Have you ever wondered where your great-grandfather is buried?

(Look up CD ROM: Fawkner & Coburg Cemeteries.)

Who was that relative born aboard ship on the voyage out to Australia?

(Look up CD ROM: Marine Births, Deaths & Marriages 1853-1920.)

Want to find out the history of your house?

(Look up Microfiche: City of North Melbourne Rate Books 1855-1905/1985, Conservation Studies for Parkville and North & West Melbourne / Sands & MacDougall Directories 1861-1974, etc.)

Got a few skeletons or scallywags in that cupboard?

(Look up Microfiche: Victorian Prisoners Index 1850-1900 / Victorian Deserters from Ships Index 1853-1880)

Ready to research your family history?

(Look up CD ROM: Births, Deaths & Marriages, Federation Index 1889-1901 / Great War Index 1914 1920)

Some of these questions were answered in an enjoyable information session with a small group of interested people on Saturday 27 July at the North Melbourne Library, which houses the Local History Collection. Certain intriguing details about ancestors, known previously only through hearsay, were confirmed during the course of the afternoon, an indication of the depth and scope of the library’s collection of records.

If you missed out on 27 July, the Hotham History Project will be holding more of these information sessions. Please leave your name at the North Melbourne Library (9297 3280) or contact secretary Mary Kehoe on 9329 5814 or mekehoe@iprimus.com if you wish to attend a future session.

by Mary Kehoe, member of the Hotham History Project. (story first published in the North & West Melbourne News)

Do you know more about this story? Email: info@hothamhistory.org.au