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Why join a local family history society?
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- Category: Opinion
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Local knowledge - Worldwide expertise 
Just because your local family history or genealogy society is named as the xyz local society, it does not mean that is all they do or cover.
A poll of WAGS members shows that 60% of their Australian research is not local to Western Australia, it is spread across Australia. A similar poll of members worldwide research revealed that for a majority of members their primary interest is not in Australia. The same would apply to the majority of local societies world wide, the local society attracts members for other reasons.
So why join your local society, or for that matter a society in another state / county or country, and what benefits can you expect?
One thing leads to another - it always does
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- Category: Julie Martin
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Family history leads - where to from here? 
I've decided to use Google Blogger as the means for telling the stories of my family and ancestors and as you can imagine, was very interested to read in the Bookmarks feature in the December 2012 issue of the Western Ancestor, that The New Zealand Genealogist (August 2012) featured an article entitled Blogging your family history.
The article was informative with many helpful tips and ideas and because I'm always interested to find out how other societies disseminate information about the services and resources they provide, examined the issue more thoroughly. It's an excellent publication and well worth a look.
Finding what's new in the WAGS Library
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- Category: News Items
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A new way to find new 
acquisitions
Twelve months ago, the bookshelves in the WAGS library were culled of obsolete and duplicated material. Since then, they've been filling up again and members making regular visits to the Society's premises in Bayswater would have seen some of the new titles displayed on the bookcase facing the main entrance into the Library.
Now all members are able to see what new items have been added to the WAGS Library.
Identifying West Australian vehicles and their owners
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- Category: News Items
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What's in a number plate 
This afternoon I have been digitising some of our family photographs, concentrating on those featuring motor cars. Most of the vehicles in the pics were built from scratch by my Dad, a motor mechanic of extraordinary ability.
My lack of interest in and knowledge about cars is well known (as evidence check out my cellulite ridden Hyundai) but I was curious about the make and model of the vehicles captured in the photos as well as their owners and remembered a source discovered during my working days in the Battye Library. It is now available online.
Read more: Identifying West Australian vehicles and their owners
WAGS Members Research Interests
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- Category: News Items
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Are they relevant to my research 
An interesting discussion took place a while ago on the WAGSNet mailing list (closed list for members only) about who uses the WAGS facilities and the areas that members are interested in researching their family history.
So, it begs the wider question (or statement) that members often get from the general public:- Why should I join the local genealogy society - when all they do is local research, and I am interested in overseas research?
Well folks, that is the biggest misconception there is about joining any family history or genealogy society. Local Family History Societies only do worldwide research.... they just live in your community.
Can you help? Old Bibles, and a challenge
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- Category: Mystery
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Two Lost Bibles
There's evidence that my great grandfather, who arrived in South Australia in 1848, brought with him a family bible. I have a copy of an old piece of paper which lists all fourteen of his siblings with their dates of birth and a note at the bottom coppay (sic) this in you (sic) bible and let Hanary (sic) have it as well.
Henry was the brother who accompanied my great grandfather Matthew March to Australia. Sadly, there's been no sighting of the bible itself; no-one in the family has any idea where it is. It's because of this situation that I look with envy at the two bibles on the shelf in the WAGS Library office and wish they were my family's lost volume... but they aren't.