Redland Genealogical Society

08/03/2026

So many stories still being uncovered and told. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/14WxVA3aNXa/

🚑 She rode on the floor of an ambulance, cradling a wounded soldier with both arms broken - racing to a ship that would not wait...

In June 1940, as the German Blitzkrieg tore through eastern France, Australian Olive Sherington - “Sherry” to the troops - was driving for the Mechanised Transport Corps (MTC), a voluntary civilian organisation providing drivers for ambulances, supply vehicles and staff cars.

With trains stopped, phones disconnected and refugees choking the roads, Sherry commandeered vehicles and wangled supplies to get fellow MTC drivers and British nuns out to Limoges - then stayed behind to destroy anything the Germans might find useful.

Next came the dash south: take English civilian refugees to Bordeaux, collect four wounded English servicemen, and reach a waiting Royal Navy destroyer. At the hospital there were six wounded - then the gates were locked, trapping them inside until a locksmith arrived. Sherry recorded it bluntly in her diary: “Do the French never hurry?”

The Royal Navy destroyer had already departed, but 90 kilometres north, a passenger ferry - SS Madura - was loading refugees. With time running out, Sherry rode on the floor as they sped for Port le Verdon, holding an injured man steady through every agonising pothole.

They arrived just in time, evacuating alongside some 1,700 other passengers. Sherry spent the voyage caring for the wounded.

For her efforts, she received a King’s Commendation for Brave Conduct. Four years later, as a senior commandant of the MTC, she was among the first women ashore at Normandy.

🔗 This International Women’s Day, read Olive Sherington’s remarkable story: https://brnw.ch/21x0xYj

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📸 Image: Olive Sherington with her Peugeot 202 van in France (IWM HU 090267).

04/03/2026

Researching your family tree and family history may seem daunting but here are a few tips to help get you started.

Note the point about joining a genealogical group? Yes, you can do it on your own but groups like ours, have so much expertise and knowledge and better than that ..... they love to help! Our members volunteer in our Genie Room at the Cleveland Library to do just that .... helping visitors.

More than that, our members help each other, giving advice and guidance. Our Genie Room is open to our members anytime the library is open, so they can access the resources stored there (both physical and digital) all for a modest annual fee, which by the way is far less than one single online subscription. It is a community of like-minded individual who are so supportive.

So while you might start your family history journey alone, you don't have to do it all alone.

03/03/2026

Interesting local history. Was this woman in your family?

Did you know Queensland’s first internationally acclaimed novelist was a woman?

For Women's History Month, our Local History team is highlighting a few notable Redlands Coast women in history, starting with Rosa Praed (1851 – 1935).

💡 Rosa wrote around 45 books and earned recognition in London’s literary circles (even the Prince of Wales was an admirer!).

💡 Her autobiography, 'My Australian Girlhood,' drew on her time growing up in the Queensland colony -- including the Redlands!

📚 Visit our Local History Collection to learn more: bit.ly/RedlandsCoastHistory

📸 Praed, Rosa-FL20807 (Source: State Library Queensland; Image description: Aboriginal camp Redland Bay, 1871)

01/03/2026

Monday Murmerings,

Too funny not to share, but seriously, did any of your ancestors marry multiple times? We all think that life was easy (romantising the past) and that our ancestors married for love and for life. Well, things may not be what they seemed or what we believed. The only way to know for sure is to delve head first into your family tree and find out the real story. Believe me, some of them are doozies!

Not sure how to do that? Come along to one of our monthly meetings (2nd Wednesday every month) or pop into the Genie Room at the Cleveland Library and have a chin wag with one of our GRAs.

The GRAs are in the Genie Room, every Tuesday and Thursday morning from 9:30am until 12:30pm as well as Saturday afternoons from 12:30pm until 3:30pm.

You never never know if you never never give it a go!

01/03/2026

A timely reminder with ANZAC day drawing closer.

On the night of 28 February 1942, HMAS Perth and USS Houston were engaged in the Battle of Sunda Strait - the action that would lead to the loss of both ships in the early hours of 1 March 1942.

After the Allied defeat in the Battle of the Java Sea, HMAS Perth and USS Houston attempted to break through the Sunda Strait - and met a Japanese invasion force in a fierce night action.

In the early hours of 1 March, Perth was struck by multiple torpedoes and sank at about 12.25 am. Captain H.M.L. Waller was lost with his ship.

Of the ship’s company of 686, only 218 were eventually repatriated - the rest were killed during or soon after the action, or died as prisoners of war.

We remember all who served aboard HMAS Perth, and honour their courage and sacrifice.

Today, the Last Post Ceremony will mark the anniversary and commemorate the life of Engine Room Artificer 4th Class Vincent Bernard McGovern.

▶️ Watch live at 4.30 pm AEDT: https://brnw.ch/21x0kxX

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📸 Image: Crew members on HMAS Perth in the Mediterranean Sea, c. March 1941. Photographer: George Silk. AWM 006846

22/02/2026

Monday Murmerings

We are all putting into practice the techniques that we learnt at the last monthly meeting. Our members learn so much from our guest speakers and each other. That is the ethos that our non-for-profit socieity embodies. In that vein, our GRAs volunteer their time and expertise in helping visitors in our Genie Room at the Cleveland Library.

As usual our Genie Room is open to visitors every Tuesday and Thursday morning from 9:30am until 12:30pm as well as Saturday afternoon from 12:30pm until 3:30pm. Not only this week but nearly every week, they are there hoping that they can be of help and guidance to others researching their family history. Maybe you could pop in and see if they can set you on the path of discovery?

Just think, myths and legends are nice and they make for a good story but they are still fiction but when you uncover a story about your family, it is much more entertaining and exciting.

20/02/2026

Stories are still emerging from our past. It is important to remember these events, they shape the future of our families and our communities. What stories are lurking in the shadows of your family's past?

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/17t7Vdy8L1/

The most dangerous thing she owned wasn’t a weapon. It was paper.

In a Japanese prisoner of war camp on Sumatra during the Second World War, Australian Army nurse Sister Agnes “Betty” Jeffrey kept a diary - even though diaries were actively searched for, and being caught with one could mean severe punishment - even death.

So she hid it. Writing things down let her hold onto truth in a place designed to control it.

At one point, she rolled up her two exercise books and hid them under the bench where she slept. They were concealed inside a beer bottle. When the women were moved, she wore the diary around her waist in a pouch fashioned out of a fish bag, under her clothes.

And then she came terrifyingly close to being caught.

When she was moved to Bangka Island in 1944, she got off a boat and realised the diary had fallen away. She thought she’d lost it forever. But a Japanese guard found the bag and called out, “Whose is this?” Jeffrey put her hand up - and he handed it back without looking inside.

Those pages - written in secret - survive in the Memorial’s Collection alongside other fragile traces of life in captivity, including drawings, sheet music, poems.

🔗 Learn more: https://brnw.ch/21x06ji

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📸 Image: Betty and Vivian Bullwinkel during their London visit (supplied).

19/02/2026

A great tip ....

Look for Multiple Death Records.
Some ancestors have more than one death record (for instance, a death certificate, a burial register entry, a headstone, probate records). Comparing them can reveal conflicting - and revealing - details about family connections, addresses & more.

18/02/2026

DNA ethnicity seems to be quite a trend these days but just remember they are only estimates. What really matters are the DNA matches. Coupled with traditional genealogy research, DNA matches can help us break down those pesky and frustrating brick walls, those family mysteries and throw up some surprises (or scandals that need more delicate research).

So you did a test and don't know what to do now? Come and talk to our GRAs about how to start and develop your family history research. They are on duty now (9:30am-12:30pm) or any of the regular scheduled GRA days in our Genie Room in the Cleveland Library (cnr Middle and Bloomfield Sts, Cleveland). The GRAs are on duty on Tuesday and Thursday mornings (9:30am-12:30pm) and Saturday afternoons (12:30pm-3:30pm).

Our members also meet at the Donald Simpson Centre in Cleveland on the 2nd Wednesday of the month at 12:15pm. Our members love to help others, give valuable advice (our GRAs in particular) and share their experiences, tips, hints and information about resources. All visitors are welcome.

15/02/2026

Monday Murmerings

Now that the romance of Valentine's Day has subsided, what about finding those historical romances in your family's past? Just imagine, an ancestor has met the love of their life on board a ship whilst departing their homeland to Australia. It did happen, or finding love whilst working in a stately home or manor house as a maid, butler or groomsman?

The only way to find these famly stories, is to go delving into your family's history and doing some genealogical research. We can help you with that. The thrill of finding amazing stories and events in your family's past is something all of us family historians and genealogists thrive on. Genealogy is more than just names and dates, it is about the lives of those who come before us and without whom we would not exist.

So why not pop into our Genie Room at the Cleveland Library when our GRAs are on duty? (9:30am-12:30pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 12:30pm-3:30pm on Saturdays). Have a chat with our lovely volunteers who are there to help show you how to start, help find those elusive ancestors and guide you through the thrill of the chase.

13/02/2026

Oh if only! Valentines day tomorrow, now who is going to hear this line on the day? 😇😁🤣😍

Hmmm, maybe I'll just head into the Genie room tomorrow afternoon and find a romantic story involving my ancestors instead.

10/02/2026

Who said genealogist and family historian can only be found in a library, cemetary or behind their computer screens?

Not so, today our merry bunch of enthusiasts will be meeting at 12:15pm at the Donald Simpson Centre for our monthly meeting where members and guests share their experiences in the hunt for their ancestors.

Also today, our first Guest Speaker of the year, Kristianne Bucknall from Redland Libraries, will be there with her presentation, "Ways to Organsie Your Family History Notes". Visitors are most welcome to attend. There is a modest $2 entry fee (to help us cover our costs for the venue hire) and the cafe on site has a range of yummy things to eat and drink, if you are wanting some nourishment.

Just remember, we are not for profit society, staffed by volunteers and we love to share our passion for family history with anyone interested. There are so many great stories yet to be revealed, will your family be amongst those?