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Family history month

Family history month

August is National Family History Month Australasia and State Library of Queensland joins various libraries, archives, genealogy societies and other organisations in celebrating this event. It's a great time to start exploring your family tree or follow new leads.

A group of four women and one man sitting outside a wooden house

Black & white First Nations family portrait outside a wooden building

Getting started

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

Find out the steps involved in tracing your family tree.
Consult our useful websites for family historians and discover more places to search online.
Research guides will help to lead you on new and interesting paths.
Search our free indexes to see if your ancestor appears.
Become a member to access historical newspaper databases from home.
Ask a librarian for help researching your family history

Who's Your Mob?

Discover key resources for First Nations family history research.

Getting started
Births, deaths and marriages
Station, mission, police and church records
Newspapers
Photographs
Tindale genealogical collection
Margaret Lawrie genealogical collection

Onsite events and webinars

South Sea Islanders arriving by ship in Bundaberg, Queensland in 1895

South Sea Islanders in Queensland: Tracing Family History

Saturday 26 August, 1-2.30pm (Auditorium 2, level 2). Explore Australian South Sea resources, their use for family history, and some of the challenges with South Sea Islander family history.

Bridal party in front of Martin Dwyer's Rock of Cashel Hotel at the Thirteen Mile Creek, Sugarloaf, 1873. State Library of Queensland. Neg 94202.

Find your Irish Family History

Monday 28 August. 10am-12pm (webinar). Discover shipping lists carrying Irish immigrants, passenger records, as well as relevant newspapers, guides, documents and images.

Featured blogs

Image of three columns of newpaper text from Irish newspapers

Finding the Irish in newspapers

Two images from Illustrated London News depicting famine and immigration

Foreshadowing the famine disaster in Ireland: The Devon Commission, an inquiry into the occupation of land in Ireland 1843-1845

Real Estate Map - The O'Keeffe Estate, Ipswich Road

John O’Keeffe: Irish builder and pioneer

A view over vegetable plots surrounded by trees

Vegetables Directly from Creek to Table: Chinese Market Gardens in Brisbane

Hand drawn brown tree of life showing leaves, branches and roots.

DNA family history: making an informed decision

Early drawing of a section of the town of Brisbane, Queensland including the Convict Hospital, 1835

The first marriages in the Moreton Bay settlement 1839: behind the records

Family history resources

Client using a public computer.

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.

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.

An image of front covers of five family history journals and magazines

Family history blog posts

Discover interesting websites, learn some new research skill and read some fascinating family history tales.

staff member showing client how to use microfilm reader in library

Family history appointment service

Book a family history research appointment. Our qualified library staff can assist you with your research.