South Australian Genealogy & Heraldry Society

03/09/2025

Our September Special Interest Groups are full of fascinating topics to help you connect with your fellow family historians! These online or hybrid meetings are 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!

💻 Open Session – Bring Your Questions – Family Historian Software Group, Tuesday 9 September, 7:00 pm, Online

🧬 Solving a DNA Dilemma Together – DNA in Family History Group, Wednesday 17 September, 7:30 pm, Online

💰 Scotland's Poor Laws – Scotland Group, Sunday 21 September, 2:00 pm, Online

🗺 Who were Buchsfelders? – Germanic & Continental Europe Group, Wednesday 10 September, 7:30 pm, Hybrid

📖 A Journey of Discovery: writing about your unexpected finds – Family History Writers Group, Thursday 18 September, 7:00 pm, Hybrid

🍀 Key dates in Irish History: creating a framework for your Irish Family – Irish Group, Monday 8 September, 7:30 pm, Online

📜 Where to Find County Records for Staffordshire – England Group, Thursday 4 September, 7:30 pm, Hybrid

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

Image: Genealogy SA Photographic Collection P00091-038, Caroline Lorna Knispel (nee Weber) with a small dog, c1920s.

01/09/2025

Announcing the results of the 2024 Family History Awards!

For the 2024 Article of the Year Award, we congratulate Kathy Ahwan on her winning article, 'Private William Horace Lamshed (1894-1917) Faithful Even unto Death' (The South Australian Genealogist, Vol 51 No 4, November 2024). We would also like to congratulate Selina Lucarini for her Highly Commended article, 'Women in the Archives' (The South Australian Genealogist, Vol 51 No 1, February 2024), and Ian Penrose for his Highly Commended article 'Forgotten Emma: A Story of my Lutheran Ancestor' (The South Australian Genealogist, Vol 51 No 1, February 2024).

For the 2024 TT Reed Award, two entries were noted as a 'Good Read': we would like to congratulate author Kay Boon for her book 'Hampton's gold: Henry Hampton, Louisa Lane, Elizabeth Hardiman, Pioneers of South Australia and their families' and authors Colin Doudy and Alice Hyde for their book 'William Doudy 1808-1886 and his Descendants'.

In total, 9 books and 21 articles were celebrated, with more than 30 people in attendance at the Society Library. Robert Blair, Genealogy SA president, opened the event, and the TT Reed Book Award was presented by Andrew Peake, chair of the judging panel. Helen Livingston, chair of the Marketing and Promotions Committee, presented the Article of the Year Awards. The presentation was followed by a delicious afternoon tea.

We thank all entrants for their rich contribution to our library collection and our journal. Submissions for the 2025 TT Reed award are now open – head to our website for more information.

29/08/2025

Coming up next week: find out more about the Ryerson Index with our September Twilight Talk!

The Ryerson Index in the 2020s
Tuesday 2 September, 7:00 pm
In the Genealogy SA Library or online via Zoom
FREE for Genealogy SA members, $20 for guests

The Ryerson Index is a free index to death notices appearing in Australian newspapers. In this presentation, John Graham will discuss how the index has changed to meet the challenges resulting from the mass closure of regional newspapers, and how they plan to stay useful and relevant in the future.

25/08/2025

Join us on Tuesday morning for a tour of the Genealogy SA library!

11am, Tuesday 26 August, 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!

22/08/2025

Learn how to use DNA in your family history research with our ONLINE beginner's course! Book in quick, as places are very limited.

For this course we are offering a series of three online workshops:
👩‍🏫 Monday 15th September, 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm
💬 Monday 22nd September, 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm (optional drop in session)
👩‍🏫 Monday 29th September, 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm
Online via Zoom, with course materials and handouts
$89 Genealogy SA members / $139 non-members

Join us for this online beginner’s workshop where we introduce the basics of DNA research for genealogy and give hands on instruction. You will learn how to best approach your results, how to sort your matches into groups for later analysis, and how to use this data to verify your family tree. The course will use examples primarily from Ancestry.com with some reference to MyHeritage.com as well.

It is essential that you have tested your DNA with one of these two companies and already received your results before attending. You must also have a family tree on Ancestry/MyHeritage with as much detail as possible and to which your DNA results are linked.

Join us for this online beginner’s workshop where we introduce the basics of DNA research for genealogy and give hands on instruction. You will...

20/08/2025

Don't bury your head in the sand – explore your family history in the Genealogy SA Library!

Find your family history with our extensive resources, including South Australian BDM records, newspaper death notices, burial records and more! Plus, enjoy in-library access to Ancestry, MyHeritage, FindMyPast, The Genealogist, FamilySearch Affiliate resources and other must-have genealogy tools.

We also have a massive collection of books, journals and records, including family and local histories, how-to books, records on microfiche and more. Genealogy SA members can even borrow select titles – just ask our helpful volunteers.

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
FREE for Genealogy SA members, $30 for visitors (full day access)

Image: Genealogy SA Photographic Collection, P00143-30, Ostrich farm near Port Augusta, SA, c1910s.

18/08/2025

Feeling lost in the library? Join us on Tuesday evening for a Genealogy SA library tour and get the most out of our rich resources.

7pm, Tuesday 19 August, 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!

16/08/2025

Congratulations to our Journal Editor, Kathy Ahwan, and to all the writers who contributed articles for the November 2024 edition of our journal, which has been awarded runner-up in the AFFHO Family History Month Nick Vine Hall Award for 2025.

Members of Genealogy SA can read this issue, and many more, by logging in to the 'My Account' section of our website, and clicking through to the 'SA Genealogist'. The August 2025 issue of the journal has just been released, so log in today for some great family history articles.

The Nick Vine Hall Award is awarded annually to member societies (in two categories based on membership) for the best family history journal/newsletter in Australia and New Zealand. AFFHO provides this award to encourage its member societies to produce quality journals/newsletters, and to honour Nick Vine Hall AM.

15/08/2025

Congratulations to the South Australian Genealogy & Heraldry Society Research and Development Committee and Teams, and to all the winners of this year's Bernadette Bean SA Records Management Service Excellent Award

🎉 ANNOUNCING THE 2025 SA RECORDS MANAGEMENT SERVICE EXCELLENCE AWARD RECIPIENTS!

We’re thrilled to announce the 2025 Bernadette Bean SA Records Management Service Excellence Award recipients!

Created in memory of the late Bernadette Bean, this prestigious award celebrates individuals and teams whose innovation, leadership and dedication have made an outstanding impact in:
- Records, information, knowledge, archives, museum and library collections management.
- Preserving history, cultural heritage and community memory.

🏆 2025 AWARD RECIPIENTS

Winner’s Award 🏅

• Christopher Mantle – President, Port Lincoln History Group

Runners-Up Awards 🏅

• Corporate Records Management Team – Northern Adelaide Local Health Network - NALHN

• MOD. (Museum of Discovery) Team at University of South Australia

• Research and Development Committee and Teams – South Australian Genealogy & Heraldry Society

Merit Awards 🏅

• Mark Sammons – Clinical Documentation Manager, Barossa Hills Fleurieu Local Health Network (BHFLHN)

• Samantha Everett – Former Information Management Project Officer, City of Unley

💡 See the exceptional achievements of the award recipients by visiting our Current & Past Award Winners webpage https://bbrmaward.com/home-page/award-nominations/current-and-past-nominations/

Whilst honouring excellence, this award also provides an inspiration to others by showcasing best practice, innovation, leadership and service improvements shaping our future and preserving our past.

👏 Congratulations to all the 2025 award recipients!

A special thank you to RIMPA Global for their continued endorsement and support. Don’t miss the 2025 RIMPA Live Convention https://www.rimpa.com.au/events/rimpa-live-2025.html, Melbourne, 28–30 October 2025.

📖 Learn more about Bernadette’s legacy by visiting 🔗 Bernadette’s Story https://bbrmaward.com/home-page/bernadettes-story/ and our award website 🌐 https://bbrmaward.com

13/08/2025

Once Australia’s “Queen of Song”, Gladys Lillian Moncrieff OBE (13 April 1892 – 8 February 1976) was a soprano who appeared in musical theatre and on recordings both here and overseas. She was fondly known as 'Our Glad'. She gave this photo to Adelaide’s Harry Strachan, who was involved in theatre and film production. It was signed: “To Harry, Best wishes always, Gladys”

Image: P00108-58, Signed photo of Gladys Lillian Moncrieff.

11/08/2025

Bookings close soon for the Genealogy SA 2024 South Australian Family History Awards. Join us at 2pm on Sunday 24 August at the Genealogy SA Library. Grab your ticket now – link in comments!

At this event, we will announce the results of the Article of the Year Award 2024 and the TT Reed Family History Book Award 2024. Following the presentation, guests can enjoy a delicious afternoon tea, with a selection of sweet and savoury canapes plus refreshments. If you have any dietary restrictions, please let us know in the booking form. Tickets are $20 per person, including afternoon tea and refreshments.