GSV News

Next Thursday 26 August at 7pm,

author Martin Playne will present this talk to the GSV's Victoria and Tasmania Discussion Circle.

This talk is free for all GSV Members to attend via Zoom. You will need to register via 'Events' on the website and you will receive a Zoom link. It is not too late to join GSV. If you are not a member JOIN HERE.

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The period spanning the years 1839 to 1854 was a fascinating one in the Port Phillip District. Melbourne had only been founded in 1835, and the Colony of Victoria was established in 1851. 

White settlers took possession of the lands of northern Victoria and elsewhere without either Aboriginal or government permission. This ad hoc settlement gave rise to disputed property boundaries and massacres of Aboriginal people. Lack of land ownership meant that squatters lived on properties with little security of tenure. By 1848 new government surveys came into effect, which led to better definition of boundaries. Improved longer-term lease arrangements and the concept of pre-emptive rights for purchase of land led to the end of the squatting era and the start of the settler movement. By about 1852 the Campaspe was mostly owned by settlers.

Martin Playne has spent eight years researching the social history of the Port Phillip District and his book Two Squatters: the lives of Dr George Playne and Daniel Jennings details the lives of two early pioneers and their influence on the formation of Victoria.

George Playne was born in Gloucester, England to a poor family. After some 22 years as a surgeon at Gloucester Infirmary, he emigrated with Daniel Jennings, a wealthy but eccentric investor and land agent, to Australia in 1839. Together they took up occupancy of Campaspe Plains Station - 200,000 acres, with 10,000 sheep. 

Join Martin as he explores the different roles that these two men had on the development of Victoria, and their achievements, which hitherto had not been explored. They epitomize many early settlers who made such contributions, but who have been barely recognised by historians. 

Martin will also examine squatting on the Mornington Peninsula for comparison and discuss the main difficulties faced by squatters at that time.

Handouts:

Bibliography and sources on squatting and the Port Phillip District

List of squatters and their properties in the Campaspe district

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Our Presenter

Martin Playne is a retired research scientist who has written many scientific works and has extensive experience as an editor and in genealogical research. He is a member of the Editorial Team for Ancestor - the quarterly magazine of the Genealogical Society of Victoria. 

Martin was awarded second place for his book Two Squatters in the Don Grant Award for the Best Australian Historical Biography with a family history focus. His book is available in print form via the website of BookPOD http://www.bookstore.bookpod.com.au

Martin’s blog site is at http://www.mplayne.wordpress.com.

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Thanks to Jean McConnachie, GSV Volunteer, for this post.

It has just been announced by AFFHO that the GSV's Ancestor journal has won the 2021 Nick Vine Hall Award for the best family history journal/newsletter in Australia and New Zealand, in category B for societies over 500 members.

The announcement was made at the beginning of the 2021 AAFHO National Family History Month opening session (by Zoom of course). This makes the fifth time the journal has received this award since 2009 - a real endorsement of the continuing value of the GSV's journal to genealogy and family history. 

Jenny Redman, President GSV, congratulated the Ancestor Edit team at its Zoom proofreading meeting this week: 'Once again your excellent work in producing journal has been recognised'.

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This Award honours Nick Vine Hall AM. With the Census due next week it is timely to recall that Nick represented AFFHO at a National level in a Save the Census Campaign in the mid-1980s. Nick was a strong voice in the campaign, which resulted in the Federal Government accepting the Saving our Census and Preserving Our History report. This permits citizens across Australia to 'opt in' and allow retention of their Census information, under closed access for 99 years, by the National Archives of Australia, and in so doing, make a valuable contribution to preserving Australia’s history for future generations. Read more about this here Census Time Capsule Consider selecting this option in your census return. 

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BE PART OF THIS AWARD-WINNING JOURNAL! 

You have a few weeks to get your entry in for this year's Ancestor Prize - closing 4 pm Friday 27 August. See details here 2021 Ancestor Writing Prize

Member Societies Showcase

 Gisborne Genealogical Group Inc

Dreaming of things to do once lockdown is over? How about participating in the Gisborne Genealogical Group’s Celtic Day on Saturday 28 August? 

Or visit their Family History Room? You could even support regional tourism by making a weekend of it and doing both!

Make the most of your trip to Gisborne and also call in The Gisborne and Mount Macedon Districts Historical Society centre, just on the other side of the library from GGG. This is open Wednesdays.

CELTIC DAY SCHEDULE

Saturday 28 August 2021

9.30am – Start 

9.45am - Cornish harp music, followed by – Lyn Hall, ‘The Celts, Cornwall, and the Cornish in Australia’

11.00am – Break

11.15am – Scottish harp music, followed by – Joy Roy, ‘Scottish Kirk Session Records’

12.30pm – Lunch Break

1.15pm – Irish harp music, followed by - Susie Zada, ‘You can’t research Irish ancestors - All the records were lost – WRONG!’

2.40pm – Question time

3.00pm – Afternoon tea

4.00pm – Finish

Bookings are essential.Contact Lorna Jackson (lorna_jackson@bigpond.com).

Tickets are limited and subject to COVID-19 restrictions. 

GGG members: $20 | non-members: $25

FAMILY HISTORY ROOM

The Family History Room is located next to the Gisborne Library. It is open to the public between 2.00pm and 5.00pm on Thursdays, except in January. Generally Bookings are essential. Phone 5428 3925. Gold coin donation would be appreciated.

In the week leading up to 28 Aug 2021, the GGG room will be open daily, 1pm to 4pm. 

The Family History Library contains:

• over 1200 reference books
• thousands of fiche
• data CDs and DVDs
• journals
• maps

You can view the catalogue here [https://www.ggg.org.au/catalogue]

Additional family history resources (e.g. Ancestry.com, findmypast, Trove and over 300 years of UK newspapers) are available on the Gisborne Library computer system. For more information visit theGisborne Library’s Family History page [https://www.ncgrl.vic.gov.au/e-resources/familyhistory]

For further information about the Gisborne Genealogical Group, please see their webpage: https://www.ggg.org.au

Images 

Top: Family History Room of the Gisborne Genealogical Group, part of the old Council Chambers and Mechanics Institute complex. (Photo courtesy of GGG). 

Centre and bottom: Gisborne and Mount Macedon Districts Historical Society in the restored old Gisborne Court House (1858). (Photos courtesy of G&MMDHC).

Acknowledgments: Julie Dworak, GGG;  Kristy Love, GSV volunteer.

[Other GSV Member Societies might like to showcase their activities in this new section of our blog. Ed]

The significant underfunding of the National Archives of Australia (NAA) affecting their capacity to digitise their unique holdings, has received a large amount of press recently. While a recent funding boost is welcome news, it is important to highlight the value of the NAA’s collection and ensure its future.

One record set of vital importance is that of the Victorian Certificate Exempting from Dictation Test (CEDT). 

Last month the Chinese Australian Family Historians of Victoria (CAFHOV), with the support of the NAA, made these records available as a searchable dataset at https://www.cafhov.com/vic-cedt-index/

You can learn about these records next week in a free online presentation at GSV. 

The Victorian Certificates Exempting from Dictation Test dataset

Free online talk 20 July at 7-8 pm

Dr Sophie Couchman and Terry Young, a CAFHOV member whose ancestors appear in the Index, will present a free online talk about the database and the stories that have emerged from it, at 7 - 8 pm, Tuesday 20 July 2021.

Register here: https://staging.gsv.org.au/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=1842

Between 1904 and 1959 customs officials recorded the names, ages, nationalities, occupations, residences and travel details of Chinese (and some Indian and Lebanese) Victorians who travelled overseas under a certificate that exempted them from sitting the notorious dictation test on their return – otherwise known as a CEDT. These registers contain a wealth of information for genealogists.

Sophie and Terry will describe the Victorian CEDT Index website as well as the registers, who applied for them, and what information can be found there. 

The CAFHOV project is a great example of the ways that a communityof family historians and genealogists can work with archives to increase the accessibility of significant record sets. The forthcoming talk will also be of interest to members who want to learn about ways to open up access to genealogical data.

The presenters

Dr Sophie Couchman is a curator and professional historian based in Melbourne with a particular interest in migration history and the role photographs play in how we tell history. Sophie recently assisted Jeff Fatt (aka the Purple Wiggle) on SBS’s ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’. She is a founding member of the Chinese Australian Family Historians of Victoria (CAFHOV).  

Terry Young is an enthusiastic family historian who got the bug a few years ago. His grandfather and father were both market gardeners. Their story is typical of last century Chinese Australian migration and Terry enjoys researching and sharing that story with other historians. He is Vice President, CAFHOV.

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Image: Register of Certificates Exempting from the Dictation Test, Melbourne. NAA: B6003, 3.

Hannah Barlow (nee Rex) was admitted as a pauper to the workhouse in Kings Road, London run by the St Pancras Poor Law Union, sometime after Oliver's time.  But your ancestor may have shared Oliver's experiences.

At the next meeting of the London Discussion Circle (free for GSV members), 10:30 at GSV on Thursday 27 June, we will have a presentation and discussion on the Workhouses of London and the real Oliver Twist.  We'll discuss life in the workhouses, the story of the real Oliver Twist and how we can research the lives of our ancestors who found themselves in a London workhouse. 

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Workhouses of London and the real Oliver Twist

The London workhouses differed from those in the regional areas of England.  The regional workhouses were generally newer and purpose-built to meet the requirements of the 1836 poor laws.  Many of the London workhouses had a longer history and operated from older, cramped and decayed structures.  The rapidly increasing numbers of poor from late in the 18th century had parish officers taking radical (many would say inhumane) approaches to reducing the demands on the parish purse.  A booklet published around 1830 set out the desperate efforts of London's St Pancras workhouse to be rid of the burden of maintaining the children of the poor. This involved apprenticing them out to miserable lives of enslavement to chimneysweeps and sending cartloads of children to the 'satanic mills' of the north, where many of the children were starved, brutalised, maimed and killed.  Terrible though many of the London workhouses were, the life in the northern mills left many children pining for a return to the comparative safety and security of the workhouse and their now distant families.  The life of one of these children is believed to have strongly influenced Charles Dickens; his story of Oliver Twist's early years carries a marked resemblance to the even more horrific true-life story of one of the St Pancras orphan boys.

The eight discussion circles convened by the GSV include one on South West England (SWERD) and a new one for Victoria and Tasmania. These Discussion Circles are a great way to share your queries and pool your discoveries.

The Victoria and Tasmania Discussion Circle has just been started. It meets monthly on the 4th Friday of the month at 10.30 am to 11.30 am and is convened by Ruthie Wirtz. Their next meetings are on Fri 28 June and then Fri 26 July. All GSV Members can take part at no cost - it is part of your membership benefits. Ruthie can be contacted at ruthie.wirtz@gmail.com.

[ Courtesy of Libraries Tasmania Online Collection Item no. PH30/1/2067 ].

At the May meeting of the South West England Research and Discussion Circle (SWERD) they explored the maps of that region. Stephen Hawke, SWERD convenor, reminds us that:

'Maps are a vital (but sometimes under-used) resource for our family history research. Accessing a series of maps produced over decades or centuries is an important part of understanding your ancestors' 'places'. They can reveal changes over time that would have impacted on your ancestors' lives.  For example, in Somerset, a mere forty year span between two maps (1782 and 1822) held at GSV gives evidence of the draining of the Levels, the rapid development of coal mines and the growth of towns. Other features of maps such as new roads, turnpikes, canals, railroads etc. provide clues as to how your ancestors moved around the county or further afield. Estate and tithe maps may help pinpoint your ancestors' homes and the land they worked. 

Where were the markets, the pubs, and the schools, the cemetery used by your ancestors?  Where were the mills, mines, ports and factories that provided work for your ancestors?  A little delving and study of old maps can answer many questions and open up new ideas for researching your ancestors' lives.' 

In other recent meetings they have discussed the Widows of Cornwall, Devon & Exeter Industrial & Reform Schools, Dorset Machine Breakers, local history resources and the Bristol Hearth Tax.

SWERD next meets on 12 July.

Member Society Report 2019

By Michael Rumpff, GSV Councillor

On Saturday May 25, the Genealogical Society Victoria played host to our Member Societies with our Annual get-together at the GSV in Queen Street, Melbourne.

The GSV has 59 Member Societies, and three Service Groups and it is important that we have this meeting to detail the things that the GSV has achieved in the past year, and just as importantly, to hear what our Member Societies have been up to. Representatives arrive from all over the State, and it is pleasing to see everyone willing to travel long distances to be there.

We had two key areas to discuss this year. At the GSV we have been pleased with the growth of our Discussion Circles. The latest, Victoria and Tasmania, had its inaugural meeting just the day before. So, a select group of convenors were asked to present a snapshot of their Circle, and the challenge was presented to the Member Societies – how might they take advantage of these circles, how might we take the Circles to those Member Societies, or how might they adapt and create their own Discussion Circle? Suggestions ranged from Skypecontact through to bus tours.

The second item was the contentious issue of the changes to the BDM website, and the angst it has caused to us all. The answer to this problem would seem to be Susie Zada, who provided an excellent in-depth solution to our issues. Susie was at the meeting as representative of the Geelong Family History Group, but for this presentation, she wore her other hat as representative of VAFHO, the Victorian Association of Family History Organisations. Very early on, Susie recognised the problem at BDM, and organised a one-on-one meeting with them, which now continue on a regular basis. An excellent presentation of these meetings is to be found on the VAFHO blog at https://vafho.com/This site presents all the identified problems, and their status. Susie deserves a vote of thanks for taking on this project single-handedly and working on behalf of all Victorian genealogists.

Once again, the day proved to be terrific. Social activity, and good information exchange. Next year’s meeting will be on Saturday 23 May.

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This Saturday 13 April 10.30 - 11.30 AM the GSV hosts a talk by Robyn Ansell on Chinese-Australian family history. It is not too late to book for her fascinating presentation. Robyn is a founding member of the Chinese-Australian Family Historians of Victoria.

You can book at the GSV website HERE.

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Even if you have a Euro-centric ('white') Australian heritage going back far enough, to pre-Federation Australia, you may well have links with the story of the Chinese in Australia.

I have long-treasured a couple of ubiquitous glazed ginger jars that were always amongst the vases when I was young. Apparently they were a leftover relic from my grandfather.  My father's chance remark once, that his father had spent his youth running around in the Chinatown of Bendigo, made them special to me. Years later I came across other family ancestors who were at the Mount Alexander (Castlemaine) goldfields in 1855. At that time one writer calculated that there were six Chinese for every five Europeans alluvial miners there. My great-great grandfather left probably to follow the gold to Yass, NSW and this put him there at the time of the infamous Lambing Flat Riots in 1861. You can learn a lot about the times from the history of the Chinese in Australia. 

Today my son and grandchildren are members of the Chinese Youth Society of Melbourne and will be performing inside lions at the coming Bendigo Easter Festival. 

Bill Barlow

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Coming up soon the GSV is privileged to host a Seminar on the culture, traditions and ancestry of the Highland Clans of Scotland presented by an international expert, Graeme Mackenzie of 'Highland Roots', Inverness.

Friday 22 March 2019 10.00 am - 12.30 pm at GSV. 

Graeme's seminar will cover:

'The Culture and Traditions of the Highland Clans' - the social customs, political practices and the often colourful traditions of the clans, and

'Tracing your Ancestors in the Highlands of Scotland' - the sources for genealogical research in Scotland, showing how they are used and issues regarding the use of Gaelic names.

Get in quick to book your place here on the GSV website https://staging.gsv.org.au/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=1100

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Clan and Family History in the Highlands

Graeme Mackenzie MA founded 'Highland Roots' (http://www.highlandroots.net/index.html) in Inverness, from where it has been offering personal family history research for over 25 years. Graeme's work as a clan historian and organiser of gatherings - for MacKenzies and MacMillans in particular - has given him a unique insight into the Highland Clans, past and present, about which he has frequently lectured in North America, and also in Australasia.  In recent years he's taken the lead in the creation of the Association of Highland Clans and Societies which brings together over 45 clans and names in the Highlands of Scotland. 

Graeme's genealogical journey is rich and varied.

Graeme Mackenzie

He won a scholarship to study history at Cambridge University, and after graduation taught the subject part-time while working in a number of other jobs, including pulling pints at the historic “Eagle” pub – where he created a cricket team and helped organise the Cambridge Pub and Social Clubs Cricket League. In the early 1980s Graeme created local music magazine “Blue Suede News”, and became a part-time presenter on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire. He was also involved for a number of years with the committee that organised the world famous “Cambridge Folk Festival”. In the mid-1980s Graeme’s BBC work moved into the production and presentation of music and current affairs documentaries, and in 1986-87 he conceived, researched, wrote, and presented a major ten part historical series – “A Power in the Land” – which looked at national history from a regional perspective, and was one of the first such series to be networked on local radio. 

It was whilst researching East Anglian families for this series that Graeme began to take an interest in genealogy; and this was eventually to lead him to return to Scotland to investigate his own ancestry, and to learn all the Scottish history he'd missed whilst studying “British History” at an English university. In 1989 Graeme set up as Highland Roots in Inverness with the intention of specialising in the history and genealogy of Highland clans. Though he’s subsequently had spells living elsewhere in Scotland - particularly in Edinburgh, where his father and grandfather were born - his spiritual home remains the “Capital of the Highlands” where he’s an active member of the Gaelic Society of Inverness.  



In 1993 Graeme was appointed Curator of the Clan MacMillan International Centre in Renfrewshire, with a particular brief to organise the collection and publication of information on the clan’s history and genealogy (a connection stemming from his grandmother Catherine Macmillan who came from Glen Urquhart on the shores of Loch Ness). This involved building the first Clan MacMillan International website and creating Project MAOL (Macmillan Ancestry On Line). Graeme’s also been instrumental in organising a number of successful clan gatherings, with tours, talks, concerts, pageants, and ceilidhs - including significant fund-raising elements for the major charity that was founded in the early twentieth century by a bard of the clan; i.e. Macmillan Cancer Support. 

Since 1995 Graeme has acted as Seanachaidh for Clan MacKenzie, compiling material on Mackenzie genealogy from published sources and through research commissioned from him by individual clanspeople; and he served for two years as Chairman of the Clan Mackenzie Society of Scotland & the UK. In the course of his work as a professional genealogist he's collected a considerable amount of information on other Scottish families and names, and is pursuing a particular interest in the nature of the Scottish clan, and the evolution of the so-called “clan system”. His involvement with clan gatherings has given Graeme considerable experience attracting overseas visitors to the Highlands, which has led to him being invited to join VisitScotland's "Ancestral Tourism Group". He's also a member of the Clans and Families' Forum set up in 2014 by the Scottish Government. 



Graeme was Chairman of the Highland Family History Society - an organisation with hundreds of members worldwide - from 2007 until 2013, when he was elected Chairman of the Association of Highland Clans and Societies. For many years he's been attending Highland Games and Clan Gatherings in Canada and the USA to meet and talk to MacMillans and MacKenzies, and to give presentations and lectures on Scottish history and genealogy at Celtic Events and to Scottish Interest Groups. In 2014 he undertook a month-long lecture tour in New Zealand and Australia, whence he hopes to return in 2019. Graeme has written extensively on Scottish clan and family history.

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This Seminar is not to be missed.

Graeme's bio courtesy of Highland Roots website, accessed 28/02/2019.