Diary of an Australian Genealogist
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Shauna Hicks is an Australian genealogist & family historian, researcher, speaker, writer & traveller. Her blog records her research (both in Australia and overseas), links she like, articles or newsletters she read, family history news that excites her and so on. The aim is to be a weekly record of her activities which might be of interest to other genealogy researchers.
Diary of an Australian Genealogist
3d ago
So much has been happening over the last few weeks and as per usual, I am behind with my updates. March is Women's History Month and I liked Trove's blog on Pioneering Women.
Books
The Bribie Family History Association Book Club totally enjoyed Kate Grenville's A Room Made of Leaves.
Our next book is from one of our own members. Rick Desmier published his own family history in 2020 using NED the National E Deposit Library maintained by the National Library of Australia and searchable through Trove. The Desmier family history: an Anglo Indian family that has been in India for more than 200 yea ..read more
Diary of an Australian Genealogist
2w ago
Summer is over and autumn is upon us. Although here in Queensland we are still sweltering in the heat and the gardens look like they need more water.
Blogs
I have finally created a blog for Bribie Family History Association. There is still content to add and I need to establish regular posts, although that is easier on our Facebook page.
Beautiful flowers every table
Keeping this blog every fortnight is hard going as I seem to be going off Island a lot lately. Morning tea at Miegunyah in Brisbane followed by an afternoon with the Brisbane History Group celebrating the sesqui ..read more
Diary of an Australian Genealogist
1M ago
Well January is done and dusted and we are half way through February. From now on it will be back to regular genie society meetings, attending special events and meeting new people. There is never a dull day when you research your family history.
Blogs
The ship dwarfed by Alaska's
Inner Passage 2018
My first guest post for the Genealogical Society of Queensland was completed and there were some interesting comments on both the blog page and on Facebook.
Many people identified with some of my points. The post is called Shauna's family history A-Z and you can read it by clic ..read more
Diary of an Australian Genealogist
2M ago
The first two weeks of 2024 have seen devastating storms, flooding and incredible heatwaves almost in a rolling pattern. Now another cyclone seems to be looming off our coast. Stay safe everyone, out thoughts are with all those impacted.
Blogs
Each year I do two guest blog posts for the Genealogical Society of Queensland. I picked January and July for my efforts. This means the January guest blog is lined up and ready to go in early February. I will be interested in all feedback on my 2023 thoughts. A direct link will be in the next edition of this Diary blog.
Books
I have so many b ..read more
Diary of an Australian Genealogist
3M ago
2023 went by in a blur. So many great things happened and keeping this Diary helps me to remember just how much I do in a year.
Blogs
Jill Ball aka Geniaus has again offered her Accentuate the Positive Geneameme for 2023. Another great way to think about what happened in your genealogy research in 2023. Read my response here.
I have a guest blog for the Genealogical Society of Queensland coming up in January. The big question as always, will be what to write about.
Books & Magazines
For various reasons my attention has been drawn to Charles Dickens and his association with Australi ..read more
Diary of an Australian Genealogist
4M ago
Half this month was spent travelling in China. We did the usual things in Beijing and then went to the older areas of Hangshou and Souchou before ending in Shanghai. It was supposed to be autumn and cool but while we were there, they had some of their hottest days in years.
Touring the Imperial Palaces
The Great Wall of China
So many people, cars, bikes and very few accidents that we saw. Traffic was heavy but not gridlocked as their road systems are amazing and mostly above the ground. You only go off the freeways if you want to visit a particular place.
AFFHO & the ..read more
Diary of an Australian Genealogist
5M ago
As I write this we are having a very hot spring day and have had little rain for weeks if not months.
The garden is suffering even though we have bore water.
Our beautiful native birds are visiting to drink and swim in our bird baths (fresh water), a real distraction from writing this blog post. There is a bird bath just outside my office window. But I am off to China so this blog post needs to be finished.
Books
My Ph D thesis is in sync with my family history, so every book or article I read is relevant to one of my family lines. The temptation is to then do more ..read more
Diary of an Australian Genealogist
6M ago
Gorgeous spring weather, the only thing missing is some rain occasionally. My orange crucifix orchids are just beautiful at the moment. The hippeastrums are starting to flower too.
Yet anothe attempt to get back to a fortnightly blog post. Only a couple of days late.
Books
It has been a Kate Grenville feast this fortnight as I finished The Search for the Secret River and Sarah Thornhill the sequel to The Secret River. Both books hard to put down but you need to have read The Secret River first.
Also started reading and finished Ancestry by Simon Mawer. What a great way to write a family ..read more
Diary of an Australian Genealogist
6M ago
Two months have disappeared just like that. But there were very busy months.
National Family History Month is over for 2023. I hope everyone had a great time at their local family history society or online with the many virtual offerings. I gave two talks - one at Caloundra on convicts and criminals in the family and the second at Noosaville on making the most of archives. Both days were well attended and with good feedback.
If you haven't seen the opening presentation by Hamish Maxwell-Stewart and Andrew Redfern it is still on the website until the end of September. All about AI (artifical i ..read more
Diary of an Australian Genealogist
8M ago
Another month has flown past. My cataract surgery went very well and I can easily see distance and read without glasses. Makes a big difference when I am giving talks.
However my brain seems to be a bit dithery as I wrote this a week ago, but never hit the publish button!
Blogs
Some nice feedback on my GSQ guest post in June. In case you missed it, here it is again. Does researching our family history change us? How do we want to be remembered?
My brother and myself ca 1960
Books
I was super lucky on a recent visit to the second hand bookshop on Bribie. I managed to pick u ..read more