Writing Interest Group 2025
2025-06-15 10:00 - 12:00 (Australia/Brisbane) | Genealogical Society of Queensland (GSQ), 25 Stackpole St, Wishart, Brisbane, QLD, 4122, Australia
The Writing Interest Group aims:

to provide a forum in which members can learn more about the writing, editing, and publishing processes.
meetings will include discussion and presentations. Guest speakers will be invited from time to time.
members are invited to submit pieces of writing for comment and suggestions by other members.

Meetings:
Meetings are held on the 3rd Sunday of even months of the year, unless otherwise advertised. Via ZOOM.
2025: 16th Feb; 20th April; 15th June; 17th Aug; 19th Oct.
The Writing Group was formed in 2012 and grew out of two education sessions presented in 2011. We meet five times per year except December. From our beginnings as a small cohort of 10 members to a regular attendance of between 20-30, the group’s activities have also evolved.
As at June 2021 our meetings are held virtually via Zoom from 10am to 12 noon. It is hoped that we can have a mix of Zoom and face-to-face meetings in the future to provide members with the opportunity to do some personal research as well as engage with other members over morning tea and lunch, as well as meet the needs of those members who do not use Zoom.
The format for the meeting varies depending on the main topic to be discussed. Regular features include short practice sessions on a random topic; review of writing submitted by members in advance; an opportunity for members to share their achievements. Main topics we have covered include grammar, writing and style, evidence and proof, citation and referencing, copyright, different formats and structures for family histories, and many more. We have had guest speakers from time to time.
Members are encouraged to share their writing as group members may be able to provide suggestions for enhancing the style, format, etc. All comments are constructive, and the writer has discretion on whether to accept them or not. It does help, however, to have input from those not connected with a story.
Group members are at different stages of their writing; some are published authors, whereas others are just beginning. It is exciting to note that most of the winners of the Joan Reese Memorial Short Story Competition are members of the Writing Group. We regularly review how the group operates in order to meet the differing needs of beginning and more experienced writers.
Attendees are asked to contribute a gold coin donation.
At present meetings are being held via Zoom.

Contact Convenor Pauline Williams on writing@gsq.org.au for the Zoom Link or further Information.

Committee Meeting Dates
2025-06-16 09:00 - 12:00 | Virtually via Zoom, QLD, Australia
The GSQ Committee meet on the 3rd Monday of each Month between 9am – 12pm
Committee Members will be unavailable during this time period, please leave them a message so they can return your call.

MT Zoom 2025
2025-06-16 11:00 - 12:30 | Virtually via Zoom, QLD, Australia
Welcome to Monday Morning Zoom

Are you interested in learning more about Genealogy/ Family History?
What can you find regarding records on the various websites, in the books at GSQ, microfiche that have not been digitized, and what you can find in Archives and Libraries.
Do you like to be part of a very relaxed group that LOVE to talk and share information?
GSQ is not opened on a Monday so why not join us from the comfort of your home along with a cuppa and don’t forget the pets.
We have discovered that many of our pets love being on Zoom and enjoy the attention of everyone saying hello to them. So all pets are welcome to come along as well.
We like to discuss events that are occurring in the genealogical world.
As a group we try to help others by offering alternative ideas or websites/records to search when someone has a problem or a brickwall.
So come and join Ailsa and Helen, every Monday from 11am – 12.30pm, and find out more about the joys of belonging to a Genealogical Society.
We do not meet on public holidays, see the event calendar,
If you are not a member of GSQ yet, you can come along for 2 meetings before needing to join.
Send your request to join us to mtzoom@gsq.org.au and we will add you to our list.
Your Hosts are: Ailsa Corlett and Helen Connor

Ailsa Corlett

Helen Connor

Solving genealogy brickwalls case study - finding a great grandfather
2025-06-17 19:00 - 21:00 | Virtually via Zoom, QLD, Australia
This talk uses an example from my own family history where I have progressed a brickwall using DNA alongside traditional genealogy research. The path to solving this brickwall had a number of surprises along the way with forgeries, quick marriages, criminal ancestors and often more questions than answers. In telling the story, methods and tools for using DNA to break down brickwalls are provided.

Presenter:
Mia Bennett:
Mia Bennett is a professional genealogist specialising in using DNA to solve family history mysteries. She uses her analysis skills learnt as a safety engineer to integrate DNA and documentary evidence to investigate a range of research questions. She is an Associate of AGRA (a professional body for genealogists in England and Wales) and has studied at IHGS, SLIG and GRIP. Based in England, she presents talks and workshops around the world on the topics of DNA, research methodology and English resources. She is the Chair of Gloucestershire Family History Society and was previously a trustee of the Society of Genealogists.

Tickets will close at 5pm Tuesday 17 June 2025
The link is included in your registration payment – Please make sure you retain this.
Registrants will be able to view the recording for the following month.
QFHS and any GSQ Affiliate members you will require to put in your Member No or Branch as well as the code given to you to use.

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Wednesday morning Zoom meetings hosted by Bobbie Edes
2025-06-18 11:00 - 12:30 | Virtually via Zoom, QLD, Australia
Wednesday morning Zoom meetings hosted by Bobbie Edes.
Starting at 11am on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month Feb to Nov.

Each of our friendly meetings is run for about 90 minutes or so. The sessions alternate between a Topic PowerPoint presentation with notes on the 1st Wednesday of each month and a help/learning aid session on the 3rd Wednesday with those present all sharing their contributions which are compiled into a handout on that subject so they can be kept for future use. Recently in these mid-moth meetings we have covered military, Australian births, immigration, land records, burials with more planned as well as helping members with their brick walls.
Our topic sessions have recently covered Plotting your ancestors journey using Google Earth, Preparations for visiting an archive, Education in Australia, Using short stories, Timeline creation, Using PowerPoint, and Using PowerPoint to tell your family story in movie format.
**Please email requests to join to: wedmorningzoom@gsq.org.au
2025 – 5th & 19th Feb; 5th & 19th March; 2nd & 16th April; 7th & 21st May; 4th & 18th June; 2nd & 16th July; 6th & 20th Aug; 3rd & 17th Sept; 1st & 15th Oct; 5th & 19th Nov; 3rd Dec Christmas Gathering.

Topic’s on the 1st Wednesday of the Month
Learning Aid/ Brickwall on the 3rd Wednesday of the Month.

Digging Deeper - Session 3 - Military
2025-06-19 10:00 - 12:00 | Virtually via Zoom, QLD, Australia
This military family history session covers records from Australia’s colonial period through to WW2.

Presenter:
Sharyn Merkley
Sharyn Merkley is a family historian with a life-long passion for history. She has researched her family history for over thirty years with an interest in the impact of political, social and historical events on the lives of ordinary people. After encountering a newspaper article while researching her early Brisbane family, she became fascinated by the victims of the 1864 Brisbane fire. In 2017, she published “Brisbane Burns: How the great fires of 1864 shaped a city and its people.” She has also contributed articles to the Genealogical Society of Queensland’s blog, and magazine, Generation. As a researcher for the Genealogical Society of Queensland, she has assisted with indexing projects such as the Wheeler Index, which compiled information on the lives of over 2,500 World War 1 soldiers, and the Waterloo Index, which lists soldiers involved in the Battle of Waterloo who later settled in Australia. Consequently, she has a continuing interest in Australian military history and its impact on families. As a volunteer with the Queensland Women’s Historical Association archives team Sharyn collects and researches women’s stories, concentrating on women without descendants. Determined to give forgotten women a voice, she uses modern family history techniques to write them back into history. After careers in computer programming and primary education, Sharyn has also completed a Diploma of Family History. Among her current interests are the stories of the women involved in the early years of aviation in Queensland.

If you would like to attend this session only, please complete the registration form below.
Tickets will close at 8am Thursday 19 June 2025
The link is included in your registration payment – Please make sure you retain this.
Registrants will be able to view the recording for the following month.
QFHS and any GSQ Affiliate members you will require to put in your Member No or Branch as well as the code given to you to use.
All events are recorded and available for viewing by registrations for a month.

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