News - May 2024
Tuesday 21 May - 7:30 pm General Meeting
VENUE: Old Sunday School, St Johns Park Precinct
GUEST SPEAKER: Maree Ring
TOPIC: Feeding an Army - From Tasmania to Gallipoli - what the soldiers ate!
An army marches on its stomach and Maree has looked at diaries of local Tasmanian soldiers and some others as to what was provided for the men to eat; how they adapted some of the food to be more enjoyable and some background to their diet. Maree finishes this talk as the soldiers evacuate Gallipoli.
Maree started researching her family over forty years ago. She has been a volunteer library assistant at our Hobart Branch since 1984 and served as research officer 1984-1992 and committee member 1989-1998. With the qualifications as an AAGRA record agent, she undertook private research for a while, and this led to her teaching at Adult Ed for some years; the subjects being both general family history and researching convict records.
A major Tasmanian ophthalmological research project employed Maree to research Tasmanian genealogies for over 20 years. Over time she has contributed many minor articles to Tasmanian Ancestry. Currently Maree is admin for a Facebook page "Hobart's 19th centuryburialgrounds and cemeteries.
More for Your Diary
Thu 16 May - 10.00am Branch Committee Meeting
VENUE: Branch Library, Bellerive
Thu 16 May - 1.30pm DNA Group Meeting
VENUE: St Marks Church Hall, Scott Street, Bellerive
Thu 23 May - 2pm Library Committee
VENUE: Branch Library, Bellerive
Tue 18 Jun - 7:30pm General Meeting
VENUE: Old Sunday School, St Johns Park Precinct
SPEAKER: Dr Jennifer Jones-Travers
Topic: digital archaeology at the hope and anchor tavern
From your Branch President
Succession planning - transitioning to retirement?
We seriously need to think about succession planning as our volunteers are not getting any younger. Some even have plans to go on prolonged holidays next year.
An amazing amount of work goes on behind the scenes at the Branch Library. Not just projects, but the day-to-day tasks that are required to keep the Branch functioning and to support the Society - Hobart Branch provides the secretariat services for the Society.
Liaising with the printer and mailing out Tas Ancestry, producing and selling publications including mail orders, keeping the library's computer system and programs running smoothly, acquisition procedures for new and donated books, purchase of equipment and supplies, stocktaking, banking, liaising with the Council for building maintenance, and with Hydro, TasWater, Fire Brigade, etc, etc, etc. Not to mention emails and phone calls!
These unglamorous tasks are not for everyone, and some require skills in IT and office management. One option, which the Branch has used in the past - and still uses - is what I call the 'transition to retirement program'. If someone with the appropriate skills is over 55 and under their official retirement age, they can go on JobSeeker and instead of looking for work they can volunteer with us for 15 hours (~2 days) per week and that satisfies Centrelink's mutual obligations requirement. The Branch is registered with Centrelink to support volunteers doing this.
If you or anyone you know might be interested in volunteering with us in some capacity, with or without JobSeeker, please make contact for more information.
Ros Escott president@hobart.tasfhs.org
Transcribing Volunteers Needed
We have been slowly replacing the card indexes in the Bellerive library with searchable electronic databases, which makes room for much needed shelves for books. There is one huge task left: the card indexes for the books in the library. Are there any volunteers who would be willing to contribute to transcribing these indexes into a database? It is a big job but could be shared by several people.
Ros Escott president@hobart.tasfhs.org
Who Used to be a Magician in a Former Life?
We have some amazing members and volunteers who are doing have done things in their lives you would never begin to guess. We are proposing to introduce one member profile each monthly Newsletter and are calling for volunteers to do a short oral history interview and then write it up.
Ros Escott president@hobart.tasfhs.org
Special and Unique Book Reviews
We are hoping to find volunteers to write brief reviews for our website of some of our family history library books which are either unique to us, or likely to be of special interest to family historians. The review can be anything from a paragraph to a couple of pages and can be submitted in a Word doc or similar. For example: What is the book about? Who wrote it? Which family names and/or place names are frequently mentioned. It is possible that the Preface to the book covers the essential information.
An online submission form should also be completed with details of the book, author, Dewey number, etc. - the form can be found on the Branch website under 'Resources'.
Howard Reeves has kindly agreed to coordinate this project and will receive reviews, edit them only if necessary, and forward to the web manager for publishing. Once online, names, etc. can be picked up by search engines and bring people to the branch library.
Howard has kick-started this by writing a sample short review which can be found online under the 'Resources' tab, 'Special and Unique Book Reviews'. Anyone can write a review, perhaps of one of our books you found particularly useful when researching your family history. If library assistants have spare time, they could select a book and review it. The more reviews we have, the more useful this resource will be.
DNA Interest Group
The Hobart Branch DNA Interest Group started in 2016 - not so long ago, but before the explosion of interest in using DNA for family history. We meet monthly 1.30 to 3.30pm on the third Thursday of the month at St Mark's Hall, Scott Street, Bellerive.
As well as presentations, we share information about interesting developments in our DNA exploration. Several members have broken down brick walls using DNA and many others have used DNA to confirm the accuracy of years of hard work researching their family tree. Some have had unexpected surprises or connected with previously unknown cousins.
A survey of members last year highlighted that the group has a mix of people at different stages of expertise. This was addressed with a series of short segments covering basic skills to compliment demonstrations of more technical skills. We have also had two very well-received 'hands-on' sessions on multiple laptops, where the more experienced members helped the less experienced, in pairs or small groups.
More information is available on the Branch website: https://www.hobart.tasfhs.org/dna.php , including a link to a recorded presentation where Ros Escott explains how she uses DNA to solve family history mysteries, with a couple of real examples.
Ros Escott and Andrew Cocker, Convenors
Library Accessions April 2024
Books
O'Neill; Judith; Transported to Van Diemens Land[994.602 ONE]
* Denotes complimentary or donated item
Aerial Photo Viewer
After the AGM in April, we listened to an entertaining talk by Malcolm Ward about his family history and the lessons he learned on his journey. His family lived and worked in Bellerive, close to what is now our branch library. A highlight for some of us was the aerial photographs he showed us around Bellerive Quay.
Malcolm used the LIST's Aerial Photo Viewer which is an extraordinary online digital application which allows you to:
- Search, view and download Tasmanian aerial images for free
- Select photos on an interactive map
- Use filters to refine the search by time and scale
- View each aerial photo as a low-resolution image
- Download the full resolution image
Be warned, this fabulous tool is highly addictive. You can find an overview and help to get started here: https://apimages.nre.tas.gov.au/images/theLIST_Aerial_Photo_Index_Help.pdf
Scratching The Surface:
The Fascinating Collections You Won't See In Unshackled
Friday 17 May, 10.30am at Royal Society Room, TMAG (entry via Davey Street)
The new convict exhibition Unshackled has been a huge success at TMAG, with some of the highest visitation recorded in recent years. But how do the items on show get selected? What did - or didn't - make it to the gallery floor? Dr Eleanor Cave, Senior Curator of Cultural Heritage, will share some of the back-of-housework that went into Unshackled, including all the leg irons in the State Collection, and more handmade bricks than you can poke a stick at. This special floor talk is in acknowledgement of International Museum Day, which falls on Saturday 18 May this year.
More for the Members-Only Site
Last month we told you how the new members-only website offered members a free online, searchable version of TAMIOT along with a Tasmanian Births Deaths and Marriages search tool. The BDM records are based upon the same data as Libraries Tasmania's Names Index but also offer fast and complex searching and sorting, such as Digger products used to offer.
We have expanded the BDM search to now include 12 discrete registers:
1. Tasmanian Births 1803 - 1933 (incomplete)
2. Tasmanian Federation Index Births
3. Tasmanian Marriages 1803 - 1944 (incomplete)
4. Tasmanian Federation Index Marriages
5. Tasmanian Deaths 1803 - 1939 (incomplete)
6. Tasmanian Federation Index Deaths 1900 - 1930
7. Tasmanian Deaths in the First World War
8. Tasmanian Divorces 1861 - 1950
9. Tasmanian Convicts - Permission to Marry (1829 - 1858)
10. Tasmanian Wills (1813 - 1997)
11. Tasmanian Inquests (1813 - 1997)
12. Tasmanian Arrivals (19th Century)
These are available, free on our members-only website, under the Resources menu tab. The first step, if you haven't already done so, is to register for the first time with the members-only website.
When registering, you will need to choose a username of your choice, a password and enter the email address which is recorded with the Society. Once completed, you will receive an email with a link to click. After that, you will be able to login.
Annual General Meeting and Conference
When: Saturday 15 June 2024, 10.30am to 3pm
Where: Windsor Community Centre, 1 Windsor Drive, Riverside
Registration: $40 pp. includes morning tea and lunch. Open to Members and Non-Members - non-members do not have voting rights at the AGM.
Closing Date: 8 June 2024. Registrations before 21 May 2024 will go in the draw for an early bird prize.
The Conference precedes the AGM with the following speakers:
Graeme Williams Touring Around Tasmanian by Car with Spurling circa 1919
Dr Jai Paterson & John Dent OAM
Launceston Court Records - just hope your ancestors were caught.
Sophie Appleby Harlequin Bob - the 'chequered and eventful' life of convict, Robert Cowburn
A Conference Dinner will be held at the Riverside Hotel on Saturday evening (own cost) and a free guided tour of historical Cameron Street, with John Dent OAM, will be conducted on Sunday 16 June, commencing at 10.30am and meeting at the TFHS Launceston Branch Library, City Park Stables, 45 Tamar Street. Full details are in the brochure in March edition of Tasmanian Ancestry, mailed to all members. Enquiries secretary@launceston.tasfhs.org
That also means the Society Executive officer positions fall vacant and we are seeking nominations for president, vice-president, treasurer and secretary. Please consider nominating someone. A form is attached to this email.
Please join us on Thursday 23 May for a public lecture marking National Archaeology Week 2024. Details are below and attached.
Lost & Found: Preliminary Results of an Archaeological Excavation of the Port Arthur Convict Workshops
Thursday 23rd May, 3:30-4.30pm at Asylum Town Hall, Port Arthur Historic Site
Free with site entry
Join Richard Tuffin and Sylvana Szydzik as they discuss their investigation of Port Arthur's workshops and reflect on the highs and lows of archaeological excavation.
Light refreshments will be served from 3pm
Register here: https://forms.office.com/r/vxKa7aJHru
Branch Library Car Park
Some years ago, then secretary, Howard Reeves marked out and painted white parking lines in the Branch library car park. They are important to ensure safe parking and keeping our allocated spaces free from others. The paint has slowly faded and is in need of refreshing. We are looking for a volunteer to help with this one quiet weekend. If you think you could help or would like to know more about it, please contact Maurice at the Branch library.
Library@hobart.tasfhs.org or 62 459351.
Maree's Mutterings
With the recent discovery of bodies during the excavations for a new building at Hutchins School, I would like to correct some of the stats that the media have put out for the Queenborough Region Cemetery. The media stated that 3000 were buried at Queenborough. The wonderful TFHS Hobart branch publication compiled in 2005 by Monday group with the history by Leonie Mickleborough, on this burial ground lists over 15,000 names of which, at least 9000 appear to be individuals.
Why the ABC brought the Holy Trinity burial ground now Campbell Street School into the conversation is not known. As they quoted on their television news, 5000 convict burials there, but this burial ground was not just for convicts as they said, but both convict and free burials.
The following posts might interest those who participate on face book.
- https://www.facebook.com/reel/942720400974881
- https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=926429696154779&set=a.722828039848280
- https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=966785975452484&set=a.722828036514947
- https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=927107869420295&set=a.722828036514947
A contact for the project at Hutchins suggests, that now that the contractors have excavated down to coffin top level, and using drone shots, that 10,000 are buried in the area.