Save the Date : Connections2025

G'day Genimates, 

I am sharing this Save the Date notice on behalf of our friends at The Genealogical Society of Queensland – GSQ. We encourage you all to follow the Connections 2025 Facebook page  for event updates and to show your support to help make this a wonderful, engaging event for history aficionados all over Australia and New Zealand.

SAVE THE DATE: March 21-24, 2025.

The Australasian Conference - Connections 2025 - will be held in Brisbane over four days in March 2025. Hosted by the Genealogical Society of Queensland, the conference combines the 17th Australian Conference on Genealogy and Heraldry (also known as Congress) and the 5th History Queensland State Conference.                            

Connections 2025 is a must do event for family and local historians. Visit the Conference website for more details and watch this blog for regular updates. 

Some of the 650 Delegates enjoying High Tea at the 2018 Congress in Sydney

I am honoured and thrilled to be the NSW Ambassador for this event. I have attended and enjoyed the the last four Congresses and have found them to be enriching, entertaining educational events. The bonus is that I met up with old friends in person and had opportunities to forge relationships with new-to-me genimates. 

I am hoping to see a strong cohort from New Wales and to meet many genies from beyond our State in Brisbane. The event will have an international flavour, I already know of genies attending from The Netherlands, The United Kingdom and The United States.

With your help we can make this an affair to remember. 

Cheers, Jill aka GeniAus

Five Faves Geneameme

In a blog post this week Meg Carney blogging on the QSQ blog wrote about five books she has found useful in her research. She said "I have read many books in my search for information about my ancestors and the history of the times in which they lived. However, there are some that stand out and that I have found myself referring to again and again.  Here are 5 of those books."

I love bookish posts and was going to include Meg's post in this week's edition of GeniAus Gems but it gave me an idea for a Geneameme so I am singling Meg's post out for mention here.

As good little genies we all recognise the value of moving away from the keyboard and consulting print resources. I love to know what books other genies cherish,  Meg's list demonstrates that older publications along with new titles are all useful.

Herewith I announce the Five Faves Geneameme.

To participate in this meme simply pen a blog post sharing details of five books written by others you have found most useful in your geneactivities. Use the above graphic to decorate your post if you wish. Please let me know via a comment on this post or via another form of social media when your post is done and I will add it to a compilation that I will publish on this blog in early June.  

And Meg, if you read this, thanks for giving me this idea.

A Queenslander at Rootstech

My mate Margaret Doherty from the Sunshine State, Queensland, and her husband Geoff travelled to Salt Lake City for the Rootstech Conference last month.

I had not made a time to interview Margaret but she happened to swing by the Media Hub to say G'day when there was a 5 minute spot in the video studio available for an interview. Now Margaret, President of the Genealogical Society of Queensland is a good sport, so she agreed to a short interview with me.

We had great fun in this informal chat. Please take a look to find out why Margaret travelled to Salt Lake City and to hear about the Society she leads.

For those with Convict Connections

Like many fellow Australians I have some ancestors who earned a free passage to Australia. In fact I have 13 convict ancestors. 


I acquired this newsletter "Convict Connections" at the recent Unlock the Past Queensland Expo. It was not until yesterday that I had a chance to open it and peruse the articles inside; I was pleasantly surprised. This publication does not appear to have a  Queensland bias; this issue includes articles about The Parramatta Female Factory, The Napoleonic Wars, Moreton Bay Convicts, Politics behind the Rum Rebellion and Some Interesting Facts about Transported Women.


Published three times a year  in February, June and October the annual subscription is $15 (including postage)

The Group responsible for this publication and the Convict Connections website  " is an Interest Group operating within the Genealogical Society of Queensland Inc. (www.gsq.org.au). The group was formed several years ago to bring together members who are researching their convict and early colonial past. With this common interest we are able to assist one another as we endeavour to discover more about our early Australian ancestry – and beyond."