May 2026 Mini-Seminar Event

Delving into places: Local History Enhances Genealogy
& Researching UK Archives from Abroad
with Helen Smith

Delving into places: Local History Enhances Genealogy
Researching family history is more than just finding the hatch, match and dispatch dates! None of our ancestors existed in isolation as they lived, worked and played within networks in their communities. Changes in the local community had a direct impact on the lives of those within the community.

Researching the local/social history of your ancestral areas can answer the why of ancestral actions.

Employment or lack thereof, new industries/changing occupations, coming of the railway, natural disasters, etc., all will have an impact on your ancestral networks and direct impacts on your genealogical research.
Researching UK Archives from Abroad
For many of us, our research is based in the UK, but we live in Australia, so how do we successfully research our ancestors when we live so far away?

The increase in digitisation has been a boon for our research, but with such a small percentage of records digitised, what else can we do?

Once the initial research of births, marriages and deaths has been completed, it is time to look at archival records. How to do this when we live so far away?

We will cover types of records and what can be found where, how do we access the archives, has it been published, elsewhere, are there finding aids, how do we access the archives to allow us to further our research.

Seminar Details

​Day:    Saturday

​Date:   30 May 2026

​Time:   1.00 pm to 4.00 pm

Location:  GCFHS Rooms
Bicentennial Building
833 Nerang-Southport Road
Nerang  Qld  4211

Seminar Price: Bookings Essential
GCFHS Members $20.00
​Non-Members $25.00
Light afternoon tea included

Open to members and the public
Picture
Helen Smith
Helen is a speaker, DNA specialist, researcher, and author with a strong interest in Australian, English, medical and social history.

She has spoken in person and online in every state and territory in Australia, in Canada, USA, New Zealand and England, on 18 Unlock the Past cruises and has regularly presented for Legacy Family Webinars.

She is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists and the Genealogical Speakers Guild.

Gold Coast Family History Society is organising a series of talks by well-known experts to help you with your research in 2026
All are open to both GCFHS members and the general public for a small fee, bookings will be essential as numbers will be limited.  Visit our Up Coming Events page to see a list of future events .