Family History Group
Whether you’re a skilled family history researcher or just getting started, join the Family History Group for 2025. We’ve got a whole program mapped out for the year. You can book in to individual sessions or book in for all of them. Check them all out below.
Learn more about our other family and local history services.
February Session at Cheltenham
February Topic: Getting started for 2025
In our first session for 2025 we’ll cover your research triumphs and challenges, the resources available to help your research, and how to take the next steps. We’ll also be looking at preserving your family history documents and objects at home, and software that converts handwritten documents to digital text.
- 2pm - 3pm
- Tuesday 18 February
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March Session at Parkdale Library
March topic: Getting organised.
This session covers the difficulties of storing information. We’ll look at how best to manage paper-based and digital files so we can find them and use them in the future.
- 2pm - 3pm
- Tuesday 18 March
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April Session at Chelsea Library
April Topic: The Ethics of Publishing (Part 1)
This session will cover a range of ethical issues related to family history research and publication. Some of the topics include plagiarism, ‘hidden’ histories, remembering and forgetting the past, and understanding the values and standards of the past.
- 2pm - 3pm
- Tuesday 15 April
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May Session at Cheltenham Library
May Topic: Keeping it small
Microhistories and collective biographies are on trend right now. What does that mean for the family historian? This session looks at how family history research can benefit from different research approaches and different ways of storytelling.
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June Session at Parkdale Library
June topic: Context matters
Time and place have an impact on people’s lives. People have an impact on time and place. This session explores the history of ‘ordinary’ people and why that’s important.
- 2pm - 3pm
- Tuesday 17 June
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July Session at Chelsea Library
July Topic: Material culture
What do family heirlooms, keepsakes and mementos tell us about the people who owned them and ‘the times’ they lived? Bring a keepsake to explore what it can tell you about the past.
- 2pm - 3pm
- Tuesday 15 July
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August Session at Cheltenham Library
August Topic: Hiring a researcher
Sometimes you need the help of a professional researcher. What do you need to know before you hire someone?
- 2pm - 3pm
- Tuesday 19 August
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September Session at Parkdale Library
September topic: Ethics of publishing (Part 2)
Working with information from the Australian Copyright Council, this session will explore intellectual property and copyright, referencing and attribution, and a host of other issues you may come across when you want to publish your research.
- 2pm - 3pm
- Tuesday 16 September
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October Session at Chelsea Library
October topic: What does that say?
Old handwritten documents present problems for the contemporary reader. This session will look at some tips and tricks for reading old text, including some transcription exercises.
- 2pm - 3pm
- Tuesday 21 October
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November Session at Cheltenham Library
November Topic: Writing history
You’ve done the hard yards with the research, now get stuck into turning that material into an engaging family narrative. How do you tell the story? Where do you start?
- 2pm - 3pm
- Tuesday 18 November
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