Hobart Branch, Tasmanian Family History Society Inc

Hobart Branch, Tasmanian Family History Society Inc The society fosters family history research with a focus on Tasmania. It is non-profit, non-sectarian, non-political, and run entirely by volunteers.

We are the Hobart branch of the Tasmanian Family History Society, a non-profit, non-sectarian, non-political organisation formed in 1980. We foster research into family history with a focus on Tasmania. Membership is open to anyone interested in genealogy, local history, heraldry and related topics. The society as a whole has grown to around 1200 members mostly Tasmanian residents but many in all

Australian states, New Zealand, United Kingdom, United States and elsewhere. Our research centre and administration is located at the "Old Bellerive Post Office". Our research centre holds a wide range of resource material, some not available anywhere else, on microfiche, hard copy papers and books, CDs and computers, available to the Library’s patrons. The society has no paid employees. We rely almost exclusively on volunteers to provide all services including regular branch newsletters, a quarterly society magazine Tasmanian Ancestry, and publications and databases produced through many history research projects.

We invite you to join us to hear Alison Alexander, Patron of our society, present our regular free monthly public talk o...
29/04/2026

We invite you to join us to hear Alison Alexander, Patron of our society, present our regular free monthly public talk on Tuesday 19 May 2026 at 7:30pm. Venue is the Sunday School at St Johns Park, New Town. All are welcome. No charge.

In Tasmania, only three Aboriginal placenames lasted from Aboriginal times, but from the 1880s they were used more and more – with some opposition. Here is the entertaining story of changing attitudes – for some.

Alison Alexander has been writing about Tasmanian history since the 1980s and has published upward of 30 books. Recent activity in remaining places with Aboriginal names got her wondering when the first names were used.

Join us and the speaker for a cuppa after the talk.

Go to http://www.orphanschool.org.au/where.php for directions to the venue. Look for the Parish Hall on the map.

04/04/2026

Take note: Our branch library will not open on 18 April 2026 (the day of the Scottish Kirk Sessions talk advertised below.

The Hobart branch of the Tasmanian Family History Society invites you to hear Dr Elisabeth Wilson give a free public tal...
04/04/2026

The Hobart branch of the Tasmanian Family History Society invites you to hear Dr Elisabeth Wilson give a free public talk entitled “Using the Scottish Kirk Session records for family history”.

Join us for the free talk at 2.00 pm on Saturday 18 April 2026, at the church hall of St Mark’s Anglican Church, Scott St, Bellerive. It will immediately follow the 2026 AGM of the Hobart branch.

Each parish of the Church of Scotland has a kirk session, whose duty is to care for the spiritual needs of the congregation and maintain good order, including administering discipline and superintending the moral and religious condition of the parish.

In previous centuries this included poor relief and also dealing with such matters as illegitimate babies. The records are available to search free of charge on the Scotlands People website.

This talk will explain how to use the records, despite the absence of any indexing, and how valuable they can be for dealing with research brick walls.

Dr Elisabeth Wilson has a long-standing interest in Australian Christian history, with doctoral research on late nineteenth century British evangelists in Australia. Elisabeth has worked as an archivist, teacher, researcher and genealogist. Her Tasmanian roots go back to the early 1840s with not a convict to be seen. Both research and Ancestry DNA show her to be 75% Scottish.

Members and non-members are welcome. RSVPs are not required.

The Hobart Branch of the Tasmanian Family History Society Inc. is based at the Old Bellerive Post Office. The Branch Library is open for assisted research on Tuesdays (12.30–3.30 pm), Wednesdays (9.30am–12.30pm) and Saturdays (1pm–4pm)

www.hobart.tasfhs.org

The Hobart branch of the Tasmanian Family History Society invites you to hear Rex Cox give a free public talk entitled “...
07/03/2026

The Hobart branch of the Tasmanian Family History Society invites you to hear Rex Cox give a free public talk entitled “The Port of Hobart in Time of War”.

Join us for the free talk at 7.30 pm on Tuesday 17 March 2026, at the Old Sunday School, St Johns Park, New Town.

The talk is underlain by a selection of images taken in the Port of Hobart during the Boer War, the Great War and WW2. These include port scenes and visiting ships – many of which would not otherwise have called here. Some images are rare, particularly those taken 1939-45 when photography was officially prohibited. The ways and means by which people circumvented the regulations provide a very interesting background.

Rex has a lifelong interest in ships and the Port of Hobart which led to employment as a Customs Officer, working on the busy Hobart waterfront during the fruit export seasons in the late 1960s. Rex joined the Maritime Museum of Tasmania in 1985, and is a past president and Life Member. He regularly contributes articles and photos to its quarterly journal “Maritime Times”. He is also President of Nautical Association of Australia, and contributes to its quarterly journal “The Log”. He published the book “Ships of Hobart Harbour” in 2014

Rex still photographs ships in the port 65 years after being given his first camera as a 13th birthday present.

Venue: The meeting will be held in the Old Sunday School, St Johns Park New Town, starting at 7.30 pm sharp.

Members and non-members are welcome. RSVPs are not required.

The Hobart Branch of the Tasmanian Family History Society Inc. is based at the Old Bellerive Post Office. The Branch Library is open for assisted research on Tuesdays (12.30–3.30 pm), Wednesdays (9.30am–12.30pm) and Saturdays (1pm–4pm)

www.hobart.tasfhs.org

The Hobart branch of the Tasmanian Family History Society invites you to hear Michael Watt give a free public talk entit...
08/11/2025

The Hobart branch of the Tasmanian Family History Society invites you to hear Michael Watt give a free public talk entitled “The Fingal Valley’s German Heritage”.

Join us for the free talk at 7.30 pm on Tuesday 18 November 2025, at the Old Sunday School, St Johns Park, New Town.

This talk focuses on a case study investigating a clustered settlement of 28 German families and two single men, who arrived in the Fingal Valley in three waves between 1855 and the mid-1880s. The topic is introduced by a discussion of the geographical and historical context for the study.

Settlement of the main towns and the mining of gold, coal and tin in the Fingal Valley are outlined. Immigration policy focusing on recruiting German immigrants is examined with reference to the three waves of German immigrants.

Our speaker will examine each case history in three main parts: the origins of the family; emigration and settlement of the family in Tasmania; and the life histories of each child in the second generation.

Michael Watt taught social studies in several rural and suburban high schools across Tasmania in the 1970s and then worked as an education officer in the Curriculum Services Branch focusing on curriculum development, student assessment and teacher professional development. Since retiring, he completed a Master of Education at the University of Tasmania in 1996 and a Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Canberra in 2004.

Venue: The meeting will be held in the Old Sunday School, St Johns Park New Town, starting at 7.30 pm sharp.

Members and non-members are welcome. RSVPs are not required.

The Hobart Branch of the Tasmanian Family History Society Inc. is based at the Old Bellerive Post Office. The Branch Library is open for assisted research on Tuesdays (12.30–3.30 pm), Wednesdays (9.30am–12.30pm) and Saturdays (1pm–4pm)

www.hobart.tasfhs.org

The Hobart branch of the Tasmanian Family History Society invites you to hear Rosie Severs give a free public talk entit...
08/10/2025

The Hobart branch of the Tasmanian Family History Society invites you to hear Rosie Severs give a free public talk entitled “The Tail of the Tin Dragon”.

Join us for the free talk at 7.30 pm on Tuesday 21 October 2025, at the Old Sunday School, St Johns Park, New Town.

The Trail of the Tin Dragon is all about the mining of tin in the north east of Tasmania in the late half of the 19th Century. It particularly focuses on the extreme conditions that the miners had to work in and the story of the many Chinese miners who mined the tin in this area and the effect they had on Tasmania both then and now.

Rosie has a love of researching the presentations she and her husband Michael undertake. History is close to her heart. She is a guide at TMAG and has also performed that role at the Cascades Female Factory. She has also volunteered at museums in the UK and Canada. Rosie co-founded and then led the Browns River History Group for many years.

Venue: The meeting will be held in the Old Sunday School, St Johns Park, New Town, starting at 7.30 pm sharp.

Members and non-members are welcome. RSVPs are not required.

The Hobart Branch of the Tasmanian Family History Society Inc. is based at the Old Bellerive Post Office. The Branch Library is open for assisted research on Tuesdays (12.30–3.30pm), Wednesdays (9.30am–12.30pm) and Saturdays (1pm–4pm)

www.hobart.tasfhs.org

Image: Mineral Resources Tasmania, Photo No. 0009-39, undated but probably early to mid-1902.

The Hobart branch of the Tasmanian Family History Society invites you to hear Andrea Gerrard give a free public talk ent...
10/09/2025

The Hobart branch of the Tasmanian Family History Society invites you to hear Andrea Gerrard give a free public talk entitled “Mary, a ‘refuser’ of 1789”.

Join us for the free talk at 7.30 pm on Tuesday 16 September 2025, at the Old Sunday School, St Johns Park, New Town.

The Old Bailey records of Andrea’s four times great grandmother describe Mary simply ‘as the wife of William Burgess’. Andrea has been researching her family history for nearly 50 years and there have always been some surprises along the way and not from the most likely sources.

Our speaker will share her discoveries about Mary, a woman who was determined to buck the system having cheated death in the courts, escaped from the Lady Juliana and been retaken. Having failed at gaining her freedom, her worst nightmares were about to come to fruition when she boarded the Surprize bound for New South Wales. With more and more newspapers and other records coming online Andrea was able to uncover much more of Mary’s story than had been previously possible.

Andrea’s interest in family history goes back 50 years when she started working on her family tree. Since then, she has completed a Master of Arts – her thesis being about the Tasmanian Aborigines who served in WW1 and went on to receive the Order of Australia for her work on First World War veterans. Currently Andrea is the curator of the 12/40th Royal Tasmanian Regiment Collection and Chair of The Headstone Project among many other volunteering projects connected to the navy, military and air force in Tasmania.

Venue: The meeting will be held in the Old Sunday School, St Johns Park, New Town, starting at 7.30 pm sharp.

Members and non-members are welcome. RSVPs are not required.

The Hobart Branch of the Tasmanian Family History Society Inc. is based at the Old Bellerive Post Office. The Branch Library is open for assisted research on Tuesdays (12.30 – 3.30 pm), Wednesdays (9.30 am – 12.30 pm) and Saturdays (1.00 – 4.00 pm)

www.hobart.tasfhs.org

Brad Williams led a project involving exhumations from the former Queenborough Cemetery. Join us to hear him speak about...
01/08/2025

Brad Williams led a project involving exhumations from the former Queenborough Cemetery. Join us to hear him speak about that project. He has given two public talks so far. He says this will be his FINAL public talk on this subject. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn about his fascinating project.

Entry is free. Members and non-members are welcome. RSVPs are not required. The talk will start at 7.30 pm on Tuesday 19 August 2025, at the Old Sunday School, St Johns Park, New Town.

This talk will detail the planning process and implementation of the exhumation project at the former Queenborough Cemetery undertaken by Hutchins School between March 2024 and June 2025.

The project involved the exhumation of 1,981 individuals from the cemetery, the identification of over 90% of those exhumed, and the process of reburial and commemoration of those exhumed.

It will also include a discussion on what remains of the former Queenborough Cemetery, and other disused cemeteries around Hobart.

Brad Williams as a paleoanthropologist and historical archaeologist who has been working in Tasmania for over twenty years. He led a team of 35 people for the exhumation project over the course of 14 months.

The Hobart Branch of the Tasmanian Family History Society Inc. is based at the Old Bellerive Post Office. Our library opens for assisted research on Tuesdays (12.30 – 3.30 pm), Wednesdays (9.30 am – 12.30 pm) and Saturdays (1.00 – 4.00 pm)

www.hobart.tasfhs.org

Take note Launceston Branch, Tasmanian Family History Society Inc..

Address

19 Cambridge Road
Bellerive, TAS
7018

Telephone

+616245 9351

Website

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