There are some great opportunities to learn more about family history research in the next few months, and I will be taking advantage of them.

The Unlock The Past Expos are being held in four Australian States this year, starting with the NSW Expo in Coffs Harbour this weekend, on 3-4 June 2011.  There will be an exhibition hall with exhibitors from around the area and across the State; a great program in two streams, with something for everyone; and lots of prizes and special offers totalling thousands of dollars.

This is the first time, to my knowledge, that a range of events in regional centres like this has been tried, and I hope that many people take advantage of it.

History, Genealogy and Heritage Events

3-4 Jun 2011 - Unlock the Past New South Wales Expo (Coffs Harbour) - Coffs Harbour

24-25 Jun 2011 - Unlock the Past Queensland Expo (Cairns) - Cairns

22-23 Jul 2011 - Unlock the Past South Australia & Victorian Border Expo (Mt Gambier) - Mount Gambier

2-3 Sep 2011 - Unlock the Past Victorian Expo (Geelong) - North Geelong

I will be speaking on Social Media and Family History at all of these events, as well as giving demonstrations on a range of family history sites such as Find My Past and Scotlands People, and generally trying to be useful, so please come and say hello.

I will also be at the 2nd Annual New Zealand Family History Fair in Hamilton on 26-27 August, which promises to be even bigger and better than the first Fair last year. I will be speaking on Social Media and Family History and Google, helping out at the Australian Research stand, and generally trying to take in as much as possible.

I’m looking forward to learning as much as I can and meeting as many of you as can make it. Please come if you can!

The next Australian and New Zealand Genealogy class offered by Genclass.com starts on the 1st May. Genclass is a USA-based company that offers online training on a wide range of genealogical topics and geographic areas. The instructors are all experienced educators in the field of family history research. Courses last for a month, two lessons per week. Students receive the materials for the class by email and take part in online discussions with the instructor, who is also available for questions via email.

The Australia and New Zealand class is taught by Kerry Farmer, a member of the Education Committee of the Society of Australian Genealogists who has given classes to community college groups for over 10 years.

I have seen the preparation and commitment that Kerry puts into all of her classes and seminars and I can highly recommend this course.

You can see more details of the class topics here.

The New Zealand Registrar of Births Deaths and Marriages has released its online index for historical births deaths and marriages. Records are restricted according to their new privacy provisions to births more than 100 years old, still births more than 50 years old, marriages more than 80 years old, and deaths more than 50 years old where the deceased was born more than 80 years ago.

Once you have found a result that you think might be useful you can order a copy online for NZ$26.00 for records before 1874 and NZ$20.00 for records after 1874. This equates to about $21.00 or $16 Australian. If you are given a choice between a certificate and a computer printout make sure you ask for a computer printout – these are like photocopies and contain more information (and are cheaper!).

Birth results give parents’ given names for easier identification. Marriages can be searched by both parties’ names, although if you search by one name you don’t get the other one in the results list. 

The website is here: http://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.identityservices.govt.nz/search/.

It’s slow at the moment but that may be because so many people are trying it out, like me! Sometimes it gives up and asks you to try again. I’m sure these problems will be resolved in time.

The days of poring over microfiche a year or a few years at a time and then sending a form and waiting a few weeks are over.

If you are considering going to Auckland in January for the Australian Federation of Family History Organisations 12th Congress then let me remind you that the early-bird registration closes on the 30th September. If you were not considering going then let me try to change your mind!

This is a marvellous opportunity to hear speakers from around the world and to learn more about how to find your ancestors and discover more about their lives. The opportunity to mingle with other researchers is also a huge, often overlooked, benefit. People who think the way we do! People who don’t think it’s odd to include cemeteries in the sights of a town, and who understand how exciting each new discovery is.

Dick Eastman, the technology guru; Paul Allen, co-founder of Ancestry.com and now the CEO of FamilyLink; Elaine Collins, Commercial Director of FindMyPast; John Grenham, the Irish research guru; Michael Gandy, editor of the Society of Genealogists’ journal and a very entertaining speaker; Megan Smolenyak, an expert on DNA research; Cora Num, website guru; these are a few of the famous international speakers that will be lecturing and running workshops over the four days of the conference.

Topics cover research in Australia, England, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland, technology, DNA, and specific how-to sessions such as preserving documents and heirlooms and writing your family history. Many sessions run concurrently so that you can always find something of interest for every session, and some lectures are repeated at other times so you can sort out clashes in the programme with other lectures you want to see. Hands-on workshops are available in many of these subject areas as well.

Accommodation is available at the College where the conference will be run, or alternatives can be found in nearby motels.

These Congresses are only run every three years. The last one was in Darwin in 2006 and I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed it; it could have gone on for another four days and I would have been happy! The next one will be in Adelaide in 2012, which seems a long way away at the moment.

Here is the message from the Convenor, Richard Hollier:

REMINDER

For those of you who have not yet registered for the AFFHO 2009 Congress this email is to remind you that the earlybird registration closes on 30 September 2008.

Still undecided?

Look at the benefits:

• Around 15 speakers from outside Australasia
• Four consecutive lecture streams
• Plus parallel workshop stream with up to 4 additional options
• Networking with fellow genealogists from throughout the world
• On site accommodation in gorgeous surroundings
• Range of social events and tours
• Registration cost lower than previous AFFHO congresses and comparable to NZSG when compared on a daily cost
• Convenient online registration

Go online http://www.affhocongress2009.org and register now

Don’t miss this highlight on the 2009 genealogical calendar!!

Any questions or issues please email me or one of the congress committee. Contact details are on the website.

Regards

Richard

Richard Hollier
Conference Convenor
c/- 24 Gretel Place
Hillcrest, North Shore City 0627
New Zealand
Phone: +64 9 4190521
Email: convenor@affhocongress2009.org

I personally will be taking advantage of the opportunity to do some research on my long-neglected New Zealand ancestors and I am going over a week early. Perhaps I’ll see some of you there!