Family History talks and presentations

Discover topics including family history, genealogy and related elements of Queensland history and heritage.

Recent presentations

Using maps to reveal your family history story
Presenter: Elizabeth Torres, State Library of Queensland.
16 September 2026

Tracing your ancestors to Queensland
Presenters: Christina Ealing-Godbold and Kirsten Perris, State Library of Queensland.
28 August 2026

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

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. Discover resources you can search, and where they're located.

Births, deaths and marriage records for family historians (part 1)
Presenter: Stephanie Ryan, State Library of Queensland
2 August 2013

Births, deaths and marriage records for family historians (part 2)
Presenter: Staff member from Queensland Registry for births, deaths and marriages
2 August 2013

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.

Miss Rye immigrants: 19th Century female immigrants
Presenter: Stephanie Ryan, State Library of Queensland

Immigration and shipping records online (part 1)
Presenter: Saadia Thomson-Dwyer, Queensland State Archives
3 August 2018

Immigration and shipping records online (part 2)
Presenter: Cara Downes, National Archives of Australia
3 August 2018

Immigration and shipping records online (part 3)
Presenter: Stephanie Ryan, State Library of Queensland
3 August 2018

Immigration and shipping records online Q & A
3 August 2018

Researching convict ancestors
Presenters: Kirsten Perris from State Library of Queensland, and Saadia Thomson-Dwyer from Queensland State Archives
10 August 2016

Aspects of immigration (part 1)
Presenter: Kirsten Perris, State Library of Queensland
4 July 2014

Aspects of immigration (part 2)
Presenter: Stephanie Ryan, State Library of Queensland
4 July 2014

Shipping records for family historians (part 1)
Presenter: Stephanie Ryan, State Library of Queensland
June 2012

Shipping records for family historians (part 2)
Presenter: Niles Elvery, Queensland State Archives
27 June 2012

Shipping records for family historians (part 3)
Presenter: Greg Cope, National Archives of Australia
27 June 2012

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
Presenters: Kaye Nardella, Museum of Lands, Mapping and Surveying, Niles Elvery, Queensland State Archives, Annabel Lloyd, Brisbane City Archives, Stephanie Ryan, State Library of Queensland
31 August 2020

Solving your family history mysteries
Presenter: Stepehanie Ryan, State Library of Queensland
18 November 2016

Tracking immigrant ancestors
Presenter: Stephanie Ryan, State Library of Queensland
7 August 2015

House Histories (part 1)
Presenter: Dr Carmel Black, Senior Historian, City Architecture and Heritage team, Brisbane City Council
3 July 2015

House Histories (part 2)
Presenter: Kaye Nardella, Senior Curator, Lands, Mapping and Surveying Museum
3 July 2015

House Histories (part 3)
Presenter: Stephanie Ryan, Senior Librarian, State Library of Queensland
3 July 2015

House Histories (part 4)
Presenter: Don Watson, architect, historian and 2013 John Oxley Library Fellow
3 July 2015

Family connections to WW1 (part 1)
Presenter: Simon Farley, Collection Curator, State Library of Queensland
1 August 2014

Life and death in newspapers (part 1)
Presenter: Stephanie Ryan, State Library of Queensland
5 July 2013

Life and death in newspapers (part 2)
Presenter: John Graham from the Ryerson Index to death notices and obituaries in Australian newspapers.
5 July 2013

Highlights from major family history collections in Queensland (part 1)
Presenter: Stephanie Ryan, State Library of Queensland
29 June 2012

Highlights from major family history collections in Queensland (part 2)
Presenter: Sue Reid, President of the Queensland Family History Society (QFHS) Inc
29 June 2012

Highlights from major family history collections in Queensland(part 3)
Presenter: Margaret Coleman, Vice-President of the Genealogical Society of Queensland (GSQ)
29 June 2012