Sightseeing - Geniaus Style

So what does a genealogist do on a free day in Adelaide? I passed on the organised tours for Congress as I wanted to spend the day with Mr Geniaus before abandoning him for the next four.

The first site I visited was South Australia's Migration Museum. I won't rabbit on about that institution because fellow geneablogger, Helen V Smith, has done a superb job of that on her blog. I concur with all the positive things Helen says about the Museum in her blog post. The things that made this Museum so special to me were the artefacts and stories from immigrants that added context to the topic of migration. Below are some images from the exhibition.

The next stop on our meander down Adelaide's North Terrace was The State Library of South Australia. I was underwhelmed by the architecture and decor in this new addition that is stuck onto the historic Institute building. The three staff who helped me in the library were delightful and a credit to the Institution.  I have an inlaw in my tree who died in South Australia in 1902 and I was keen to see if I could find mention of him in any local indexes. Sadly, in spite of the best efforts of the library staff members i did not find anything. Thanks to Librarian Maureen, who is attending  Congress, for graciously posing for a photo and to the other female librarian for producing, in around a minute, a CD that was labelled in the catalogue as needing 48 hrs notice for retrieval. Librarians Rule!

Historic Institute Building on North Terrace

New SLSA Entrance (Right)

Librarian, Maureen

Family History Section, SLSA

A SLSA Librarian helping Geniaus with a CD

Genealogy Resources in Adelaide

Short of registering and selecting the talks I would attend at Congress I have not paid much attention to much of the other information on the Conference website. I will do my homework in the couple of weeks prior to the Conference when I return from overseas.

One of the South Australians who will be attending the Congress, Ros Dunstall, has reminded those attending from out of town of the list of Local Resources for genealogists  in Adelaide posted on the Congress website. 

Those more organised than me, who have links to South Australia, would be well advised to set aside time for visits either before or after the conference. Super organised people will probably be already organising a list of research tasks to be completed at this time.

There is a one day tour of repositories prior to the Congress:

All Day Pre-conference tour 27 March 2012 9:00am to 5:00pm

Major South Australian Record Repositories

Pickup at Adelaide Convention Centre and drop off at the State Library of South Australia.
A visit to some of the major repositories of history records in South Australia will include:
•  The South Australian Genealogy and Heraldry Society Library on Unley Road, Unley for an overview of the facilities and records of the Library.
•  The Lutheran Archives in Bowden, which is the official archives for the Church in Australia.
•  State Records of South Australia and National Archives at Leigh Street, Adelaide where the State's and Government records are housed for an overview of records and services available.
•  The Maritime Museum in historic Lipson Street, Port Adelaide will have the Titanic display and displays pertinent to events both overseas and in South Australia.
A morning tea break at Montefiore Hill, a prominent, close lookout over the City of Adelaide where we can see Light's vision at it is in 2012.

Lunch will be in the Port Adelaide area.
Our tour of the record repositories will conclude with a comfortable tour back to Adelaide, where we will visit the South Australian State Library.
The tour concludes at the State Library, with individuals either choosing to stay at the Library, or leisurely walking down to the Convention Centre to register, before finding their own way back to their accommodation.
Tour cost will be $70.00 including morning tea and lunch.

Strangers in a box « City of Tea Tree Gully Library

Four-week family history course for beginners at City of Tea Tree Gully.

Strangers in a box « City of Tea Tree Gully Library

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Attention South Australian Genealogists

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You can take part in research by Adelaide Thinker in Residence, Dr Genevieve Bell who will help shed light on our use of broadband and associated communication technologies in South Australia and beyond. If I was in SA I would love to take part in this study but, as a Sydneysider, I am ineligible.