016]

Kirk Family History Books to Give Away
Kirk family history book “Skelmorlie to South Australia”. Last remaining copies to give away. An extensive history of the family of Robert and Grace Kirk, who arrived in South Australia in 1840 from Skelmorlie in Ayrshire, Scotland. For details email: thekirks@internode.on.net. [Sunday Mail, 20 March 2016]

Digger Search – Who is this Man?
This was another entry I saw in the Sunday Mail, “I’m researching the deployment of the tens of thousands of Australian and Allied ground forces to Darwin during World War II. I have acquired a large number of photographs of Australian personnel that were taken by the person in the picture shown. These pictures were mainly developed by a photographic business in Kadina, South Australia call Pells Studios. If anyone help me identify the person in the photo, I can be contacted either through my website www.milepegnt.com or phone: 0419 889 382”. [Sunday Mail, 6 March 2016]

Hosking Family History to Pass On
I saw this entry in the Sunday Mail, and wanted to share here, because this family history information needs a good home. “Hosking family: I would like to pass information to a descendant. The last known Hosking lived at Capper Street, Kent Town (South Australia), in about 1908. Jonathan Hosking m. Mary White in 1876, Edwin Hosking m. Nellie Humble in 1886, Francis m. William Aderson at Kooringa in 1881. Other information goes back to John Henry Hosking 1842.” If you are related please phone Emilie (08) 8278 2716. [Sunday Mail, 3 April 2016]

Brooks and Colwill Family History
“The Brooks and Colwill of Magill 1839-2015” 235 page family history has been completed and has identified hundreds of descendants, but strangely not one living Colwill. Richard and Betsy Burrows Colwill and their seven children came on the “Hesperus” from Clovelly, Devon, in 1878, and settled in Finchley/Murray Park. The eldest daughter Fanny Ann Burrows Colwill m. Nicholas Brooks in 1883, and their family photo album and documents have been the basis of the project. We have some good history of the Colwill’s life (from the UK census) in Devon, where the relatives ran a water-powered corn mill, Rosedown Mill. If any Colwill (or Brooks) descendants would like to know mor of the project (or book), please contact neildbrooks49@hotmail.com. [Sunday Mail, 3 April 2016]

Gordon Clan Reunion
The Gordon 150 year reunion will be held in Bowen from August 20-21, 2016. Five generations of Gordons are expected to attend. For more information please contact Heather Blackband on hbblackband@bigpond.com, Bill Townsend bill_townsend2003@yahoo.com, or Bill Gordon on (07) 3848 9868.

Unlock the Past’s Australian Blog List Continues to Grow
The list of Australian genealogy and/or history bloggers continues to grow as new people submit details of blogs. With the latest update there are now over 350 Aussie blogs listed there. You can find the list here
http://www.unlockthepast.com.au/australian-genealogy-history-blogs.

Australian History and Genealogy Expo, October 2016
Preparations continue for this event, and bookings are now open for exhibitors.You can find more details on that here. And if you’re a Facebooker, you can also follow along with the latest happenings about the Expo here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1153079268076721/

Book on the History of Pomonal, Victoria Available
Pomonal is a small town in western Victoria, with a history stretching back into the 1800s. The book “Pomonal: A Picturesque Place Revisited” comprises 178 pages and explores the early occupaton, along with chapters on land settlement, early homes, fruit growing, the Depression, development spreading, World War One, tobacco growing, natral disasters and more – right through the photographs of Pomonal in 2011. Basic family trees are included for some of th earea’s pioneers. Produced by the Pomonal Progress Association, copies are $25 each, with $7.50 postage (in Australia), and can be ordered from the Pomonal Progress Association, c/- Post Office, Pomonal, Vic 3381.