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Activities
Events 2022
Archive of Events
Membership
Contacts
Photo Gallery
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Welcome to the Blue Mountains, NSW, Australia
This website of the Blue Mountains Family History Society Inc has been hosted by Rootsweb.com in the United States of America, as a free service for family history societies worldwide since 1996.
Due to changes in Rootsweb servers, BMFHS has been unable to update this site since May 2023. In August 2023 Rootsweb announced that all family history websites hosted by them will become static sites (unable to be updated) from 1 January 2024.
Thus, all the information on this site will remain exactly the same on and from 1 October 2023 and will not be updated. Consequentially, some of the information contained here will be outdated and incorrect.
The new website for the Blue Mountains Family History Society Inc is:
Please note: that the publications and resources contained on this static website are ALL OUT OF PRINT and are UNAVAILABLE.
FACEBOOK – Blue Mountains Family History Society has its own Facebook page. Please check us out, "like" us, leave comments, post historical photos or just read what others have to say about us.
https://www.facebook.com/BlueMountainsFamilyHistorySociety
Please check our FaceBook page regularly as often there are notices of short-term interest, such as free searches on Ancestry or Find my Past or special discounts on Certificate Transcriptions, that are available for only a weekend or limited time.
Please note, that you do not have to belong to FaceBook to view the Society's page. The page is public and accessible without any danger to your own privacy. However, to "like", comment or post a photograph or article you will need to be a signed-in member of FaceBook.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
HIP, HIP HOORAY!
The activities of volunteers in the Family History Research Centre in Springwood Library have RESUMED as the renovations and upgrade of Springwood Library have been completed and were official reopened on Saturday 6th May 2023 with a wonderful Open Day activities. Many thanks to President Ann who led two information sessions about our volunteer activities in the Library.
The volunteer research assistance in Katoomba Library has remained closed also. Hopefully, this will resume in 2024.
Our Volunteers can assist you with your family history research and they can be found on the lower floor of the renovated library just off the car park. Dates and times will be provided soon.
Research assistance continues via email and will still be available. Please refer to our Contact details;
SOCIETY EXCHANGE JOURNALS:
As the majority of other Family History Exchange Journals are now delivered in digital/PDF format, these are held in a directory in the BMFHS Society's computers in the Family History section of the Springwood Library. These are available when a Society Volunteer is on duty as these computers are restricted by password to BMFHS members only.
All digital/PDF exchange journals will be received by me, BMFHS Web Site Manager, in order to include these on the BMFHS Library computers.
MEETINGS
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The meetings of the Society are held at 10:00am on the second Friday of every month, February to November, in the Presbyterian Church Small Hall, Macquarie Road, Springwood, NSW 2777.
Meetings of the Society usually involve a short Business session followed by Morning Tea. After Morning Tea, there is usually a guest speaker whose topic will be family history, genealogy or DNA for family history, a member forum discussing an aspect of family history, or a sharing session of successes and/or seeking assistance.
All members of the wider community are invited to attend meetings whether a member or not, and you will be made welcome.
TRADE TABLE - Our trade table will be operational at the meeting, so you can donate any unwanted good quality items to the table display. If something from the table catches your fancy, please drop some cash in the Society's moneybox for the item, then take it. Remember that if your donated items don't sell, you will need to take them home again.
ALL WELCOME: MORNING TEA $2
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EXPLORERS' TREE
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Three times per year members receive an issue of our excellent journal, Explorers' Tree, available at the meeting or posted to members who have paid for postage. The Journal is published every March, June and October. Copies are also available to peruse in all branches of the Blue Mountains City libraries, and also in the State Library in Sydney and the National Library in Canberra.
All articles, stories and histories published in Explorers' Tree are eligible for an Award in our Bob Howard Awards schedule. This Award is presented in memory of one of the foundation members of the Society. An Award Shield with the winner's name inscribed is on display in the Springwood branch of the Blue Mountains City Library.
Now would be an ideal time to put pen to paper (fingers to the keyboard) and write an article for Explorers' Tree making our Editor very happy.
Articles for Explorers' Tree can be emailed to [email protected], posted to PO Box 97, Springwood NSW 2777 or delivered in person to our February 2022 meeting.
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RESEARCH ASSISTANCE
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The Blue Mountains Family History Society Inc. offers a research service for non-members and others living away from the Blue Mountains.
The cost for this service is currently$35.00 and is payable in advance and provides for an initial research of up to 1 hour. Activity is by regular mail and email BMFHS WebMail.
Please contact the Research Officer of the Blue Mountains Family History Society Inc, PO BOX 97 SPRINGWOOD NSW 2777.
Please include as much information as you can to assist our Researcher is sourcing information for your request. After initial research is completed, further research will be at additional cost.
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MEMBERSHIP
Blue Mountains
Family History Society Inc
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WHY NOT BECOME A MEMBER!
It's time to join the Blue Mountains Family History Society to gain all the benefits of membership. You don't have to live in the Blue Mountains of NSW to be a member. Members of the Society can be found in many places outside the beautiful Blue Mountains.
Membership year runs from January to December of each year. Renewals can take place from November until March.
Members who have failed to rejoin before 31 March are deemed unfinancial and will cease to obtain membership benefits, this includes our Journal, Explorers' Tree. You will NOT receive the June or October issues unless you renew. Please complete a new member form so that details can be updated as members often change address, email and phone number and we need these details to communicate with you. Membership forms can be downloaded from our active website, https://bmfhs.com The form will download in Adobe PDF format for easy printing and/or emailing.
You will find an application form to download to be submitted with your payment (cash, cheque or direct debit - details are on the form).
It is important to complete a NEW membership application form each year as addresses, phone numbers and email addresses do change and we do like to keep in touch with all our members during the year.
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OUR SOCIETY
Blue Mountains
Family History Society Inc
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Contact with the Society can be made by using the following:
Blue Mountains Family History Society inc.
P.O. Box 97, Springwood N.S.W. 2777, Australia.
Society email contact- [email protected]
Web and research request contact only is [email protected]
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The Society was formed in 1986 and concentrates on serving the area of the Blue Mountains City Council from the rise from the Cumberland Plain to Mt Victoria and the off shoots of Mt Wilson and Mt Irvine to the north and the Megalong Valley in the south. We are a true family history society with interests back to our roots - in England, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, France etc, how & where our ancestral families lived and worked and where they travelled. We have a close association with the Local Studies Librarians of BMCC - but our main focus is facilitating the family history research needs of the local residents, not local studies.
We have close ties with adjacent regions: Lithgow in the west, Nepean (Penrith) and Hawkesbury in the east.
Map © copyright J Edwards 1999
NON-MEMBER RESEARCH
The Blue Mountains Family History Society Inc. offers a research service for non-members and others living away from the Blue Mountains.
The cost for this service is $35.00 and is payable in advance and all activity is by regular mail.
Please contact the Research Officer of the Blue Mountains Family History Society Inc, PO BOX 97 SPRINGWOOD NSW 2777.
Please include as much information as you can to assist our Researcher is sourcing information for your request. After initial research is completed, further research will be at additional cost.
OUR SOCIETY
We are a very active family history society with regular meetings with guest speakers, workshops, regular help available (see under Springwood and Katoomba libraries), outings to resource centres and other places of interest, undertaking monumental inscriptions at local cemeteries and producing a variety of publications to aid family historians.
The Society meetings are held at 10am on the second Friday February to November in the small hall of Springwood Presbyterian Church, Macquarie Road, Springwood (right in the centre of the commercial centre. Visitors are welcome. Alternately meetings feature a guest speaker or a workshop as well as a resume of the business of the Society. Committee meeting dates are included for Activities (see under Archive of Events). Members are encouraged to make suggestions & raise concerns.
SPRINGWOOD LIBRARY
The genealogical resources of BMFHS and those of the BMCC Library are in the Family History section at Springwood Library. Society volunteers are in the section 10am to 1pm every Thursday. Members able to assist may be present on other days without notice (including Saturday).
By arrangement, support in individual research at Springwood Library can be given. Please contact the Society by email Blue Mountains Family History Society Inc. to arrange date and time.
Fiche readers & microfilm readers and 2 computers are set up for use in the area.
Ancestry.com (library edition) and Find My Past (Library Edition) are available though the general access computers in the main library, but prior booking of these computers is strongly recommended.
Currently BMFHS holds more than 1200 books grouped by content. Following a new organisation plan, members led by Joan and Ian worked to improve the organisation of the library area and the resources. Now completed a new library catalogue is available and all resources are catalogued into new categories for ease of retrieval. BMCC Library family history holdings are in the same area.
KATOOMBA LIBRARY
Activities in Katoomba Library will resume in the near future (2024).
From June 2006 BMFHS volunteers have been at Katoomba Library to help with family history enquiries, 10 to 12am every 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month. This service has been very successful and we have met many well established family history researchers as well as beginners. Due to this success, if you wish to take advantage of this service please ring Katoomba Library to make a booking. Bookings are of 1 hour duration. Assistance is available each month February to November. Arrangements for private research with a Society Volunteer can be made by contacting the Society by email Blue Mountains Family History Society Inc. to arrange date and time.
LATEST NEWS
Convict Interests The Blue Mountains Family History Society has begun compiling a list of Convict Ancestors, Pioneers and Interests of our Members. Many of our members have quite a few Convict Ancestors whilst others are researching groups of Convicts or particular Convict Ships. This list, along with details of the member involved is available at the Family History Centre in Springwood Library in a loose-leaf folder.
This list is now also available progressively on this website and will be found here. Convict Interests
For further information email [email protected]
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