Welcome to the web site of the Blue Mountains Family History Society (BMFHS). Here you will find details of activities and events planned by the Society, details of our volunteer researchers in the Family History Area of the Springwood Branch of the Blue Mountains City Council (BMCC) Library, plus links to other sections of this site (Resources, Members, Blue Mountains, Facebook, Application Forms etc)
Please also check out ourPosts section where you will find posts/blogs on activities and events undertaken by BMFHS. You will also be able to comment on these posts. Also inPosts are downloadable copies of our monthly Newsletter.
AUGUST IS FAMILY HISTORY MONTH
every year August is Family History Month right across Australia and New Zealand. Most family history groups and genealogy societies plan special activities for the month.
A dedicated Family History Month website becomes available listing many of the events, both online and in meetings etc.
https://www.familyhistorymonth.org.au
Family History Month (FHM) is an initiative of the Australasian Federation of Family History Organisations (AFFHO).
August is designated Family History Month in Australia and New Zealand (Aotearoa). Each year, AFFHO promotes events relating to family history, genealogy and related initiatives, to encourage our community to explore their family connections. Visit our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/AFFHOFamilyHistoryMonth. We encourage organisations, libraries and Societies to think about holding events during August, and and you all can post details to our Events list on the NFHM website.
This popular initiative has received broad support from some of Australia’s leading government and non government organisations since its introduction in 2006. Originally only the first week in August, FHM increased to include the whole month of August in 2013 to allow greater participation across Australia and New Zealand. Libraries and all history/genealogy groups are encouraged to hold events – either virtually, in person or as hybrid events. Opening and closing ceremonies are held each year.
Our Facebook page is the place to go for the latest news and information. See www.facebook.com/AFFHOFamilyHistoryMonth. The position of volunteer Family History Month Co-ordinator is currently filled by Gabriella Tsiprou.
Family History Research Services
Family History advice, assistance and research by Volunteers of BMFHS will resume for 2026.
Springwood Library: Thursday 5 February 2026 10:00am-1:00pm and every Thursday.
Location: Springwood Library Research Room, lower ground floor
Bookings: Please make bookings with the main circulation desk in the Library.
Katoomba Library: Tuesday 10 February 2026 10:00am-12:00noon and then every second and fourth Tuesday of each month.
Location: Katoomba Library
Bookings: Please make bookings with the main circulation desk in the Library.
NEXT MEETING – 14 August 2026
Our seventh meeting for 2026 will be held on Friday 14 July 2026 commencing at 10:00am.
The meeting will be held in the small community hall at the rear of the Springwood Presbyterian Church on Macquarie Road, Springwood.
Meeting Agenda:
10:00am Welcome to renewing members and (hopefully) some new members to their first meeting.
10:05am Minutes of the July 2026 meeting, approval and business arising.
Secretary’s Report and approval
Treasurer’s Report, approval and approval for new payments
General Business
10:30am Morning Tea/Coffee and Biscuit ($2.00)
10:50am Guest Speaker: The meeting on 14 August 2026 will be
12:00noon Meeting close – Next meeting Friday 11 September 2026
Neil Renaud is a retired librarian, having worked in TAFE college libraries for over 29 years. He was Librarian-in-Charge at Penrith and Nepean-Kingswood Colleges. He is married, living at North Richmond NSW. Originally from Belmore, then Penrith, Neil has lived in the Hawkesbury area since 1996. He began family history research about 15 years ago. A long list of discoveries has included more extensive German ancestry than expected, previously unknown family tragedies, and French Huguenot ancestry.
Neil has been a committee member of the Huguenot Society of Australia since 2019 and maintains its website. He has been secretary of the Colo Shire Family History Group since 2017.
Recent Activities
July Meeting
Given it is winter and the mornings are very cold, our July meeting was well attended, there were four apologies and 20 members in attendance.
Following morning tea we split into groups to discuss and workshop various topics that members had problems with: Researching Ireland pre 1800 and ca 1855; Shipping records; using the maps from the National Library of Scotland. Summaries of the discussions were forwarded to members following the meeting.
June Meeting
Our June meeting was well attended (Hall was well heated on a cold morning). Our guest speaker was Society Treasurer Ian Kendall who spoke on the benefits of using TROVE, the wonderful service of the National Library in Canberra. TROVE is much more than just Newspapers (1805-1956) with maps, images, theses, reports, gazettes, magazines, web archive, books and much more digital and physical items held in the Library in Canberra.
Ian explained how to effectively and efficiently search Trove, how to download and print items, how to edit newspapers articles, how to borrow physical items or have them commercially copied.
Street Stall
Members of the Society held a street stall in the grounds of the Presbyterian Church in Springwood on Saturday morning 2 May 2026. There were many items for sale including plants, books, cakes and knick-knacks. The sale was successful raising $238.00 towards the activities of the Society. Many thanks to those who donated and worked at the stall.
May Meeting
Our meeting on Friday morning 8 May 2026 in Springwood was very well attended. Our guest speaker was Dr Damian Gleeson who presented an excellent talk with visual slides via ZOOM projected so all members could see and hear his presentation.
He has research and produced a book – Irish Bigamy: new insights into colonial New South Wales – and this was his topic for the presentation. After the presentation a number of members purchased his book at a special member price. Many thanks Damian.
His research into Irish Bigamy and the clergy who were co-conspirators intersected with the family research of one of our members.
BOB HOWARD AND COOLGARDIE SAFE AWARDS 2024
The Bob Howard Award and the Coolgardie Safe Award are awarded annually.
The Bob Howard Award is awarded to the best researched article published in The Explorers’ Tree
The Coolgardie Safe Award is awarded to an article published in The Explorers’ Tree that may ‘not satisfy the criteria of the Bob Howard Award but is worth preserving and exudes a breath of fresh air’
The articles published in The Explorers’ Tree reflect the genealogical interests of the BMFHS members and can also reflect our childhood memories and our contemporary lives and times. Our memoirs will become the day-to-day family history of the future and will inform future family historians of what it was like to live in the 20th and 21st centuries. We encourage all members of BMFHS to submit an article. All articles will be considered for the Bob Howard Award or the Coolgardie Safe Award.
Awards for 2024 were presented at the September Meeting by our talented reviewer, Vicki Edmunds – senior Librarian with the Blue Mountains City Library based in Springwood. These are the awardees for 2024:
MEMBERSHIP, BOTH NEW AND RENEWAL for 2026
Renewal for membership for the period 1 January 2026 – 31 December 2026 is now DUE.
The Membership RENEWAL Form and for NEW Memberships can be downloaded from HERE.
The form can be printed and completed and emailed as attachment to xploretree@yahoo.com.au or opened in a PDF application (eg Adobe Reader) and completed on your computer and emailed to the above email address.
Payment can be made in cash at a meeting of BMFHS, or to a Library Volunteer in Springwood Library on a Thursday 10:00am – 1:00pm OR
paid by EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer) to the BSB and Account Number on the Form.
In all cases, it is essential that the renewal form is sent to BMFHS.
EXPLORERS’ TREE
| EXPLORERS’ TREE | The June 2026 issue of our excellent journal, Explorers’ Tree was available and posted to those members who have paid for postage or was distributed at our June 2026 meeting. Members not at the meeting will be able to collect their copy from the Family History Centre in the Springwood Library. Now would be an ideal time to put pen to paper (fingers to the keyboard) and write an article for Explorers’ Tree making our Editor very happy. The following issue of Explorers’ Tree will be published in October 2026. I am sure that in the past twelve months you have discovered interesting things about your ancestors. Please consider writing an article (short or long) and send it to the editor for inclusion in an upcoming issue of Explorers’ Tree. Our Journal is held in both the State Library and the National Library as well as in other genealogy collections including in the USA. Articles for Explorers’ Tree can be emailed to bmfhsweb@gmail.com, posted to PO Box 97, Springwood NSW 2777 or delivered in person at any general meeting. |
HIP, HIP HOORAY!
The activities of volunteers in the Family History Research Centre in Springwood Library have RESUMED as the renovations and upgrade of Springwood Library have been completed and were official reopened on Saturday 6th May 2023 with a wonderful Open Day activities. Many thanks to President Ann who led two information sessions about our volunteer activities in the Library.
Research assistance in Katoomba Library will he held on the Second and Fourth Tuesday of each month from 10:00am to 12:00noon February to November (inclusive). Bookings with the circulation desk in the Library are essential.
In Springwood Library our Volunteers can assist you with your family history research and they can be found on the lower floor of the renovated library just off the car park. Research assistance in Springwood Library will he held every Thursday of each month from 10:00am to 1:00pm February to November (inclusive). Bookings with the circulation desk in the Library are essential.
Research assistance continues via email and will still be available. Please refer to our Contact details.
SOCIETY EXCHANGE JOURNALS:
As the majority of other Family History Exchange Journals are now delivered in digital/PDF format, these are held in a directory in the BMFHS Society’s computers in the Family History section of the Springwood Library. These are available when a Society Volunteer is on duty as these computers are restricted by password to BMFHS members only.
All digital/PDF exchange journals will be received by the BMFHS Web Site Manager, in order to include these on the BMFHS Library computers.
FACEBOOK – Blue Mountains Family History Society has its own Facebook page. Please check us out, “like” us, leave comments, post historical photos or just read what others have to say about us.
http://www.facebook.com/BlueMountainsFamilyHistorySociety
Please check our FaceBook page regularly as often there are notices of short-term interest, such as free searches on Ancestry or Find my Past or special discounts on Certificate Transcriptions, that are available for only a weekend or limited time. Also you will find *details of activities and events both of BMFHS and many other genealogical, family history or local history societies and groups.