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Welcome to the Blue Mountains, NSW, Australia
LATEST NEWS
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FACEBOOK – Blue Mountains Family History Society now has its own Facebook page. If 25 members sign up we can get our own name rather than just a number.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Blue-Mountains-Family-History-Society- Inc/148922978528279
BMFHS RESOURCES LIBRARY
An extensive re-organisation of the Society's resources (Books, CDs, fiche and Pamphlets) has been undertaken by Jan, Pauline and Alison. All resources have been given new locations and catalogue numbers to make it easier to find the items needed for research. A GUIDE has been prepared to assist and an online version is available here.
ONLINE RESOURCE GUIDE
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RESEARCH ASSISTANCE
| The Blue Mountains Family History Society Inc. offers a research service for non-members and others living away from the Blue Mountains.
The cost for this service is $25.00 and is payable in advance and all activity is by regular mail.
Please contact the Research Officer of the Blue Mountains Family History Society Inc, PO BOX 97 SPRINGWOOD NSW 2777.
Please include as much information as you can to assist our Researcher is sourcing information for your request. After initial research is completed, further research will be at additional cost. |
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NEXT
MEETING
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May Meeting
Friday, 11th May 2012
10.00 am
Springwood Presbyterian
Church Hall
Here is our April 2012 NEWSLETTER for downloading from this site in Adobe Reader (pdf) format.
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May General Meeting The May General Meeting will be held Friday 11th May 2012 in the Hall of the Presbyterian Church in Macquarie Street, Springwood at 10.00 am. Our May meeting will be a presentation by Tony Larnach-Jones, Chair of the NSW Committee of the National Boer War Memorial Association. Have a look at the design for the National Boer War Memorial to be erected on Anzac Parade, Canberra (funds permitting) on their website http://www.bwm.org.au/
. Morning Tea as usual is $1 for everyone.
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| NEXT ACTIVITY |
APRIL OUTING - The April outing is a guided tour of Garden Island on Thursday 26 April. Cost for tour is $15 (not $10 as previous advised). Although we had to have numbers by the end of March, we can still take a few extras if you have not put your name on the list and you wish to attend. We will be catching the train that leaves Springwood at 8.01 am, sitting in the third carriage upstairs. There will be members travelling from Wentworth Falls and Hazelbrook, but we will all meet up once we get to Central, if not before. We will catch the suburban train to Circular Quay, where we will depart on the 10.05 am Watsons Bay ferry to arrive at Garden Island at 10.11 am. The tour ends at approximately 12.15 pm. I forwarded a letter from the Naval Historical Society of Australia, provided to those registered to attend. The organiser is preparing a handout on Garden Island for distribution on the outing.
May Outing Our excursions organiser was trying to organise a guided tour of the Sydney Jewish Museum at Darlinghurst for the May outing, but they advise they are too busy with school children during school terms, so he will organise for the next school holidays. He is now trying to organise a guided tour of St Mary’s RC Cathedral in Sydney. More information as it comes to hand.
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| PREVIOUS ACTIVITIES |
OLD GOVERNMENT HOUSE PARRAMATTA The September outing to Old Government House, Parramatta was very enjoyable and educational. Some members went to Parramatta Heritage Centre after lunch to view their exhibit or to do research in Local Studies.
STATE PARLIAMENT HOUSE - The August outing was a visit to Parliament House Macquarie Street Sydney. This is also when Parliament was sitting so as well as an extensive tour by Parliamentary staff and local member, Rosa Sage, visitors were able to sit through Question Time.
POWERHOUSE MUSEUM In July, we had an enjoyable tour of the Powerhouse Museum and a few of our members went on to the book launch of Richard Reid’s “Farewell My Children”, at the NSW State Records at The Rocks.
The May outing to Liverpool Genealogy Group was a success. The members who attended were very impressed with the research rooms, the friendly Liverpool members and the networking. It is always good to see the facilities of other societies and to get new ideas. Our members were provided with lunch and a few of our members found new information, researching in the afternoon.
We have now been invited to Ku-ring-gai Historical and Family History Society research rooms at Gordon and an outing is planned for 17th November.
To view a selection of photographs taken by member Pauline H, see our Lancer Barracks Gallery. plus photographs taken on other excursions.
The excursion for July was to Susannah Place Museum at 11.00 am on Thursday 29th July 2010. Susannah Place, 5 mins from Circular Quay, provides an insight into the richness of community life in The Rocks in the 19th Century. Some Photographs are available of the excursion as well as photographs of Cockatoo Island also visited on the excursion.
Thanks to Pauline H for these photographic memories.
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MEMBERSHIP NEWS
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BMFHS MEMBERSHIP & 'EXPLORERS' TREE'
Many thanks to Audrey King and her team for the October edition of our erudite journal, Explorers' Tree, was made available on Friday 14th October 2011. If you are yet to receive your copy, it will be found in the concertina folder in the Research Centre in Springwood Library.
RENEW NOW your membership of the Society. Our membership rates have remained unchanged for many years viz $25 annual for a single membership, $30 for a married couple, plus $7.50 if you wish the Explorers' Tree posted. Our membership year is 1 Jan to 31 Dec but our period of leniency expires in March.
To renew contact our Membership Secretary at a monthly meeting, by writing to the Society, PO Box 97 SPRINGWOOD NSW 2777 or attending the Springwood Library Family History Centre on a Tuesday or Thursday morning.
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Latest Updates to this site: Events 2012 and Member's Interests
Check our latest PHOTO GALLERY from one of our recent Society Activities.
Check our latest NEWSLETTER for downloading from this site in Adobe Reader (pdf) format.
The Society was formed in 1986 and concentrates on serving the area of the Blue Mountains City Council from the rise from the Cumberland Plain to Mt Victoria and the off shoots of Mt Wilson and Mt Irvine to the north and the Megalong Valley in the south. We are a true family history society with interests back to our roots - in England, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, France etc, how & where our ancestral families lived and worked and where they travelled. We have a close association with the Local Studies Librarians of BMCC - but our main focus is facilitating the family history research needs of the local residents, not local studies.
We have close ties with adjacent regions: Lithgow in the west, Nepean (Penrith) and Hawkesbury in the east.
Map © copyright J Edwards 1999
NON-MEMBER RESEARCH
The Blue Mountains Family History Society Inc. offers a research service for non-members and others living away from the Blue Mountains.
The cost for this service is $25.00 and is payable in advance and all activity is by regular mail.
Please contact the Research Officer of the Blue Mountains Family History Society Inc, PO BOX 97 SPRINGWOOD NSW 2777.
Please include as much information as you can to assist our Researcher is sourcing information for your request. After initial research is completed, further research will be at additional cost.
OUR SOCIETY
We are a very active family history society with regular meetings with guest speakers, workshops, regular help available (see under Springwood and Katoomba libraries), outings to resource centres and other places of interest, undertaking monumental inscriptions at local cemeteries and producing a variety of publications to aid family historians.
The Society meetings are held at 10am on the second Friday February to November in the upper hall of BMCC's Springwood Centre, opposite the entrance to the Library. Visitors are welcome. Alternately meetings feature a guest speaker or a workshop as well as a resume of the business of the Society. Committee meeting dates are included for Activities for 2010 (see under Archive of Events). Members are encouraged to make suggestions & raise concerns.
SPRINGWOOD LIBRARY
The genealogical resources of BMFHS and those of the BMCC Library are in the Family History section at Springwood Library. Society volunteers are in the section 10am to 1pm every Tuesday & Thursday, also on the last Tuesday & Thursday of each month. Members able to assist may be present on other days without notice.
By arrangement, support in individual research at Springwood Library can be given. Please contact the Society by email Blue Mountains Family History Society Inc. to arrange date and time.
Fiche readers & microfilm readers and 4 computers are set up for use in the area. The Society's CDs are available on our computers, a third computer has some of the BMCC library's CDs loaded while the fourth is for use with other CDs and has internet access. Some print out facilities are available.
Ancestry.com (library edition) is available though the six general access computers in the main library, but prior booking of these computers is strongly recommended.
The catalogue of the Society's holdings is on our computer & a hard copy is available. General access to our holdings is via Resources on this website.
Currently BMFHS holds more than 1200 books grouped by content. Following a new organisation plan, members led by Joan and Ian are working to improve the organisation of the library area and the resources. When completed a new library catalogue will be available and all resources will be catalogued into new categories for ease of retrieval. BMCC Library family history holdings are in the same area.
KATOOMBA
From June 2006 BMFHS volunteers have been at Katoomba Library to help with family history enquiries, 2 to 4pm every 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month. This trial has been very successful and we have met many well established family history researchers as well as beginners. However, although building reconstruction of Katoomba Library is on-going, this service has been resumed. The next assistance day will be the second Tuesday in February 2011. Arrangements for private research with a Society Volunteer can be made by contacting the Society by email Blue Mountains Family History Society Inc. or phone 02 4757 2317 to arrange date and time.
LATEST NEWS
Convict Interests The Blue Mountains Family History Society has begun compiling a list of Convict Ancestors, Pioneers and Interests of our Members. Many of our members have quite a few Convict Ancestors whilst others are researching groups of Convicts or particular Convict Ships. This list, along with details of the member involved is available at the Family History Centre in Springwood Library in a loose-leaf folder.
This list is now also available progressively on this website and will be found here. Convict Interests
For further information email bmfhsweb@gmail.com
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