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Australia is a VERY big and extremely diverse country. Australia is also a country of migrants. From the mostly English convicts and guards of the First Fleet to the waves of European, Asian, Middle Eastern and African migration of the last 30 years, Australians, like Americans, come from all corners of the world. While the vast majority of people live in the cities around the coast, there has been over 200 years of settlement in rural towns. Many of these towns have fantastic local museums, local history societies and genealogical societies that can be extremely helpful. A simple Google search for the locality you're interested in will often yield a website of contact details. Another resource is the Historical Societies search page on the Federation of Australian Historical Societies (FAHS) website. This is a national directory with an interactive map and details of over 1000 specialist historical societies, family history groups, keeping places, and community heritage groups across the country.
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About Local History Societies in Australia
So, what might you find at a local history or genealogy society?
Objects collected by historical societies may be of state or national heritage significance. These items can range from manuscripts to furniture to born-digital documents, and historical societies may also be the custodians of heritage buildings and sites.[1]
Local societies may hold historical portraits, family charts and written and oral histories of local families deposited there by local researchers and family members, as well as information about businesses, organisations and events related to the local area that may not be of interest to a larger institution.
Some local history societies may relate to specific organisations, subject areas or communities. For example:
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- The Australian Jewish Historical Society (AJHS), is a national organisation based in Sydney charged with collecting and preserving communal records charting the Jewish experience in Australia. AJHS also has a genealogical wing that helps those with Jewish heritage research their family stories, both in Australia and overseas.
- The St John's Ambulance Historical Society in the ACT, holds records, memorabilia and academic papers related to the history of first aid and emergency medical management in Australia.
- The Eastern Goldfields Historical Society based in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, preserves the history of the last great gold rush in Australia, triggered by a discovery in 1892 at Fly's Flat.
Coolgardie was gazetted in 1893 and, by 1898, was the State’s third largest population centre with 15,000 residents and at least another 10,000 in the district. In 1899 the town celebrated its mining industry with a World Exhibition attended by more than 61,000 people.[2]
- Woolmers Foundation Inc in Tasmania, is responsible for a UNESCO listed heritage farm complex.
Founded in 1817 by Thomas Archer, it remained in the Archer family for six generations until 1994. Spanning 82 hectares, the estate comprises a collection of buildings that have preserved their 19th-century condition, including the main homestead, workers’ cottages, a chapel, a blacksmith shop, stables, and notably, one of the oldest intact woolshed in Australia.[3]
- The Cape Banks Family History Society, assists family history researchers whose forebears were some of the earliest settlers in the colony. Cape Banks is the name of the headland on the very tip of the suburb of La Perouse, named for the French explorer who arrived in Botany Bay a few days after Captian Cook.
- Krowathunkooloong, a Keeping Place in Bairnsdale, Victoria.
For thousands of years Aboriginal people have cared for their sacred sites and objects. They would visit these places at significant times throughout the year to hold important cultural ceremonies. Sacred sites and objects held religious significance and the Elders were responsible for their guardianship.
- Pioneers Association of South Australia Inc celebrates the unique history of the first settlement in Australia that was not established as a penal colony. To become a member of Pioneers SA one must have at least one ancestor who arrived in the Province, now the state, of South Australia, on or before 28th December 1846.
- Queensland Women's Historical Association in Brisbane.
The QWHA’s ... archives ... include lectures delivered to the Association over the years ... books on Queensland history; records relating to early governors, notably the Bowen family; records relating to women and women’s organisations; subject and family files; ephemera; and photographs.
These are just a few of the thousands of small specialist organisations, historical and genealogical societies with archival resources. They are an extremely valuable resource for researching your Australian family history.
See also
Each state and territory in Australia has its own State/ Territory Archives tasked with collecting and collating state government records. Local councils also have their own archives.
Explore more about Local History Societies in Australia
- Researching in Australian Archives - Webinar at Legacy Family Tree Webinars
- Family Memories from Down Under - from the MyHeritage blog