Australia and New Zealand

We are a friendly group that meets via Zoom. Our members log in from Australia, New Zealand and the UK. All SDFHS members with connections to Australia and New Zealand are most welcome and our meetings are fun and informative.

In addition to general discussion about family history research in Somerset and Dorset, we may also have short presentations from members about their own research and about topics in genealogy such as maps, DNA, online historic newspapers and other archives. Occasionally we are fortunate to welcome a guest speaker. 

Our meetings are held on the second Monday evening of February, April, June, August, October and December. Please contact us in advance as meeting times and dates can change.

Contact Person: Phillippa Kirkman

Many people from Somerset and Dorset emigrated to Australia and New Zealand, from the early days of settlement in the 19^th century to the present, and now have descendants here. 

We can’t help with individual research, but we may be able to point you in the right direction. Meanwhile the links below are the best places to start. 

Australia

Trove digitised historic newspapers Home – Trove

National Archives of Australia Home page | naa.gov.au

Each state has its own archives and registrars of births, deaths and marriages and many have online indexes.

New Zealand

Archives New Zealand Home – Archives New Zealand

NZ Births, Deaths and Marriages online Birth, Death and Marriage Historical Records

NZ Papers Past for digitised historic newspapers. Papers Past

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