Ballarat & District Genealogical Society Inc

14/10/2026

Familiarisation Session at the Eureka Research Hub

A reminder for those members at the BDGS September general meeting who booked places on the night:-

We will explore records, computers, Proscan, and Public records collection with Jo, Central Highlands Library collections manager, Mia, Hub librarian and Kath from PROV.

Tuesday 27th October
Meet at Hub 12.45 for 1.00pm start.
Cuppa and chat 2.00pm in the Rebellion Cafe

Four more places are still available for financial members only. Email me directly:- [email protected].
First four will be booked. Others put on waiting list in case of cancellations.

07/10/2026

A reminder for the Wendish Anniversary Dinner details:-

Greetings from the Wendish Heritage Society Aust. Inc.
It is a little over a fortnight until our special 40th Anniversary Luncheon Celebration. Thank you to the 34 people who have booked so far. There are still some places available. If you haven’t booked yet, please do so by this Saturday 10 October. We look forward to seeing you there.
Date: Saturday 24th October 2026
Time: From 11:00 am for 12:00 pm sit down for lunch
Venue: Oscar’s Hotel and Café Bar, 18 Doveton Street South, Ballarat
Cost: Order meal at own cost, drinks at bar prices
Dress Code: ‘A touch of Wendish’ This may be a splash of red, white and blue - or surprise us!
NOTE: Places are limited. RSVP no later than Saturday 10th October to: Catherine Gosling Email: [email protected] or Mobile: 0419 007 689.

03/10/2026

Wanting to upgrade your research skills more?
This is definitely worth taking part in. All online and free for all abilities. You choose which topics you are interested in

Go on line with link below and check it out.

https://www.familysearch.org/en/rootstech/ #:~:text=Registration%20Is%20Open,learning%20library%20is%20open%20everyday.

21/09/2026

The general meeting for BDGS inc will be held 7.30 Wednesday 23rd September at the Ballarat North Community Centre, cnr Walker street and Armstrong street Nth.
We will be looking at the Genealogical Society of Victoria You Tube Channel-Library Research Menu, followed by supper.
Visitors welcome.

16/09/2026

Do you have a genealogy brick wall? Bring it to our next Victoria & Tasmania Discussion Circle!

This session is all about tackling your toughest family history puzzles together. Send us your brick wall at least a week ahead (now!), include the question you are stuck on, your ancestor's name, what you already know and where you've searched so far (a timeline helps too!). Or share a brick wall you've recently cracked, we'd love to hear how you did it.

Thursday 25 September 2026 | 10:30am – 12:00pm
Meets via Zoom — link sent on registration
Email your brick wall to [email protected]
More info: gsv.org.au/victoria-and-tasmania-discussion-circle

Free for GSV members — log in to register. Not a member yet? This is a great reason to join and tap into the collective genealogy brainpower of the group!

15/09/2026

Today, members of the committee visited Helen Mollison for a coffee, a chat and to collect some records that she had been storing. The ulterior motive was to present her with a gift for her years of service on the BDGS committee, since 2014. A member since around 2010, she has given quiet support for our activities and had been acting Research Coordinator at one time. She stood down this August AGM but intends to attend our general meetings when able.
'Lord Timmy', her four footed companion, insisted he be in the photo as well as the potted Daphne.
Thank you Helen.

11/09/2026

It's the Preliminary Finals for the Ballarat Football Netball League this weekend with Sebastopol playing North Ballarat. Daylesford is playing against Dunstown in the Central Highlands League. Best of luck to all involved.

One hundred and three years ago these teams pictured below, were the Premiers in their respective leagues, Ballarat League and Ballarat Association. Maybe one of the players was a relative of yours.

The photos were in the Ballarat Courier Christmas supplement that were kindly donated to our society.
The State Library of Victoria has wonderful research guides on Australian Rules Football.
'Tracing footballing relatives can be interesting and provide an insight into a part of a person’s story that, in many cases, remains a proud achievement for their entire life.'David Flegg Librarian, Storage & Digital Collection Services

30/08/2026

Following on from the request to find a home for Mervyn Limon's WW2 medals, an email from Canada to the GSV had good news.

This is what it said-
Uncle Mervyn's medals arrived yesterday. Thanks so much for your work connecting me with Daniel Stanton. My whole family is very grateful and looking forward to seeing the medals and hearing more about how people in Australia managed to find us.

Your help is very much appreciated by our family.

Best Regards,
Keith Lock

28/08/2026

27/08/2026

Last night, Neil Leckie OAM, a man of many hats, chaired the AGM election for the 26/27 committee of our Society.

President Barb Harris, Vice President Jenny Burrell,
Secretary Carol Armstrong, Treasurer Neva Dunstan
Committee members Judy Vanderkley, Carmel Reynen, Graeme Reynolds and Ben Schueddekopf.

Neil then spoke about the Sebastopol Historical Society, how it came about, the museum with its wonderful collection of memorabilia, its research records and the very successful 'Night at the Museum' event they held this year.

You can visit their museum at the old Sebastopol Primary School building , Yarrowee Street Sebastopol, first Sunday of the month, 1 pm to 4 pm.

Neil then told us his experience of being awarded the Order of Australia, from being first informed (had to keep it secret) to the actual day of the presentation at Government House.

Our Secretary presented Neil with a donation for Sebastopol Historical Society.

Our members then enjoyed supper and a chat.