Rats of Tobruk film screening
When? Tuesday 30 April at 5.45pm sharp
Where? The State Library Theatre
Family group late 1890s
Presented by the State Library of Western Australia as part of the Western Australian Heritage Festival
Warning! Family history is addictive!
Always wanted to find out where you came from but didn’t know where to start? This event is for you! The Family History Subject Specialists at the State Library can inspire you to begin your journey of discovery with a full-day program of talks and tours:
Take introductory tours of the Genealogy Centre and Battye Library for an overview of our family history and WA heritage collections.
State Library,Perth Cultural Centre
25 Francis St, Perth
Wed 8 May 9.30 am – 4.30 pm
Free
Bookings essential: Phone 9427 3111
www.slwa.wa.gov.au
For full catalogue of Festival events:
www.nationaltrust.org.au/wa/Heritage-Festival
Dear Heart stars Stuart Halusz and Rebecca Davis
Agelink Theatre Inc is celebrating 20 years of creating theatre from oral histories, entertaining the public and affirming the value of our seniors.
Back by popular demand and proudly supported by The City of Perth and the State Library as part of ANZAC week, Agelink presents the critically acclaimed play DEAR HEART for three only concert style performances from Friday 19 April to Tuesday 23 April 2013 at the State Library of WA in the Perth Cultural Centre.
DEAR HEART, by Jenny Davis, is a true love story, based on her aunt’s WWII letters to her young husband, a prisoner of war in Java. DEAR HEART is a tribute to those who waited at home for news and to the endurance of the young men behind barbed wire. The play has has been published as a novel by Allen & Unwin.
Don’t miss this poignant story of love, hope and courage, featuring live music from WWII.
“Agelink Theatre is theatre of the heart.” Tim Minchin
DEAR HEART by Jenny Davis Starring Rebecca Davis and Stuart Halusz, Musical Director Craig Skelton, Featuring vocals by Alinta Carroll
Venue: State Library of WA, Perth Cultural Centre Dates: three Performances Only Friday 19 April, Saturday 20 April, Tuesday 23 April at 11am Duration: Approx 70 minutes
*Special guest appearance Tuesday 23 April by Opera Australia star, Lisa Harper-Brown
Bookings: http://www.trybooking.com Ticket prices: $20 full, $15 concession
Two FREE Oral History Workshops in association with the Battye Library
Come and share your stories and listen to the stories of others, or simply become inspired to record your own or your family’s recollections for posterity. Each workshop will feature members of the AIF and RAAF from WWII, as well as members of the home front. All reminiscences are welcome.
Why not attend a workshop followed by a performance of Dear Heart? Sat April 20 and Tues 23 April at 9.30-10.45am Great Southern Room, 4th Floor State Library of WA, Perth Cultural Centre
Registrations essential Ph 9384 8158
Paul Milner is a professional genealogist, lecturer and author, specialising in British Isles research for over 30 years. He is an internationally recognised speaker on British Isles research and migration.
Paul will be presenting:
Other presentations:
When: Saturday 23 February, 8.30am – 5.00pm
Where: State Library Theatre (Ground floor)
Cost: Pre-booked by Thursday 21 February – $39.50 full day, $29.50 half day
On the day – $60 full day, $40 half day
Full details and bookings: Unlock the Past or (08) 8263 2055
Please note that entry before the Library opens is via the Francis Street entrance.
Sketch by surgeon, Alexander Rattray, during a voyage on HMS Salamander to Australia in 1867 [AJCP reel M 711. Original now held at The National Archives, Kew at Adm 101/138]
This wonderful collection includes:
The AJCP microfilm collection, available at the State Library, is packed full of interesting information useful for family history and historical research. The original material is held in libraries and archives in the UK so is not easily accessible.
The Family History Subject Specialists from the State Library will be giving a talk on this fantastic resource at Vincent Library and Local History Centre at 2.00pm on Thursday 25 October.
Please phone the City of Vincent Library on (08) 9273 6090 for bookings or more details.
Individual convicts can be named in these volumes – this table even gives wives’ maiden names [Convict system, volume 8, page 65 of section on Western Australia]
Lots of convicts are named, as you can see from the example here, and there is plenty of background information too. For instance, I was able to find out when the government ceased the practice of recouping passage money from convicts – 1857. There is a notice to this effect on page 29 of the same volume.
The easiest way to access this wonderful resource is to type convict system under Title in our catalogue and select State Library Online from the drop-down box. Once you’ve selected a volume, you can browse through the pages by placing your cursor on the edge of a page and clicking. This makes a very satisfying page-turning noise! If you want to search for names, scroll down and select the Download button. This means you can save a searchable PDF version to your PC. The files are fairly large so you may need to be patient.
Visit our new site: Premier’s Book Awards – http://pba.slwa.wa.gov.au/.
Last night Premier Colin Barnett announced Fiona Skyring’s Justice: A History of the Aboriginal Legal Service of Western Australia as winner of the 2011 Premier’s Prize worth $25,000.
Highly acclaimed Western Australian author Tim Winton was inducted into our Hall of Fame.
2011 Western Australia’s Premier’s Book Awards Category Winners
Congratulations to all of the winners & publishers.
A medal for long service and good conduct which was conferred on certain policemen on the occasion of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897. Officers received gold medals and men silver medals.
Two seminars for your delectation…
Australian Joint Copying Project: what is it and where do I start?
Have you always wished you could get your hands on documents hidden away in archives in the UK? You may be surprised to learn that many of them are available on microfilm right here at the State Library. Records include documents relating to convicts, soldiers, early settlers and more.
Black and white and read all over
Newspaper stories and notices – even advertising can reveal a lot about our ancestors. We offer an introduction to digitised historic newspapers including Trove, the Times Digital Archive, British and Irish Newspapers, and more.
Australian Joint Copying Project: what is it and where do I start? 10.30am – 12.00
Black and white and read all over 1.00pm – 2.30pm
When: Thursday 6 September
Where: Great Southern Room, State Library of WA, Northbridge
The talks are free but you MUST register.
Register in person at WAGS library, Unit 5, 48 May st, Bayswater or call (08) 9271 4311 during library hours.
Presented as part of National Family History Week 1 – 3 August
How much do we really know abut our family’s background? Are those family stories really true? Partly true? Wishful thinking? Here is some background to the three family stories I am going to talk about during my seminar. Two are about my family and one is about the family of a lady who has given me permission to use the story of her grandmother. I hope you will enjoy the unravelling of these stories, and find inspiration to start or continue your own family history journey.
FAMILY STORY 1: My mother’s maiden name is Eyre. My great-aunt maintained that, while staying with the Eyre family, Charlotte Bronte wrote Jane Eyre. She also told me that we were related to Edward John Eyre, who crossed Australia. She told us that before she died she would fill in all the details of our family history, and true to her word, she wrote to my mother, setting out what she knew and what she surmised about the family history. Her brother, my great-uncle, also wrote down his version of the family history.
FAMILY STORY 2: A lady approached me wanting to enrol for a beginner’s seminar I conduct regularly at the City of Vincent Library and Local History Centre because, in her words, she wanted ‘to find out who my Nanna really was.’ When her grandmother died here in Perth in 1991, she and her mother were asked to provide details of the deceased’s birth, parentage, marriage, offspring etc. It was in trying to find this information by going through the documents she had left that they realised a number of details just did not add up. Intrigued, I said I would do a bit of looking up for her. And the more I looked the more curious the story got…
FAMILY STORY 3: My father’s family knew very little about my grandfather, Charles Brown. He was orphaned at a very early age and grew up in a workhouse. His memories were few and the details were sketchy. My uncle had tried to find out more in the early 1980’s, checking up on what little his father had revealed of his life, and personally searching the records. I took up the challenge some twenty years later, and my book Who are you Charlie Brown? is the story of the unearthing of his life and family.
Presented by Wendy Brown, historian. Date: Wednesday – August 1 2012 Time: 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM For details of all seminars and tours visit the State Library website: www.slwa.wa.gov.au/whats_on/national_family_history_week
066993PD Pensioner Guard Henry Critch and wife Sarah
I had never heard of Pensioner Guards when I started my family history research. Now I can proudly claim two. A great many Western Australians are descended from these army veterans who chose to take up the offer of free passage to WA if they acted as guards for the convicts who were transported here between 1850 and 1868.
My gg grandfather Patrick McGovern arrived with his family on the Belgravia in July 1866.
Patrick was well-travelled. He was born in Cavan, Ireland, joined the British Army in Glasgow, Scotland, and served in Ireland, Jamaica, Nova Scotia and India. He and his wife Catherine had eleven children, the last, Denis, being born in Fremantle in 1870. Five children did not survive their childhood. Two children, Mary Ann (6 years 6 months) and Sarah (2 years 2 months) died in Poona, India, in what must have been dreadful conditions to try to raise young children.
Do you have a pensioner guard in your family tree? Want to know how I found out so much about Patrick? Come along to the State Library from 1-3 August and attend the free seminar on researching pensioner guards and check the information already available for many of them. We will also be looking at how to begin your research in India. Take a look at our program at: www.slwa.wa.gov.au/whats_on/national_family_history_week
There is something for beginners and experienced researchers as well as those just interested in history. All sessions are free – but please book in advance – 9427 3111.
And to Patrick’s many descendants out there – hello cousins!
