Australia has many societies and organizations that may have information of value to your genealogical research. There are also some societies in the country of origin of your ancestor. You may find it helpful to join one of these societies to gain information and knowledge about the area your ancestor came from, as well as access to their publications.
Genealogical Societies
There are a few genealogical societies which emphasize Australia research. Most societies publish helpful periodicals, transcripts, compiled genealogies, special indexes, collections and projects. They also publish inquiries/queries about Australiz ancestors or maintain a list of members' research interests.
The following societies may be of interest:
- Society of Australian Genealogists
120 Kent Street
Sydney, NSW 2000
Australia
Email: info@sag.org.au
Fax: 02-9241-4872
Telephone: 02-9247-3953
Internet: http://www.sag.org.au/
New South Wales Family History Societies
Albury and District Historical Society
P.O. Box 822
Albury, NSW 2640
Australia
Armidale Family History Group
P.O. box 1378
Armidale, NSW 2350
Australia
Botany Bay Family History Society Inc.
PO Box 1006
Sutherland, NSW 1499
Australia
Internet: http://www.bbfhs.org.au/
Bega Valley Genealogical Society
P.O. Box 19
Pambula, NSW 2549
Australia
Bellinger Valley Historical Society
Hyde Street
(Near Council Offices)
Bellingen, NSW, 2454
Australia
Internet: http://www.rootsweb.com/~nswbmfhs
Family History Group of Bathurst Inc.
PO Box 1058
Bathurst NSW 2795
Australia
Internet: www.bathurstfhg.asn.au/
Email: [mailto:bfhg@bathurstfhg.asn.au bfhg@bathurstfhg.asn.au
Hawkesbury Family History Group
Hawkesbury Library
300 George Street
Windsor NSW 2756
Internet: www.hfhg.hawkesbury.net.au
Lake Macquarie Family History Group
PO Box 3046
Teralba, NSW 2284
Australia
Internet: http://www.lmfhg.org.au/
Email: secretary@lmfhg.org.au
Queensland Family History Societies
Caboolture Family History Research Group Inc. (CFHRG Inc.)
PO Box 837
Caboolture, QLD 4510
Australia
Email: cfhrg@mail.cth.com.au or cfhrg@yahoo.com.au
Telephone: 07-5428-2018
Internet: http://cfhrg.tripod.com
Library:
King Street
Caboolture ("The Old Fire Station")
Caboolture, QLD
Australia
Cooroy-Noosa Genealogical and Historical Research Group Inc.
Internet: http://www.genealogy-noosa.org.au/
Gold Coast Family History Society Inc.
Internet: http://www.goldcoastfhs.org.au
Western Australia Family History Societies
Western Australian Genealogical Society Inc.
6/48 May Street
Bayswater, WA 6053
Australia
Email: genealogy@wags.org.au
Telephone: 08-9271-4311
Fax: 08-9370-1572
Internet: http://www.wags.org.au
Busselton Family History Society
Internet: http://members.westnet.com.au/busgen
Carnarvon Genealogical Society
P.O. Box 1049
Carnarvon, WA 6701
Australia
Geraldton Family History Society
The Residency
321 Marine Terrace
Internet: http://members.westnet.com.au/gfhs/
Mailing Address:
Geraldton Family History Society
P.O. Box 2502
Geraldton, WA 6531
Australia
Goldfields Family History Society, Inc.
P.O. Box 1462
Kalgoorlie, WA 6430
Australia
Great Southern Family History Society
Western Australia
Internet: http://members.westnet.com.au/gsfhs
Narrogin Meeting House Family History Centre
c/o 31 Furnival Street
Narrogin, WA 6312
Australia
Southern River Family History Centre
P.O. Box 108
Melville, WA 6156
Australia
Family Associations
(If you would like a free listing for family associations in Australia, mail details to:
Internet History Resources
23 Edith St
Leichhardt, NSW 2040
Australia
Email: Angus McInnes at admin@ihr.com.au
The Chalker/Charker Society of Australia
This family society consists mainly of descendants of William Charker, also known as Chalker, who was transported to Sydney in 1802. For full details contact:
The Everingham Family Association
P.O. Box 1039
Ashfield, NSW 1800
Australia
Telephone: 02-9326-3290
The Association is made up of descendants of Matthew James Everingham, who arrived in 1788 as a convict on the First Fleet, and his wife Elizabeth Rimes (also a convict), who arrived on the Second Fleet.
Historical Societies
Historical societies can be valuable sources of information about Australia. Similar societies exist in countries from which Australians emigrated and they often collect information about Australian immigrants. Some may have information about specific Australian individuals. Many societies have special collections of books and manuscript materials for Australia that may be difficult to find in libraries and archives. For more information see Australia Archives and Libraries
Locating Records at the Family History Library
Society records are usually described in the Author/Title section of the Family History Library Catalog on microfiche under the name of the society. They are also listed in the Place Search of the catalog under one of the following:
AUSTRALIA - SOCIETIES
AUSTRALIA - GENEALOGY - SOCIETIES
Some records gathered, compiled and published by societies are also listed in the Place Search of the Family History Library Catalog under the type of record. For example, cemetery transcripts gathered by a local genealogical society are listed in the catalog under:
AUSTRALIA - CEMETERIES