Researching Abroad roadshow kicks off in Brisbane

I have just spent a fantastic day in Brisbane helping to kick off the new Unlock the Past roadshow, entitled Researching Abroad, in which both myself and German genealogist Dirk Weissleider are the international speakers. Most of the venues we are speaking at will involve two days of talks, with myself handling UK and Irish themes one day, and Dirk a mixture of German and European topics on the other.

Both Dirk and I arrived in Brisbane yesterday, and were given a great tour of the city by Rosemary and Eric Kopittke in the afternoon. Being complete genies we ended up visiting a local graveyard, to Mount Coot-Tha, and another visit to Paton Street (named after one of my Paton ancestors who arrived here in 1849)! In the evening we had a great meal at Unlock the Past's Helen Smith's home, along with the rest of the team.

Today then saw me kick off the first event with a British Isles session, in which I spoke about British and Irish newspapers, Scottish records prior to 1800, Irish resources found online, and records of ancestral crisis in Scotland (just before the jet lag kicked in!). To my complete surprise, present in the audience were two people related to me on my mother's side, Anne Dooris, my third cousin from New South Wales, and a cousin of my aunt Beth in Melbourne, called Susan, which helped get things off to a good start!

Prizes were given out, further presentations given by Rosemary on MyHeritage, and a brief DNA video from LivingDNA shown, whilst there were additional presentations from thee Queensland Genealogical Society and the State Library of Queensland.

A couple of schooners of pale ale, followed by a meal next door at the venue, mean that we were all fed and watered for the challenges ahead! Thanks to all who attended today! :)

Chris

My next 5 week Scottish Research Online course commences Sept 11th 2017 - details at www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102. For my genealogy guide books, visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html, whilst details of my research service are at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further content is also published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES.