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Activities 2010

Dates of meetings and other activities are added to this page as arrangements are finalised. On most occasions a brief summary of the event is added after completion. Exhibitions, seminars, open days etc in which members may be interested are listed in our monthly newsletter. Frequently, some members attend & the more unusual of these are included.

Committee meeting dates are listed for member information.

JANUARY

January Newsletter for Downloading

Friday 22nd - committee meeting

Tuesday 26th - Australia Day

As usual the Blue Mountains Family History Society was represented at the Australia Day celebrations in Glenbrook. Special thanks to Don, Brian and Jan for their work during the day especially set up early in the morning and clean up late in the afternoon. Also thanks to those who helped at the Display. Volunteers were busy all day helping/explaining/assisting those who popped in; at times it was hectic with enquiries.

Here's Don and Brian having a rest after setting up and before the heat of the day hit

FEBRUARY

February Newsletter for Downloading

Monday 1st - Library volunteers resume duty for 2010

Friday 12th - Helen Dickinson, NSW Lands Research Specialist to talk about the valuable resources at the NSW Lands Dept

A large attendance of members and visitors were present to hear Helen Dickinson speak. Her topic was well received and generated many questions from those in attendance. Helen spoke of the valuable source of information the Land Titles office was with records dating back to the earliest land grants. Also a convict, many were able to obtain substantial lands. As well, records held at the Office also refer to Wills and Probate and these are available at the Kingswood Reading Room of NSW State Records. These records are often complete with lists of belongings valued for Probate.

Friday 26th - committee meeting.

MARCH

March Newsletter for Downloading

Thursday 4th - first outing for the year will be before the March General Meeting, on Thursday, 4 March. Following up our talk by Helen Dickinson at the February Meeting, Pauline has arranged a tour of the DPI holdings at the NSW Department of Lands in Sydney, with Helen. The cost of the tour will be $20 and our group will travel to Sydney by train, meeting Helen at 11.00 a.m. Pauline will have a sheet ready, at the general meeting, to take down names of those members interested in attending. Pauline is organising this tour, as Don will be away.

Friday 12th - General Meeting. Interest Groups

These groups - CONVICTS, ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, IRELAND - will be convened by a member of the Society and also have a scribe to record the discussion. These groups are designed for members to share their discoveries and knowledge as well as seek assistance from the group to overcome a "brickwall".

It is quite incredible how much knowledge we each possess, even if we don't recognise it ourselves, and helping others is an important goal of our Society.

Friday 26th - committee meeting

APRIL

April Newsletter for Downloading

Friday 9th - Workshop - Leisure & Entertainment from our youth
Thirty-six members and visitors were in attendance for this lively meeting and workshop. Gauging by the intensity of discussion in each of the three groups and the laughter generated, people remembered the leisure and entertainment activities of their youth with great happiness and fondness.
I'm sure the publication to be forthcoming from this workshoop will be well worth purchasing and reading.

There will be a society outing on Thursday, 15 April to the Macquarie Exhibition at the Museum of Sydney, cnr Bridge & Phillip Streets, Sydney. 1810: Expanding Sydney. The train departs Springwood at 9.05 a.m. Cost $10, or $5 concession. Bring or buy your lunch. Meet Don at Springwood Station or join the train in the second carriage. Pauline H will be taking down names of those intending to attend on Friday at the general meeting

Friday 23rd - committee meeting

MAY

May Newsletter for Downloading

Friday 14th - General Meeting - Guest Speaker - John Low on Researching Hints

The outing for May will be to Parramatta, on Wednesday, 19 May. Travel to Parramatta by 9.06 a.m. train from Springwood, second carriage. Don Graham has arranged for the Curator of the Parramatta Heritage Centre, Gay Hendricksen (a BMFHS member) to meet the group at the Parramatta Railway Station, then to catch the free loop bus to near the Parramatta Leagues Club and walk to the Female Factory site. Then to catch the loop bus back to the Heritage Centre for a tour and for those interested, a tour of Local Studies and their collection. Take your lunch or buy. The walking from the loop bus to the Female Factory site may be a bit much for some. If this is the case, you can go straight to the Heritage Centre by loop bus and wait for the group to arrive.

The outing for May to Parramatta was enjoyed by a small number of members who appreciated the time and information readily given by Gay Hendriksen, the Curator of the Parramatta Heritage Centre.

A PHOTO GALLERY of photographs taken on the excursion is available.

Here's Don and Gai at the gates to the former RC Orphan School in Parramatta.

Friday 28th - committee meeting

JUNE

June Newsletter for Downloading

Friday 11th - General Meeting - Special Interests

The June meeting was Special Interest Groups with the same three groups as the previous one, England/Wales, Scotland and Ireland,but this time the focus was on on the geographical settings and backgrounds for the areas: landforms, climate, people and occupations. The groups were well attended and members were pleased with the discussions held in each group. Although not required, the England Interest Group have compiled a report of their discussions.

The outing for June (24th June) to Mulgoa and Warragamba Dam was enjoyed by a small number of members who appreciated the time and effort Dong Graham made in organising the excursion. Members visited the historic churches of Mulgoa where they had a fine morning tea. Lunch was spent at the Warragamab Dam Picnic area and park plus information centre and lookout recently re-opened after extensive work was completed on the dam, pumphouse and spillway.

A PHOTO GALLERY of photographs taken on the excursion is available.

Here's Don and the group enjoying morning tea in historic St Thomas' Church

Friday 25th - committee meeting

JULY

July Newsletter for Downloading

Friday 9th - General Meeting - Workshop

The July meeting will be a Workshop of Home Remedies. Please think about the remedies and methods used to treat people when you were a child. As well as bringing remedies and methods to treat people from when you were a child, also bring other home solutions for the house, for cleaning, for the garage and for the garden. The transcripts from each group plus, we hope, lots of individual submissions, will be collated into another booklet as we did with Transport and will shortly publish Shopping.

The excursion for July was to Susannah Place Museum at 11.00 am on Thursday 29th July 2010. Susannah Place, 5 mins from Circular Quay, provides an insight into the richness of community life in The Rocks in the 19th Century. Some Photographs are available of the excursion as well as photographs of Cockatoo Island also visited on the excursion.

Some of the group following the tour guide into Susannah Place Museum

Friday 23rd - committee meeting

AUGUST

August Newsletter for Downloading

Friday 13th - General Meeting - Guest Speaker - Ken Goodlet on general Researching Hints
Mr Ken Goodlet is a local Blue Mountains historian and author. Ken has written two books on the history and places in the Blue Mountains: Mountain Springtime: a history of Blue Mountains Grammar School published in 2002; and Hazelbrook & Woodford: a story of two Blue Mountains towns published in 2006. Ken Goodlet is an outstanding speaker. His knowledge of historical research, tips and techniques benefited all members and visitors, of whom there were quite a number. He spoke of his own family and of the families in Malaysia where he worked for many years. He also discussed his author and publishing careers with tips on a sucessful publishing of family histories.

One excursion for August was a combined history walk of Springwood with members of the Blue Mountains Historical Society, led by John Low. Monday, 16th August 2010 from 10.00 am. The walk was most sucessful with over 25 people from the Family History Society and the Historical Society in attendance. John Low provided handouts with naotes of the historical places covered on the walk and his narratives of the early residents and their homes and places of occupation was fascinating. Thank you, John.

Friday 27th - committee meeting

SEPTEMBER

September Newsletter for Downloading

Friday 10th - General Meeting - Special Interest Groups

Why did our families/ancestors migrate to Australia? For some of us this is an easy question, they had a one-way ticket compliments of the British justice system. For the most of us however, our ancestors weren't convicts but came here for a miriad of reasons. This was the opportunity to share your ancestor's immigration stories. Why not consider writing a short article for our quarterly journal, Explorers' Tree, about your immigrant ancestor?

Thursday 16th - Excursion to Lancer Barracks at Parramatta

The Society excursion for September was to the Lancer Barracks at Parramatta on Thursday 16th September, 2010.

The Lancers train at Lancer Barracks where the museum building, Linden House also stands. The buildings form the oldest continuously used military barracks on the mainland of Australia. They were erected on the orders of Governor Macquarie to replace earlier barracks in Parramatta town. Commenced in 1818, they were completed in 1820, the architect was Lieutenant John Watts of the 46th Regiment. They were to stand in an area of 3.25ha, and were designed for a company (approximately 100 officers and men).

For further information visit Lancer Barracks

To view a selection of photographs taken by member Pauline H, see our Lancer Barracks Gallery.

Friday 24th - committee meeting

OCTOBER

October Newsletter for Downloading

Friday 8th - General Meeting - Workshop - Food and Meals of our Anncestors

Do you possess your great-grandmother's recipe book or maybe just her recipe for Christmas Pudding? How about a shopping list from the 19th or early 20th century? Even a diary of one of your forebears or a menu from a long distant wedding? These items and more are so valuable as we develop an insight into the lives of those who came before us. Our study of family history is much more than just Births, Marriages and Deaths. Our study is of the lives they lived whether it be a life of privilege or one of hardship all had to eat to live. It might have been a grey gruel or golden goose on the table but it certainly was far different to what we eat today. And maybe with such obesity in this era we may have something to learn from our ancestors. Our WORKSHOP for October will examine foods and meals and how they have changed. A Workshop not to be missed.

Thursday 21st - October outing to historic Richmond was enjoyed by a small group of members. A number of historic homes were visited, including Hobartville, the former home of William Cox Jnr, now a famous horse stud.

Friday 22nd - committee meeting

NOVEMBER

November Newsletter for Downloading

Friday 12th - Annual General Meeting (AGM)

November Annual General Meeting: Nomination forms for the AGM will go out in the October edition of The Explorers' Tree magazine. Nominations for committee membership are required 7 days prior to the AGM. As some members on the current committee are thinking of standing down, this might be the time for members to consider whether they would like to become a committee member. Being on the committee involves attending a monthly meeting at someone's home on a rotating basis. After the Society's business has been attended to, these meetings usually become a social event with everyone taking a plate.

Thursday 18th - The November outing will be a day out to Macquarie Lighthouse by train, loop bus, river cat, ferry and bus. No tour of the lighthouse has been planned, but the journey should be enjoyable and there is plenty to see at Watsons Bay. Catch the 8.25 a.m. train from Katoomba or 9.06 a.m. from Springwood. Bring your lunch or buy fish and chips at Doyle's take-away on the pier at Watsons Bay. Information booklet $2.00 to Don Graham. You can still put your name down, if you wish to go. Sheet on Treasurer/Secretary's table on Friday.

Friday 26th - committee meeting

DECEMBER

December Newsletter for Downloading

Friday 10th - Christmas function

Our December outing was to Mount Victoria to the Imperial Hotel where we had a delightful meal as our Christmas Party 2010. Entertainment consisted of two trivia quizes; one with challenging questions relation to Christmas, and the other was a 'name that celebrity'. As well the Christmas Raffle was drawn and a number of beautiful prizes were won by members both present and unable to attend. Many thanks to President Jan K for the organisation and successful running of the activity.