South Australian Genealogy & Heraldry Society

Home
Australia
Unley, SA
South Australian Genealogy & Heraldry Society

Genealogy SA
The official page for the South Australian Genealogy & Heraldry Society Inc. Postal address: PO Box 3114, Unley, South Australia, 5061.

Our library opening hours are:

Tuesday 10AM to 9PM, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday from 10AM to 4:30PM, and every 2nd & 4th Sunday from 1PM to 4:30PM.

10/10/2025

The Genealogy SA Library Open Day is on TOMORROW, Sunday 12 October!

Drop in to 201 Unley Road, between 10 am and 3 pm, and find out about Genealogy SA's library, resources, services, events and so much more!

We'll have library tours, photographic displays, DNA chats and more – plus free goodie bags while stocks last!

Find out more: www.facebook.com/events/2182631402256495

09/10/2025

NEW DATABASE UPDATE – BDM Marriage Registrations
www.genealogysa.org.au/resources/online-database-search

We are filling the gaps in our index of SA BDM Marriages! This update includes more than 8000 marriages from 1942, improving the completeness of our index (which covers records between 1842 and 1949). There are still a few gaps outstanding from the 1940s, so stay tuned for future updates as our team completes this work.

More information about available records can be found in the Information Sheet for the dataset. Thanks to our volunteers for transcribing the missing records to enable look up through our online database search functionality on the website, and to the BDM Registrar for their ongoing partnership.

Images: Genealogy SA Photographic Collection. P00244-05, Wedding of Donald Ross Hawkins and Patricia Margaret White, 1953. P00207-01, Wedding of Edward Albert Dansie and Rose Pitman, 1909.

07/10/2025

Visiting the Genealogy SA Library? Make sure you check out our picture-perfect photographic display, looking at the history of postcards in South Australia! Postcards appeared in SA in 1877, with picture postcards being developed in the 1890s. They make a fascinating window into our history.

Thanks as always to our photographic team for putting together another great display!

See the display at the Genealogy SA Library, 201 Unley Road, Unley
Tuesday 10.00am to 9.00pm
Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday 10.00am to 4.30pm
Selected public holidays 1.00pm to 4.30pm

05/10/2025

Looking for something to do on the long weekend? Visit the Genealogy SA Library!

We're open for the Labour Public Holiday on Monday 6 October, from 1 pm to 4:30 pm. You can browse our collections of books, journals, newspaper notices and records on microfiche. Plus, we offer in-library access to Ancestry, FindMyPast and other major genealogy services.

Genealogy SA Library, 201 Unley Road, Unley
Tuesday 10.00am to 9.00pm
Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday 10.00am to 4.30pm
Selected public holidays 1.00pm to 4.30pm
Genealogy SA members: FREE!
Visitors: $30 full day/$20 half day

Image: Genealogy SA Photographic Collection P00198-751, Glenelg Railway Company steam trains and railway workers in shed

03/10/2025

Join us for the final Wednesdays @ 1 presentation of 2025! Ian Smith, author of 'For Love of Country', will discuss 'How much evidence is enough, and are all sources equal?'

📆 Wednesday 5 November, 1:00 pm to 1:45 pm
📍 In the Genealogy SA Library, or online via Zoom
🎟 Free for Genealogy SA members, $20 non-members
⬇ Booking link in the comments ⬇

Ian Smith applies the investigative training and skills he acquired during twenty five years in law enforcement to his genealogical work. He tailors avenues of inquiry and pursues them in order to gather enough evidence to put each person’s name into print. But how much evidence is enough? Are all sources equal? How do you weigh the value of a source? In this talk he answers these questions in the context of solving complex genealogical puzzles while gathering the names of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from South Australia who have served the nation in peace and war since Federation.

01/10/2025

Check out the great topics lined up for our October Special Interest Group meetings!

Connect with your fellow family historians and register for one (or more!) of these online/hybrid meetings – FREE for Genealogy SA members! If you're not a member yet, you can attend one meeting as a visitor, so drop in and see what our Special Interest groups have to offer. Register via our website.

🗺 The Zilms @ Goltzen & Beyond, Wednesday 8 October, 7:30 pm, Germanic and Continental Europe Group, Hybrid

📜 Birth Records in England, Thursday 2 October, 7:30 pm, England Group, Hybrid

🍀 🧬 Irish DNA – is there such a thing? Monday 13 October, 7:30 pm, Irish & DNA Group, Online

💻 Personal Experiences with SA Research into BDM District Register Transcriptions, Tuesday 14 October, 7:00 pm, Family Historian Software Group, Online

📖 Copyright for Family History Writers, Thursday 16 October, 7:00 pm, Family History Writers Group, Online

… plus more from our other special interest groups! Visit our website for all the details (link in bio)

Image: Genealogy SA Photographic Collection P00198-302, Tena Regina [nee Kanopka], Helen and Michael Chigwidden, c1951.

29/09/2025

Learn how the resources in the Genealogy SA Library can help you find your family history! Join us on Tuesday morning for a tour to find out more.

11am, Tuesday 30 September, at 201 Unley Road, Unley.

Learn about our fantastic family history resources and the best way to navigate our extensive collections. No booking required, and the tour is FREE for Genealogy SA members ($20 for visitors, includes full-day access to our library resources with volunteer assistance).

We will be running tours throughout 2025 on the third Tuesday (7pm) and last Tuesday (11am), so if you can't make it today, pop next month's tour in your calendar!

26/09/2025

Coming up next week! Book now for Helen V Smith's fantastic presentation, 'Writing women back into your family history'.

📆 Wednesday 1 October, 1pm
📍 In the Genealogy SA Library, or online via Zoom
🎟 Free for Genealogy SA members, $20 non-members
⬇ Booking link in the comments ⬇

Throughout history, women have often held a secondary status as their identity is intertwined with the men in her life . She is her father’s daughter, her husband’s wife, her children’s mother. Society with its laws and social mores often restricted women’s access to education, employment and roles in public affairs. This has meant that women were not equally represented in the general genealogical records we use. However, we can, with some work and research, give the women in our family lines back their voice and their place in history.

Image: Jazz band, the Ingenues, at Central Station, 1928. Courtesy State Library of NSW

24/09/2025

Join the History Council of South Australia in Renmark for a day of panels, discussions, and a keynote lecture exploring the Riverland’s histories and connections to broader state and national stories.

📆 Thursday 9 October, Renmark Hotel

There will be displays and stalls from local history groups and State institutions, including the South Australian Genealogy & Heraldry Society – come and say hi to us if you're attending!

22/09/2025

Have you written a family history book this year, with a focus on a South Australian family? Consider entering it into the TT Reed Family History Book Award! Entries close 30 January 2026.

The award is presented by the South Australian Genealogy & Heraldry Society Inc. to the person or persons producing, in the opinion of the Society, the best family history in a given calendar year. The book must be published by a South Australian or be of a substantially South Australian family.

Image: Display of entries into the 2024 Family History Awards

19/09/2025

Would you like to start researching your family history, but don't know where to begin? Join us for our two-part online course, Getting Started with your Family History.

This seminar will be held over two online sessions:
👩‍🏫 Sunday 19th October at 10am-2pm
👩‍🏫 Sunday 26th October at 10am-2pm
Online via Zoom, with course materials and handouts
$49 Genealogy SA members / $99 non-members
Booking link in comments!

This online beginners course will teach you how to plan, research, record and organise your genealogical discoveries. It will include practical examples of family history research, information about how to access records, and tips to avoid common pitfalls.

'Getting Started with your Family History' focuses on ALL Australian states and territories, as well as overseas countries including the UK, Ireland, and Germany. Those without extensive South Australian ancestry are especially invited to attend.

All participants will receive a range of handouts to support the course material. At the end of each session, the presenters will be available to answer questions and moderate a general discussion. Each session will include a break for lunch as well as interactive activities.

Address

201 Unley Road
Unley, SA
5061

Website

https://www.genealogysa.org.au/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when South Australian Genealogy & Heraldry Society posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Practice

Send a message to South Australian Genealogy & Heraldry Society:

Want your practice to be the top-listed Clinic in Unley?