Suzanne Voytas and her wayward girls

Suzanne was a guest speaker for the Family History Group meeting at the Ku-ring-gai Historical  Society yesterday. She was in attendance for the Convict workshop in the morning where she added valuable comments and insights to the discussion.

After the afternoon meeting Suzanne gave a formal presentation on her ten year journey as she researched the history of the the Irish convict women who were transported in 1828 on the Elizabeth. She used Irish Records, colonial government records, newspapers, and  parish registers for her book Elizabeth 1828 : the worst and most turbulent : from Celtic Cross to Southern Cross.
 
Suzanne displayed a love of "her girls" and a passion for the research that has been a major part of her life for the last decade. She was a natural speaker with a casual style who engaged the audience with her warmth.

After telling us how serendipity started her on the project Suzanne recounted  her research process whilst peppering her talk with anecdotes about the women and characters who made the journey on the Elizabeth. Suzanne's was one of the best talks I have heard  in recent times.

There is a temptation for authors giving talks to turn the event into a blatant marketing activity. I commend Suzanne who did not try to peddle her book to the audience during the talk. An audience member asked in question time "Have you any copies of your book for sale?"  Suzanne replied that she had a couple which were immediatley sold. Suzanne did not have to try to market her book; her talk did this for her.

Suzanne's book can be ordered directly from this link.

All I did was give them some papers....

...said Joyce Ryerson, a gracious lady and member of The Ku-ring-gai Historical Society, whom I met at the meeting of their Family History Group yesterday. I was privileged to spend some time in conversation with this  lady who proudly told me "I'm 94 you know". I was able to talk to Joyce about her Alma Mater, SCEGGS, Darlinghurst where my daughters were also educated. Thanks Joyce for your time and graciously permitting me to snap your photo.

The Ryerson Index is one of the best free online Australian genealogy resources around. The About us page of the Ryerson Index site states "Due to the remarkable foresight of Joyce Ryerson, we were given an almost-complete collection of death notices from the Sydney Morning Herald for the years 1986-1998. Indexing of these notices is now complete, and we have extended the period covered back to the beginning of 1969."

A group of volunteers continues to work on indexing the "death notices appearing in current Australian newspapers. It also includes some funeral notices, probate notices and obituaries." As of today there are 3,016,580 entries from 188 Australian newspapers.

+1

Thanks to Joan at Luxegen for pointing out the new Google +1 button and indicating where it is on her website.

It's something new so, of course, I just had to add it to my blogs. I went to the link Joan had given, took a look and then decided to find more full instructions for a dummy like me. I found a a great set of instructions for adding the button to a Blogger blog at Cool Tricks n Tips right here.

I set to adding the button as per the instructions only to find the button was already on my blog but it was hidden away right at the bottom of each post.  Of course I want my readers to click on that button if they enjoy a post of mine so back I went to the Edit Page Elements Page for my blog and moved the set of sharing buttons to a more prominent position.  I don't know what I have done but that pesky sharing button doesn't appear to have moved.

As Joan said "If you’re logged into your Google account, try it out on my site". You'll find the +1 button at the bottom of each post.

Speedos - Carnival of Genealogy Edition 106 - Fourth Annual Swimsuit Edition

The latest and greatest gear for budding Olympians in 1961 were Speedo swimsuits. Made of nylon these lightweight and quick dry costumes did not weigh swimmers down in the water like earlier models.

Although we resembled drowned rats my best friend Lee and I thought we were pretty cool as we posed in our new Speedos at a family picinic at Carss Park on the October long weekend in 1961.

Lee and Geniaus - Carss Park October 1961

This post was prepared for The Carnival of Genealogy Edition 106 - Fourth Annual Swimsuit Edition