South Australian Genealogy & Heraldry Society

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South Australian Genealogy & Heraldry Society

Genealogy SA
The official page for the South Australian Genealogy & Heraldry Society Inc. Postal address: PO Box 3114, Unley, South Australia, 5061.

Our library opening hours are:

Tuesday 10AM to 9PM, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday from 10AM to 4:30PM, and every 2nd & 4th Sunday from 1PM to 4:30PM.

09/12/2025

We love to celebrate connections and stories in the Genealogy SA Library!

Private William Kirk Harley tossed a message in a bottle overboard somewhere in the Great Australian Bight in 1916, on his way to serve in WWI. He survived the war, and returned home with his wife (pictured together), who he had married in England. In October this year, the bottle was found on a West Australian beach, and the finders were able to get in touch with his surviving grandchildren.

Michele Patterson (pictured) is one of William's five grandchildren, who visited us last month! She was looking for help on tracing the Harley family in Adelaide, including the ownership of their iron foundry on Hindley Street. We were able to follow the family through the Sands & McDougall Directories, and add some more pieces to Michele's family story.

Find out more:
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10-25/message-in-a-bottle-wwi-aif-soldier/105932346
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10-28/world-war-one-message-in-bottle-family-found/105939652

05/12/2025

Our foyer display is feeling fabulously festive in the Genealogy SA Library! Get in the spirit and check it out on your next visit to the Genealogy SA Library. Make sure to drop by before our Christmas closure – our last day open in 2025 is Saturday 20 December.

Thanks as always go to our photographic team and their excellent work on our foyer displays.

Genealogy SA Library, 201 Unley Road, Unley
Tuesday 10.00am to 9.00pm
Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday 10.00am to 4.30pm
Selected public holidays 1.00pm to 4.30pm
Genealogy SA members: FREE! Visitors: $30 full day access, $20 from 12pm

03/12/2025

Join or renew with Genealogy SA in December for your chance to win a prize pack valued up to $250, including:
👩‍🏫 A free ticket to any Genealogy SA education event
🎁 A Genealogy SA gift set: t-shirt/hoodie, mug, notebook & tote bag.
🔎 A One-on-One Solve It Session, in person or online

Membership is only $121 annually, with fantastic member benefits. All members who join or renew during the month of December will automatically go into the draw to win a Genealogy SA Prize pack valued at up to $250. T&Cs apply, contact Genealogy SA for all the details.

01/12/2025

Our December Special Interest Groups are decidedly festive! Join us to celebrate another year of fabulous family history research.

🎄Combined Irish, DNA, Scotland, Family History Writers and England Group Christmas Party, Monday 8 December, 6:00 pm, In person

🎅 Following a German family around South Australia & a shared Christmas Supper, Wednesday 10 December, 7:30 pm, Germanic & Continental Europe, In person

💻 Custom Facts: Pros and Cons, Tuesday 9 December, 7:00 pm, Family Historian Software Group, Online

Connect with your fellow family historians and register for one (or more!) of these meetings – FREE for Genealogy SA members! If you're not a member yet, you can attend one meeting as a visitor, so drop in and see what our Special Interest groups have to offer. Register via our website.

Image: Genealogy SA Photographic Collection P00209-06, Vicki Bennetts with Father Christmas in the Magic Cave, c1951.

28/11/2025

Are you ready to take your family history journey to the next level? Learn how to unlock the power of spreadsheets for genealogy! Book your spot now – link in the comments ⬇️

📆 Monday 19 January 2026, 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm
🎟 Online via Zoom, Members $49 / Non-members $99

This hands-on online workshop will lay the foundation for you to advance the organisation, analysis, and display of your research. Learn how to track your progress, searches, and citations; how to sort, filter, and use spreadsheets to spot patterns and anomalies in your data; and how to present your results in pleasing and interesting ways.

Suitable for beginners to intermediate spreadsheet users, this course applies to all major spreadsheet programs including Excel, Calc (Libre Office), Google Sheets, and Numbers (Apple Mac). This workshop is two hours long and includes practical demonstrations and interactive activities, followed by dedicated time for questions and discussion.

26/11/2025

With the festive season coming up, please make sure to plan your visits to the Genealogy SA Library before our Christmas Holiday Closure!

📚 The Genealogy SA Library will close at 4:30 pm on Saturday 20 December 2025, and reopen at 10:00 am on Tuesday 6 January 2026. Our Research Services will also be closed during this time.

👩‍💻 The Genealogy SA office will close at 4:30 pm on Friday 19 December 2025, and will reopen at 9:00 am Monday 5 January 2026.

Leading up to these dates, our library opening hours are:
🕙 Tuesday 10.00am to 9.00pm
🕙 Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday 10.00am to 4.30pm

24/11/2025

The Genealogy SA library is a treasure trove of resources for the family historian - but how do you navigate it? Join us on Tuesday morning for our final tour in 2025, and find out how to get the most out of our resources!

📆 Tuesday 25 November, 11am
📍 201 Unley Road, Unley

Learn about our fantastic family history resources and the best way to navigate our extensive collections. No booking required, and the tour is FREE for Genealogy SA members ($20 for visitors, includes full-day access to our library resources with volunteer assistance).

We will be running tours throughout 2025 on the third Tuesday (7pm) and last Tuesday (11am), so if you can't make it today, pop next month's tour in your calendar!

21/11/2025

‘Don’t come the raw prawn with me’, ‘You little beauty!’ and 'Fair suck of the sav' are some catchphrases that are part of the Australian vernacular – but did you know their origins?

They are some of the sayings of the famous Australian comedian Roy Rene. Roy, whose real name was Harry van der Sluys (or Sluice) was born on Hindley Street, Adelaide, on 15 February 1891. After first appearing on stage at the age of 10, he went on to perform as ‘Boy Roy, the Child Soprano’. When his voice broke, he turned to comedy and carved out a long career on stage and on radio. He starred in one film, Strike Me Lucky - link in the comments!

Roy died on November 22 1954 in Sydney and is commemorated with a statue on Hindley Street.

Images:
Geenealogy SA Photographic Collection, P00108-61F. Photo of Roy Rene, signed for his friend James Harold (Harry) Strachan.
Statue of Roy Rene on Hindley Street, photographer Michael Coghlan, 2010.

19/11/2025

NEW DATABASE UPDATE – 16,000+ records added to BDM Deaths and Marriages!

Search now: www.genealogysa.org.au/resources/online-database-search

Our index of Death and Marriage Registrations has been extended in line with current embargo dates, with thanks to the Registrar.

This update extends our coverage of Death Registrations to include records from 9 February 1994 to 31 August 1994, adding more than 6000 records. We have also made some corrections to previous records.

This update also extends our coverage of Marriage Registrations to include records up to early September 1950, adding almost 10,000 records.

More information about available records can be found in the Information Sheet for each dataset. Thanks as always to our volunteers for transcribing the data for these records to enable look up through our online database search functionality on the website.

Images: Genealogy SA Photographic Collection
P00083-23 "Sacred to the memory of Mrs. Sarah Giles wife of Mr. William Giles who died October 6th 1833. Aged 42 years".
P00207-01F Wedding of Edward Albert Dansie and Rose Pitman, Wirrabara Forest, 1909.

17/11/2025

What can you find in the Genealogy SA library? Join us on Tuesday evening for a library tour and get the most out of our rich resources. This is our last evening tour for 2025!

📆 Tuesday 18 November, 7pm
📍 201 Unley Road, Unley

Learn about our fantastic family history resources and the best way to navigate our extensive collections. No booking required, and the tour is FREE for Genealogy SA members ($20 for visitors, includes full-day access to our library resources with volunteer assistance).

14/11/2025

The Genealogy SA Library is a great place to find fantastic family history treasures – like Oscar the cat! 🐱

Find your family history with our extensive resources, including South Australian BDM records, newspaper death notices, burial records and more! Plus, enjoy in-library access to Ancestry, MyHeritage, FindMyPast, The Genealogist, FamilySearch Affiliate resources and other must-have genealogy tools.

We also have a massive collection of books, journals and records, including family and local histories, how-to books, records on microfiche and more. Genealogy SA members can even borrow select titles – just ask our helpful volunteers.

Genealogy SA Library, 201 Unley Road, Unley
Tuesday 10.00am to 9.00pm
Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday 10.00am to 4.30pm
Selected public holidays 1.00pm to 4.30pm
Genealogy SA members: FREE! Visitors: $30 full day access

Image: Genealogy SA Photographic Collection, P00198-486. The back yard at 'Daylesford'. Two boarders, the Rev. Pierce (Presbyterian) and Mr. Easterbrook with Oscar. Mr. Easterbrook was the head master at North Broken Hill School. When Oscar fell down the well one day he climbed down to rescue him.

12/11/2025

NEW DATABASE UPDATE – 726,000+ new records!

We are excited to let you know that we have made a major update to our 'All Other Records' dataset, with more than 725,000 new records added across thirteen NEW topics! Search the database today and find out what your ancestors were up to: www.genealogysa.org.au/resources/online-database-search

📄 Business Agents - 3,625 records
👨‍⚖️Circuit and District Courts - 58,267
💰 Gold Buyers Register - 1,355
🏊 Grange SLSC Annual reports - 59,970
📃 Land Agents Register - 28,192
📜 Land Valuers Register - 7,810
🥼 Medical Register - Specialists - 37,763
💵 Moneylenders - 3,009
⛪ Napperby South Methodist Church Trust Minutes - 137
💰 Return of Balances of Intestate Estates - 20,493
👮 South Australia - First Police Force - 58
👨‍⚖️ Supreme Court - 37,425
✉️ Unclaimed Letters - 468,305

More information about available records can be found in the Information Sheets for each dataset. Thanks as always to our volunteers for transcribing the data for these records to enable look up through our online database search functionality on the website.

Images: Genealogy SA Photographic Collection
P00233-001 Grange SLSC open boat race winning crew, Miranda, NSW, 1988.
P00182-13 Hospital staff photograph, White Cliffs Hospital, Broken Hill, 1906.

Address

201 Unley Road
Unley, SA
5061

Website

https://www.genealogysa.org.au/

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