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Family History webcasts

The webcasts below cover topics including family history, genealogy and related elements of Queensland history and heritage.

The videos have been divided up into: Life events, Travel and migration, Time and place, and Oral histories. Each section is organised with the latest talk at the beginning. Click on the video you want to watch. Click on play. To view video in full screen, click on " [ ] " in bottom right hand corner.

Life Events

A life event is an event that changes your life in some way. Records of major life events form the building blocks of family history research. View these videos to gain an idea on what resources to search, and where they're located.

Births, deaths and marriage records for family historians, 2 August 2013, part 1

Presenter - Stephanie Ryan, State Library of Queensland

Discover State Library's many and varied birth, death and marriage sources for Australia and overseas, and learn the skills to use them productively. Staff from the Queensland Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages and State Library will demonstrate what is available.

Births, deaths and marriage records for family historians, 2 August 2013, part 2

Presenter - Staff member from Queensland Registry for births, deaths and marriages

Travel and migration

Settlement in Australia began in 1788. Since then millions of people from Europe and around the world have arrived in Australia, as migrants or convicts. These talks can connect you to new resources. They can help you discover ways to locate information to further your research.

Irish Immigration, 28 August 2023 - Presenter: Niles Elvery, Queensland State Archive; Eve Terry, National Archive of Australia; Stephanie Ryan, State Library of Queensland.

German Immigration 02 August 2022

Presenters - Eve Terry, National Archives of Australia, and Eileen Dwane, State Library of Queensland

Familienforschung: Researching your German family history at the National Archives

Coming to Queensland, 27 August 2021

Presenters - Joanne Seccombe, Queensland State Archives, Cara Downes, National Archives of Australia, and Stephanie Ryan, State Library of Queensland

In celebration of family history month, National Archives of Australia, Queensland State Archives and the State Library collaborated to present a webinar on immigration and shipping. Coming to Queensland uncovered the unique and rich resources offered by each organisation and assisted researchers to find records of immigrant arrivals. The webinar highlights records relevant to Queensland and provides a deep dive into our Ancestry and Findmypast databases.

Miss Rye immigrants: 19th Century female immigrants

Presenter - Stephanie Ryan, State Library of Queensland

During the 1860s a group of women came to Queensland from Britain with the support of the Female Middle Class Emigration. They had taken loans in order to afford the journey and wrote about their experiences while repaying their debt to the society, providing an insight into their lives.
 

Immigration and shipping records online, 3 August 2018, part 1

Presenter - Saadia Thomson-Dwyer, Queensland State Archives

Finding an ancestor’s arrival in Australia can be difficult, but there is an increasing number of ways to track them. The National Archives of Australia, Queensland State Archives and State Library, together, hold the major Australian shipping records for the 19th and 20th centuries. Hear staff from all these organisations discuss their records and how to use them effectively.

Immigration and shipping records online, 3 August 2018, part 2

Presenter - Cara Downes, National Archives of Australia

Immigration and shipping records online, 3 August 2018, part 3

Presenter - Stephanie Ryan, State Library of Queensland

Immigration and shipping records online, 3 August 2018, Q & A

Researching convict ancestors, 10 August 2016

Kirsten Perris from State Library of Queensland, and Saadia Thomson-Dwyer from Queensland State Archives discuss the resources each repository holds which can help track down your convict.

Aspects of immigration, 4 July 2014, part 1

Presenter - Kirsten Perris, State Library of Queensland

Lost immigration lists and missing names on lists create challenges for researchers. Female immigrants, both the poor and ‘distressed gentlewomen’ may also be difficult to track. Family history staff Stephanie Ryan and Kirsten Perris will help you deal with some of these problems by demonstrating how to use relevant resources that State Library provides.

Aspects of immigration, 4 July 2014, part 2

Presenter - Stephanie Ryan, State Library of Queensland

Shipping records for family historians, June 2012, part 1

Presenter - Stephanie Ryan, State Library of Queensland

Listen to staff from State Library of Queensland, Queensland State Archives and National Archives of Australia, discuss their records and how to use them effectively.

Shipping records for family historians, 27 June 2012, part 2

Presenter - Niles Elvery, Queensland State Archives

Shipping records for family historians, 27 June 2012, part 3

Presenter - Greg Cope, National Archives of Australia

Time and Place

View these videos to see what types of resources you can search to find your ancestor in a certain place at a certain time. Learn what techniques can be used to search the resources.

Land! Lots of Land! Webinar

Join our speakers for an insightful session as they describe the land records held by their organisations and how to make the most of these resources.

Solving your family history mysteries

Presenter - Stepehanie Ryan, State Library of Queensland

Explore historical stories pieced together using a range of SLQ and online resources. Learn how these resources may be used to answer questions of your own. 

Tracking immigrant ancestors, 7 August 2015

Presenter - Stephanie Ryan, State Library of Queensland

Many immigrant ancestors moved about after they landed in their new country, making them difficult to trace. Traditional means of searching cannot guarantee results so we must look to alternative resources including diaries, letters, books, reports of government enquiries, post office directories, electoral rolls and newspaper accounts to locate them. See how you can explore these possibilities to track down immigrant ancestors.

House Histories, 3 July 2015, part 1

Presenter - Dr Carmel Black, Senior Historian, City Architecture and Heritage team, Brisbane City Council

Interested in the history of a house? Discover how to explore its story in this discussion with special guests. Find out about the importance of determining your purpose, the resources you need, where to find them and the strategies required.

House Histories, 3 July 2015, part 2

Presenter - Kaye Nardella, Senior Curator, Lands, Mapping and Surveying Museum

House Histories, 3 July 2015, part 3

Presenter - Stephanie Ryan, Senior Librarian, State Library of Queensland

House Histories, 3 July 2015, part 4

Don Watson, architect, historian and 2013 John Oxley Library Fellow

Family connections to WW1, 1 August 2014, part 1

Presenter - Simon Farley, Collection Curator, State Library of Queensland

State Library’s World War I collections include: original diaries and letters; newspapers, photographs, oral histories, medals, and rare publications including home front and battalion histories. Collection Curator Simon Farley and Senior Family History Librarian Stephanie Ryan outline the resources available to help you trace your family connections to this period.

Family connections to WW1, 1 August 2014, part 2

Presenter - Stephanie Ryan, State Library of Queensland

Life and death in newspapers, 5 July 2013, part 1

Presenter - Stephanie Ryan, State Library of Queensland

State Library of Queensland holds the one of the largest publicly available collections of Queensland newspapers as well as major Australian and overseas titles in various formats. Find out about the sometimes elusive fount of information available for your family history research, and learn some strategies to use it effectively.

Life and death in newspapers, 5 July 2013, part 2

Presenter - John Graham from the Ryerson Index to death notices and obituaries in Australian newspapers.

Highlights from major family history collections in Queensland, 29 June 2012, part 1

Presenter - Stephanie Ryan, State Library of Queensland

Where do you go to find significant family history collections in Queensland and assistance in using resources? Find out about what resources the Genealogical Society of Queensland, the Queensland Family History Society and the State Library have, and how they can help you in your research.

Highlights from major family history collections in Queensland, 29 June 2012, part 2

Presenter - Sue Reid, President of the Queensland Family History Society (QFHS) Inc

Highlights from major family history collections in Queensland, 29 June 2012, part 3

Presenter - Margaret Coleman, Vice-President of the Genealogical Society of Queensland (GSQ)

Oral histories

Listen to the webcast to learn more about the oral history interview process.

Presenting the interview – oral histories (Queensland Memory presentation)

What happens to the oral history interview once the microphone is turned off, and the individual leaves the chair and walks away? Oral History Queensland (OHQ) partnered with State Library of Queensland to ask Brisbane’s experienced practitioners to share their thoughts on the topic and respond to questions from the audience. 

Michelle Rayner – Historian, Radio National producer and presenter

Jennifer Barrkman – Oral historian and playback theatre practitioner

David Burton - Brisbane playwright and author and

Gavin Bannerman – SLQ’s first appointed Oral History and Digital Storytelling Coordinator (2008-2011)