In 2013, our Society celebrated the 20th anniversary of the QFHS Family History Book Award. In 1993, President Rosemary Kopittke presented authors Rae Hopkinson, Ann Dixon, and Wendy Annabell with the inaugural award for their work The descendants of Francis Goude, William Cooke, and Job Harris.
The winner, in 2013, was Ruth Delbridge for her book Mischief, Morse code & ministry: life, loss and the legacies of love.
The Award was presented to Ruth, in the presence of her family, by Rosemary Kopittke, who was President of the Society at the inception of the Book Award.
From that first year, more than 225 books have been entered for the annual competition. Each book has a significant Queensland content and tells the story of one or more Queensland families. At the completion of the presentation of the award, all the books entered are added to the QFHS Family History Research Centre, forming an important part of our collection.
The names of previous Book Award winners can be found here.
Until 2014, Rob Adamson convened the Book Award and sometimes stepped in to fill a vacancy on the judging panel. Gayle Thomsett took over as convenor from Rob from 2015 until 2024. Judges over the years have been Noeline Kyle, Ruth Kerr, Trish Hickey, Geoff Morgan, Margaret Rutherford, Syd Prentice, Shirley McCorkindale, Jean Stewart, Janice Cooper, Kirsten Perris, Alexandra Daw and Rosie Gall. After the 2024 presentation it was decided to separate the Book Award Presentation from the Annual General Meeting, and it is now held at Hornets Football Club, Carseldine in August each year. Our current convenor is Clem Ditton, who has introduced the QFHS Book Award Authors’ Discussion.