First Nations family history videos and resources

State Library of Queensland's Who’s Your Mob? online resources include a series of videos and information guides to help people research their First Nations family history.

The videos and guides provide easy and engaging access to information on the following topics:

• Getting started
• Births, deaths and marriages
• Station, mission, police and church records
• Newspapers
• Photographs
• The Tindale Collection
• The Margaret Lawrie Collection
• Military records
• Extending your research

The Who’s Your Mob? resources focus on collections held here at State Library of Queensland, but also help connect people to collections of other organisations in Queensland and across Australia.

The videos and guides also address some of the challenges that you may encounter in doing First Nations family history research, including a lack of some records, lost records, different names and incorrect spelling, and material or language that can be distressing.

The Who’s Your Mob? series introduces the two main collections for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander family history held at State Library: the Tindale Genealogical Collection and the Margaret Lawrie Collection.

The Tindale Collection includes family trees recorded by anthropologist Norman Tindale when he visited Australian Aboriginal communities in 1938. State Library holds these genealogies, as well as many photos, for the Queensland communities visited by Tindale. Visit the Tindale Collection webpage to find out more, including how to search for names and request material.

Margaret Lawrie travelled to the Torres Strait many times between 1964 and 1973, recording family trees and collecting songs, drawings and artwork. Her collection was donated to State Library of Queensland in 1996 and is a valuable resource for people doing Torres Strait Islander family history research. The Margaret Lawrie Collection webpage provides further information, including how to search for names and request material.

Our thanks go to Telstra for the funding support provided through their Deadly Digital Communities Program, encouraging the development of digital skills in regional and remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. State Library is committed to supporting digital literacy, and these videos offer an ideal introduction to exploring First Nations family history resources, helping people discover and share their stories, and providing information on how to reach out for further assistance.

For any assistance with discovering your family history, visit us here at State Library, or contact us through our Ask a Librarian service.