In this edition we feature four articles about forebears. June Torcasio writes about her great- grandfather Archibald McAlpin, and his role in the building of the Emu Flat Church. Prompted by her father’s visit to a Grovedale gravesite, Elizabeth Hartnell-Young uses photos, memories and snippets from letters and cards to piece together the rest of the family story. Co-authors Marilyn Kenny, Vikki Jacobsen and Joanne Davin trace the journey of a tapestry stitched in Melbourne over 140 years ago, as it finds its way to the descendants of its original owner. Despite a hazardous voyage to Australia, family loss, and an isolated existence in remote parts of Victoria, Elizabeth Harris’s pioneer spirit remained unbroken. Great-great grandson John Fitzpatrick tells her story from when she was around the age of two, and her father was transported to Australia for burglary, to her death in Wangaratta at 64.

The GSV is a vibrant organisation thanks to our wonderful volunteers and staff. In this edition we pay tribute to Eleanor Pugsley, our past Research Manager, who gave 28 years of service to the GSV as both a staff member and a volunteer, and to Wilbur Vigus of the Saturday library team. We report on GSV activities - the Thank You get-together for volunteers at Docklands, the Ballarat excursion of the Irish Group, the seminars on Irish research held jointly with Family Connections, and the work done by our busy Library and Tech teams and their volunteers.

Do you have Dutch ancestry? In this edition’s How-to article, Martin Playne describes many of the resources that are available to anyone getting started in researching ancestors from the Netherlands.

In Research Corner, Meg Bate and Rebecca Landy explore Victorian Parliamentary Papers as a useful source for family historians. Barbara Beaumont and Margaret Vines give their advice on successfully entering a variety of writing competitions in our latest Getting it Write article. If you are inspired to enter our annual Writing Prize, details can be found inside the back cover.

Emma Hegarty
Editorial team