Genealogical Society of Queensland - GSQ

24/03/2026

Some 2nd Fleeters info. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/14Sf8Liui6j/

While this website is primarily focused on the First Fleet of 1787 – 1788, many First Fleeters married, or cohabited with, Female Convicts from the Lady Juliana. Identifying these women is part of …

24/03/2026

Some 1st Fleeters info for you.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/14Vw7ihbA9Y/

Tuesday, 31 March 1789 – Domestic Occurrences An Authentic Account of the Arrival at Botany Bay – Source – Gentleman’s Magazine March 1789 An authentic account has been rece…

24/03/2026

Not long now until we can access the 1926 Irish Census due out in April. Beware this only covers counties in the Irish Free State (Republic of Ireland) as Northern Ireland had their own census.

24/03/2026

Dont forget the Europe to Australia mini-seminar this Saturday morning which includes speakers discussing Eastern European, German, Italian and Greek family history. They describe what life was like before and after our ancestors arrived in Australia, as well as how to find records for them. There is also a presentation from MyHeritage which explains what records are available in Europe.
9am-1pm. Please go to the events page on our website for details.

Front (800 x 540 px)DIDyouknow (900 × 500 px)ASK US HOW GSQ Website Update Soon GSQ will have a new website for all to use. Should be within the next 30 days. We currently have limited events showing on the calendar/ slider until the new site is up and running, as well as many pages are not up to d...

24/03/2026

Digitised collections available online for free. From Archifau Cymru - Archives Wales

Many archives across Wales have digitised collections available online for free!

Resources like this are invaluable when studying online.

Discover some of them here:

National Library of Wales: https://www.library.wales/discover-learn/digital-exhibitions/archives

Gladstone’s Library: https://gladstoneslibrarydigital.starter3ua.preservica.com/portal/en-GB

Amgueddfa Cymru: https://museum.wales/collections/online/



Mae llawer o archifau ledled Cymru wedi digido casgliadau sydd ar gael ar-lein am ddim!

Mae adnoddau fel hyn yn amhrisiadwy wrth astudio ar-lein.

Dewch o hyd i rai ohonynt yma:

National Library of Wales: https://www.library.wales/discover-learn/digital-exhibitions/archives

Gladstone’s Library: https://gladstoneslibrarydigital.starter3ua.preservica.com/portal/en-GB

Amgueddfa Cymru: https://museum.wales/collections/online/

23/03/2026

The Five Sister Window, a memorial to nurses and women who served or died during wartime. Story thanks to Findmypast

23/03/2026

Our GSQ Blogger of the week is Marg Doherty writing about Susannah Armstrong Davern, an Australian nurse from both the Boer War and WW1.

Susannah Armstrong was not afraid of challenges. Her life was full of life-changing decisions that propelled her in various directions. Sometimes good and sometimes bad or sad. With that said, some things in her life offer up some mysteries. I cannot find a birth certificate or baptism for Susannah,...

22/03/2026

The birth of the travel guide, by Robert Fleming. From The National Archives

The birth of the travel guide 📚

During the 1830s and 1840s, expanding railway networks opened travel across Britain and Europe, allowing people to journey further and faster. Travel became more affordable and accessible to people who had never imagined journeying beyond their home cities or nearest towns. But with this new freedom came uncertainty. Where should travellers go, and what was worth seeing?

In 1836, Murray’s Handbooks for Travellers introduced star rated sights, offering practical guidance for navigating unfamiliar places. Soon after, Karl Baedeker’s iconic red guides added cultural context, local customs and beautifully crafted maps. Together, these pocket sized books shaped early tourism and influenced which destinations became must see locations.

Today, The National Archives holds more than 500 of these guidebooks, originally part of the British Transport Historical Records Library. They offer a vivid window into the birth of modern travel.

Explore the full story: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/explore-the-collection/stories/the-birth-of-the-travel-guide/

Catalogue reference: ZLIB 19/308 and ZLIB 19/69

22/03/2026

How Australia's first outback mosque was built. Published in The Conversation Australia + NZ in November, 2025.

Hergott Springs was used as a camel station on a crossroads to the goldfields during inland exploration. ‘Afghans’ built three mosques in this small outback town.
👉 https://theconversation.com/how-australias-first-outback-mosque-was-built-600km-north-of-adelaide-150-years-ago-261853?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook =1763522811

21/03/2026

The bombing of Katherine, N.T. March 1942. From Library & Archives NT

📅 On this day in 1942, Katherine was bombed during World War II as part of the Japanese air raids on northern Australia.

On 22 March, the town of Katherine became one of the many northern communities targeted in the Japanese campaign to disrupt Australian military operations. The bombing caused significant damage to key infrastructure, including the town’s railway line, and left the local population shaken by the violence of the attack.

Despite the destruction, Katherine's resilience shone through as the community worked to rebuild and recover in the years that followed. This event serves as a powerful reminder of the sacrifices made during the war, and the strength of the people who endured it.

Today, Katherine remains a place of history, with the echoes of wartime resilience still visible in the town’s spirit and the courage of its people.



Image: ‘Oscar Crabbe (driver) and personnel outside Q (rations) Store’, Katherine, 1942, Library & Archives NT, Oscar (Buster) Crabbe Collection, PH0470/0011, https://hdl.handle.net/10070/35164