Learn@QFHS

Finding your family: the fundamentals of research 2026

Presenter: QFHS Tutors

Are you new to family history and wondering how to get started?

Or perhaps you’ve researched before and would like a refresher?

Maybe you’ve tried searching online but found the information overwhelming or scattered?

If any of these sound like you, our 6-week course, Finding Your Family, is the perfect next step.

Led by experienced tutors, this course will give you practical guidance on:

• Where to look for reliable records (such as birth, marriage, death, census, and immigration documents).
• How to plan your research and stay organised.
• Tips for using libraries, archives, and online resources.
• Understanding newer tools like DNA testing and artificial intelligence (AI)
• How to bring all your findings together into a clear family tree.

By the end of the course, you will:

• Have the skills and confidence to trace your ancestors step by step.
• Know how to find and use different record collections.
• Be aware of the support and services offered by our society.
• Have a strong foundation to continue building your family history.

We’ve designed the course to run over six weeks so you can practise your new skills, reflect on your progress, and ask questions as you go.

To ensure everyone receives individual attention, places are limited to 10 participants.

Presenters: QFHS Tutors (Sue Reid, Geoff Morgan, Charlotte Sale, Alex Daw, and Chris Schuetz.

What our past participants say...

Thank you for a wonderful course and I look forward to joining in on many more in the future.

I'm grateful to the QFHS staff for their dedication to family history research, especially the time they invest after hours. I live rurally at Gympie and yet I had the opportunity to avail myself of this course. Their collective wealth of knowledge is critical to those of us navigating a route for each relative.

This course helped me focus on my research and organising records.

Please read our cancellation and non-attendance policy

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Are you interested in a One Place Study (OPS)?

Presenter: Pauleen Cass

In this presentation we’ll discuss the meaning of an OPS, and how you might choose your village, town, house, street, etc etc.  There are many options you might focus on.  The benefits and challenges of the project.

Why are you interested in it and does it complement your own or your family history? What sorts of record sources might we use to advance the study of our OPS? Is there a particular aspect you want to limit it to, eg climate, industry? How do you draw the data together and how will you record your findings?

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One Search introduction (including finding images), Newspapers and Colonial Secretary’s Correspondence

Presenter: Kirsten Perris, of SLQ

Join Kirsten Perris for this session looking at key State Library of Queensland resources and how to search effectively.  Starting with the One Search catalogue, this section will cover basic and advanced searching and finding specific formats such as images.  We will then explore the range of newspapers available through State Library, navigating newspaper databases and looking at accessing newspapers that are not digitised.  Finally we will delve into the fascinating Colonial Secretary's Correspondence.  State Library has digitised the correspondence from the microfilm collection and is progressively identifying and making individual letters available online.  Discover how this collection contributes to family history and other research.

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Locating your German immigrant ancestor’s place of origin

Presenter: Eric Kopittke

Knowing where our ancestors came from is important no matter from which country. they came, but for those of us with family origins in Germanic areas it is especially important since records were recorded and stored locally, not centrally. This presentation looks at ways to help you identify your immigrant ancestor’s place of origin, as well as some examples of the records that that you might find.

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