Moonee Valley Family & Local History Blog

National Family History Week will be held from 27 July to 5th August 2012 and to celebrate there will be  more than 200 events held throughout Australia. For details of local events or how you can become involved visit the website www.familyhistoryweek.org.au JM

Moonee Valley Library Service has several magazine subscriptions that may be of interest to anyone researching their family history.   Ancestor: quarterly journal of the Genealogical Society of Victoria Australian Family Tree Connections Family Tree Magazine: your ancestors, your history All three magazines have a great mix of history and tips and apart from the latest issue are available to borrow. Check them out for yourself at Sam Merrifield Library. JM

I love taking the time to look for building ghosts whenever I walk around the streets of an old town or area like Moonee Ponds. The ghosts of long lost buildings and businesses are everywhere when you start to look. You can see them in faded advertising signs on the side of buildings or above shop verandahs. Some buildings even have names built into the fabric of the building in brick or concrete, the last remnants of once thriving businesses.  Sometimes you see shadows of former buildings that have been pulled down. The remains of a staircase, painted or wallpapered walls where once there was a dwelling or business.  These are my favourite shadows and I find myself wondering about the people who worked and lived in these now gone buildings.  Who were they, what did they do, where have they gone?  The Sands and McDougall’s and other resources in the local history room can help flesh out some of these ghosts, but sometimes I must confess, I like to leave them as the...

The Genealogical Society of Victoria has several interesting talks coming up in the month of May. Talks take place on Thursdays at Level B1, 257 Collins St Melbourne from 12.30 - 1.30pm. Cost is $5.50 for non-members and free for GSV members. May 3 Helen McLaughlin Geneological Gems at the University of Melbourne Archives. May 10 Ada Ackerley Community attitudes to Excile and Orphan immigration in the 1840s and 1850s. May 17 Margaret May Projects at VicHeritage (Registry of BDM's). May 24 Susan McLean The Scottish Census: a new angle.  May 31 David Weatherill Cemeteries in Victoria.

A new website for the Essendon Historical Society was launched on Friday 30th March, 2012.  Please take time to have a look at their updated website. 

The Victorian Archives Centre offers one-hour tours that venture beyond the Get Smart security doors, and into the repository.   Encounter 180 years of history in their collection, as well as a look at a petition so big it was tabled in parliament on a surf reel. Also on offer are the following information sessions - Thursday 5th April, 2012 Introduction to PROV and the Collection Thursday 19th April 2012 Digging Deeper - Advanced PROV Collection searching (Australian Heritage Week) Friday 4th May 2012 Introduction to PROV and the Collection Thursday 17th May 2012 Researching Education Records Saturday 9th June 2012 Introduction to PROV and the Collection Thursday 21st June 2012 Researching Immigration Records Tours are from 11am - 12pm.  Information session begin at 1pm. For bookings and information please visit http://prov.vic.gov.au/ or contact us on 03 9348 5600

This event will be presented by the Public Record Office Victoria and the State Library of Victoria, the talk will be presented by international guest speaker Roger Kershaw.  The focus is on records from the National Archives, United Kingdom.  participants will also find out how to get the most out of the National Archives collection through their website nationalarchives.gov.uk .  Roger Kershaw is the head of Military, Maritime, Transport and Family records at the National Archives.  Time: 10.00am - 11.30am Start time: 4th April, 2012 Address: Victorian Archives Centre, 99 Shiel Street, North Melbourne. Phone: 9348 5787