FamilyHistoryWA
Address: Units 4-6/48 May Street
Bayswater WA 6053
Telephone: (08) 9271 4311
Opening hours: Monday 9.30am-8.00pm, Wednesday and Friday 9.30am-2.30pm, Saturday 1.00pm-5.00pm. Closed Tuesdays, Thursdays and all public holidays
The FamilyHistoryWA was formed in 1979 and is a major contributor to the indexing of Western Australian records. Indexing projects undertaken are many and include Western Australian cemetery records (headstone transcriptions and some burial registers), Swanleigh Anglican Orphanage records, inward passenger lists (both Fremantle and Albany), convict records and the cross referencing of spouses from Registrar General's Office indexes to marriages 1841-1896 etc (these indexes are detailed in the section Indexes and Catalogues and are available in the Battye Library).
The Society's Library (known as the B.J. Croker Library) holds a large range of microfiche, microfilm, CD-ROMs and books relating to genealogy, covering all Australian States, New Zealand, Great Britain and Ireland, Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa and Oceania. Historical works, atlases, parish records (for the United Kingdom), convict records, cemetery indexes, electoral rolls, newspaper indexes, passenger lists, the International Genealogical Index, birth, death and marriage indexes etc., are also held. Library holdings are arranged geographically by country, with further subdivisions into state or county.
Genealogical and family history society journals from around the world are held, as are the 1851 census indexes for English counties, the Griffiths Valuation of Ireland, many Kent parish records and various other tools used in family history tracing. The Society's catalogue details the wide range of material involved and is available online. Many links to genealogy and Western Australian material can be found on the website.
A section of tapes of speakers covering a diverse range of subjects is also available. The Society hosts world renowned speakers on genealogy and historical records, where to find them and how to do research. Members assist the State Library by manning the Genealogy Centre at the State Library and also run education courses and seminars on genealogy.
The Society has a research facility for non-members at a minimal cost and is a member of the Federation of Family History Societies (FFHS) and the Australasian Federation of Family History Organisations (AFFHO). It has many special interest groups and branches throughout Western Australia.