History buffs sail in for research visit

Historians and genealogists delved into Auckland’s past at the Auckland Central Library this week to mark the start of a unique Australasian sailing tour.

Auckland Libraries and the New Zealand Society of Genealogists hosted a day of family history seminars as part of an ‘Unlock the Past’ history and genealogy conference cruise.

The Auckland sessions offered researchers an opportunity to listen to international speakers and tour the Central Auckland Research Centre and offered a foray into the family history of Irish and Scottish families in Auckland and New Zealand.

“This was a fantastic opportunity to listen to some inspirational speakers and really show off the breadth and depth of our Family History collection here at the Central Auckland Research Centre,” says Family History Reference Librarian Seonaid Lewis.

“Speakers touched on new and traditional methods of delving into the past and the resources they use to both research and record their work,” she says.

International guests included acclaimed Scottish and Irish family historian and keynote speaker Chris Paton (from Scotland) and speakers Rosemary Kopittke, Shauna Hicks, Dr Perry McIntyre and Dr Richard Reid from Australia.

Speakers offered handy hints that they had picked up in their extensive careers. Rosemary Kopittke highlighted the colourful descriptive pieces within police gazettes and Dr Perry McIntyre stressed the value of reading books from different time periods to give context to the family history being researched.

“Online records are a key resource for family history researchers but you also have to read books and use the archives and the library,” says Dr McIntyre. “It is important to read about the time to give context to the family history you are researching,” she says.

Shauna Hicks also stressed that history is not all online and encourages family history researchers to use archives and libraries.

“Central Auckland Research Centre is one of the most comprehensive family history collections in the Southern Hemisphere," she says.

"Researchers will find unique items like police gazettes at Central Auckland Research Centre on microfilm/fiche and CD-Rom."

The conference left Auckland to continue its journey to Australia via Tauranga, Napier, Wellington, Picton, Akaroa and Dunedin.