We are delighted to welcome Rebecca Landy as our new Library and Resources Manager. In a short article, Rebecca shares details of her background and family history interests, as well as her thoughts and hopes for a bright future at the GSV.

A photo, an object rescued from obscurity and some newspaper articles are the inspiration for several of our articles in this issue. Margaret Vines has used a ‘Welcome home’ family group photo as a starting point to tell the story of a soldier’s return home from war. Dianne Lewis relates how a century-old christening gown was reunited with its wearer, her Aunt Gwendoline. Ruth O’Dea has shared the amazing story of how a discarded family album, which had been consigned to a recycle bin, was rescued and reintroduced to its original family. She also tells of her future plans for the album. Jackie van Bergen discovered an unexpected chapter in the life of her great-grandfather William Collier Francis in the pages of the Morwell Advertiser. He was a talented singer with the Morwell Brown Coal Minstrels, a community troupe which performed with darkened faces in the tradition of black-face entertainment. He was also instrumental in forming the Yinnar Cream and Butter Factory in 1891.

We have two ‘How to’ articles in this issue. Michael Reynolds has used the garrison town of Nenagh, in County Tipperary, as a case study for methods and resources when researching ancestors who served in the military in Ireland. Elizabeth Triarico, Manager of CO.AS.IT Italian Historical Society & Museo Italiano, has demonstrated how much research can be done into Italian records from resources available locally, such as those at CO.AS.IT in Carlton, Melbourne, integrated with online data from FamilySearch and other records in Italian archives. Following on from the September 2022 ‘Research Corner’, David Down updates us on the GSV webcasts collection, focusing on recent Discussion Circle and Special Interest Group meetings.

Finally, please be sure to read the ‘Pen of the President’ as it contains important information about the new fee structure.

Barbara Beaumont

Editorial Team