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Family History Month

August is National Family History Month Australasia. It’s a great time to start exploring your family tree or follow new leads. Join State Library of Queensland for a series of events showcasing how you can make the most of our resources to explore your family connections.  

Onsite & online events

Woman sitting at two screens connected to a microfilm reader. The screens are showing historical newspapers.
Booked out
Introduction to family history 

Tomorrow · 10am–12pm

Learn how to start your family history research using key resources, search strategies, and hands-on experience with microfilm readers.
Event details
Photograph of a family sitting in their garden, with a map in the background
Booking required
Using maps to reveal your family history story

Fri 14 Aug · 10–11am

Discover how historical maps can help trace your ancestors, uncover family stories, and reveal the places they called home.
Event details
First Nations family outside wood building.
Booking required
Who’s Your Mob? Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander family history workshop

Fri 21 Aug · 10am–1pm

Who’s Your Mob? connects Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islanders with State Library of Queensland’s research expertise and collections.
Event details
Drawing of people disembarking migrant ship in the 1800's
Booking required
Tracing ancestors to Queensland: ships, schemes and historical records

Thu 27 Aug · 10am–12:30pm

Discover how to trace people's journeys to Queensland using passenger lists, immigration records, and early immigration schemes.
Event details

Family history resources

First Nations family outside wood building.
Who's Your Mob?
Tracing your First Nations family history and don't know where to start? Discover key resources for family history research.
Learn more
Woman using laptop at State Library. Photo by Jeff Camden.
Databases for family history research
Databases are an excellent way to find information on your ancestors, enabling you to gather material from multiple sources. Our family history databases include historical newspapers, and biographical sources.
Learn more
A typical family watching tv in 1959
Family history webcasts and videos
Family history webcasts cover major family history topics, including birth, death and marriage records, newspapers, immigration and shipping, house histories, World War 1 records, and the roles of the major family history societies and repositories.
Learn more

Family history appointment service

Book a family history research appointment. Our qualified library staff can assist you with your research.
Learn more
staff member showing client how to use microfilm reader in library

From the blog

Wooden house with people standing on verandah, with horse-drawn carriage and horse-drawn hearse in front.
The burial trade: undertakers – roles, records and photographs
Explore the history of undertakers and funeral directors in Queensland
Read more
Ryerson index logo
Ryerson Index: invaluable to the family history researcher
Learn about the Ryerson Index and how it can help with family history research.
Read more
Group of men standing beside a steam engine train
Discover your Queensland railways ancestor
Discover resources that allow researchers to follow someone’s railway career and personal life.
Read more
View all
Three adults and three children posing for a photograph

Getting started

Our family history pages are a great place to start for family history research.