We are delighted to welcome one of our Australia-based members, Geoff Frogley, as our speaker. Geoff will give a short but comprehensive talk on Australian records for family historians, followed by a questions and answers session. 

He will begin by talking about the factors which led to the settlement of Australia. The remainder of the talk will focus on the records which can help trace ancestors who settled there. He will begin with church records, including church registration, clergy returns and Colonial Office returns. After that, Geoff will cover off civil registration, muster returns,  census records, newspapers (including Trove) and directories. The focus will be on records which can viewed or ordered online. 

This is a great opportunity to find out more about your ancestors who settled in Australia and to be able to ask questions to a family historian with a thorough understanding of Australian record sets. 

This talk is free to members of Berkshire Family History Society and we request a donation of £5 from non-members. Pre-booking is required, because the meeting link will emailed in advance. Booking ends one day before event. 

To hear this talk

To join in this talk, you will need a computer device which has a microphone and speakers. Ideally, also a webcam. You also need to be able to access emails from this device. First time users will be asked to download a small piece of software to join the meeting.  The meeting link will be emailed to you in advance. Technical help is available for those who need further assistance, please contact booking@berksfhs.org.uk.

However, as this talk will be transmitted live from The Centre for Heritage and Family History, on the second floor of Reading Central Library, we also invite individuals who would prefer to hear the talk in a face-to-face setting to join us there. Please arrive and be seated before 11.25am. We will project the talk onto the screen in the Centre, whilst Geoff is talking, and after the Zoom questions have concluded, you will be able to ask Geoff your own questions. The Centre will also be open for research this day, so you may stay on before or afterwards to use the Research Zone’s PCs. 

Image: Dietmar Rabich / Wikimedia Commons / “Petermann Ranges (AU), Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, Uluru — 2019 — 3701” / CC BY-SA 4.0For print products: Dietmar Rabich / https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Petermann_Ranges_(AU),_Uluru-Kata_Tjuta_National_Park,_Uluru_–_2019_–_3701.jpg / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

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