By Ethan Benedicto
A new chapter for the Narre Warren and District Family History Group doesn’t necessarily mean a change in operations, with the drive to be the helping hand for those seeking to delve into their lineage remaining steadfast.
After celebrating 35 years earlier in May, the group is looking to hold a Brick Walls general meeting on Saturday 20 July, where they aim to solve personal history roadblocks through roundtable discussions.
This meeting will be held at their new location at 110 High Street, Berwick, after their Cranbourne Research Room permanently closed on 15 June.
While still in the moving process, secretary and a member since 2002, Eileen Durdin is keen and said that the group’s upcoming meeting is for those who have problems, “big or small on researching family history”.
With a vast collection of Casey and Cardinia items, as well as connections with Bunjil Library and the Cranbourne Library, Ms Durdin is more than confident in their resources and capabilities.
For her, the answer to why someone should dive into their family history is simple: it’s interesting.
“There’s probably a lot of interest because of those shows such as Who Do You Think You Are and even Ancestry, [but] I always say that coming to a local group like ourselves is [different].
“We’ve got volunteers that are keen to help and guide them over those brick walls that they may have,” she said.
Established in 1989, the group has since established a network for like-minded individuals to come together and explore their pasts, with the social aspect playing a big part in the group’s identity.
The group operates like a library, but with expertise in history with a vast collection of books, records and online databases that members can utilise for their research.
Local community initiatives with events and collaboration with other history groups are some ways the NWDFHG keeps the fire hot, but also through a range of projects and preservation of local history pieces, which can range from cemetery transcriptions and publications to indexation of documents.
“There are a lot of stories to hear and that’s where, with our collections, we like to hear from people and their experiences and get it out there – sharing that information with everyone is important,” Ms Durdin said.
Just like the age-old method of passing down history through word-of-mouth, the act of exploring the family’s past is about establishing that sense of connection with not just oneself, but with others as well.
The process of doing so, while it may vary, starts “with yourself and you work backwards”.
“But it’s also about what you want to do with that family history; do you want to find out all the birth dates, deaths, and marriage dates of all your ancestors? Do you want to find out where they lived?
“We’ve got some specific how-to books, and normally, being part of a group you do learn from others; you know someone may be a specialist in Scotland research, or someone may be a specialist in Tasmanian research,” Ms Durdin said.
Soon to be located in the heart of Berwick, Ms Durdin and others are looking forward of what’s to come, and are more than eager to keep their work going.
