Join us for History Council of NSW celebrations for History Week when we host Writing A Distant Dream – Pioneering Saga: Author Talk by Pamela J McGlinn. Pam loves family history and has written three novels incorporating facts from her family research. Pam will talk about writing her family history, pioneers of Spring Hill, and events that shaped a family's destiny. Pam is a direct descendant of the Warburton and Seaton families, well known faces from the past in the Blayney, Spring Hill and Orange communities. You are invited to come along and meet Pam at Blayney Library, Adelaide Street, Blayney on Thursday 9 September from 11.30am – 12.30pm - please RSVP to 6368 2581 or Orange City Library, Byng Street, Orange on Thursday 9 September at 5.30pm for 6pm – 7pm and please RSVP to 6393 8132. We're there!

If you wish to learn more about the history of the Cherry Blossom Festival and the Apple Country Fair that followed, then come along to the Orange and District Historical Society's next meeting to be held at the Gladstone Hotel, Orange, Wednesday 27 January at 7pm for 7.30pm. For some time the Society has been researching this fascinating festival history and is busy compiling a list of Cherry Blossom Queens. The evening includes supper and cost is $5 for non-members and $3 for members. Please RSVP to Phil Stevenson on 0402 412 188 to attend. Pictured is 1959 Cherry Blossom Queen Miss Marlene Sands.

Wow! What a weekend! We are still buzzing from the passion and enthusiasm everyone showed for family history research. We had a great time welcoming 75 delegates to Orange from Sydney, across the Central West and Queensland. We also thank the Society of Australian Genealogists and Central West Libraries for organising such a fantastic line up of expert speakers. Pictured above is Society of Australian Genealogists vice president Martyn Killion with Central West Libraries Services Manager Jan Richards. Martyn spoke at the seminar about how the Sydney Benevolent Asylum helped out homeless, destitute, pregnant and poor ancestors while Jan reminded us about the amazing range of information available in local libraries from newspapers to photographs, books with local details, newsletters and even Environmental Impact Statements. Read more about the seminar in today's Central Western Daily. http://www.centralwesterndaily.com.au/news/local/news/general/out-on-a-limb-to-trace-ancestors/1672817.aspx

Central West Libraries and Orange Family History Group in association with the Society of Australian Genealogists (SAG) is thrilled to be hosting the Lost in Black Sheep Weekend (7 & 8 November, 2009) and welcomes family historians to Orange for this event. We expect more than 70 visitors for the two-day family history weekend being held at the Orange Civic Theatre Forum, Byng Street, Orange. We hope everyone enjoys the range of expert speakers to help further their research and look forward to meeting you. Welcome to Orange.

Orange & District Historical Society is hosting a meeting about the Mining and Social History of Junction Reefs and Burnt Yards on Tuesday 27th October 2009 at 7pm Gladstone Hotel, Orange. Intereste people are most welcome to come along. Little known today, the dam and gorge on the Belubula river at Junction reefs 50 km south of Orange was the scene of sustained mining for over 100 years. Gold was discovered in 1870 By Martin Sheahan where the Mandurama Ponds creek meets the Belubula river. Companies were formed soon after and the Sheahan family remained associated with one of the mines until 1960. There were numerous other companies and the very fine nature of the gold tested all of their ingenuity in its separation from the parent rock. It was necessary to grind the ore to a very fine state which in turn required a great amount of power. Wood fired steam engines supplied most of this power but some companies made use of the special features of the site namely a good dam site and large drop in the river height to setup hydro and hydro- electric power sources for their crushers and mills. Leaching processes involving first chlorine and then cyanide were also adopted at an early stage. Companies came and went and droughts and depressed prices brought operations to a halt from time to time. The last mining to be done was by Climax Mining ending in the early 1990's but the area is still held under exploration licence.

We have a great line up of speakers; Peter Schmich of Orange will speak on the geology and nature of the gold mineralisation. John Campbell of Carcoar, sho was chemical engineer with Climax mining will speak on the processes used to crush mill and leach the ore. Des Green of Burnt yards /Errowanbang will speak on the villages and land settlement that went with the mines, the surrounding agriculture, and various government closer settlement schemes. The meeting will take place at the Gladstone Hotel function room at 7 for 7.30pm. There is a small charge of $3 for members of Orange and District Historical Society and $5 for non-members, to cover costs. Light refreshments will be served. If you have any inquiries or would like to attend the meeting, please RSVP to Phil Stevenson on 6362-3257.

The Society of Australian Genealogists, in association with Central West Libraries, is hosting a two-day family history seminar at the Orange Civic Theatre Forum on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 November.

If your ancestors were 'black sheep' - divorced, destitute, or spent time in gaol or an asylum, they probably left behind a wonderful paper trail. Guest speakers include Christine Yeats, Manager Public Access State Records NSW on records of local courts and asylum records in NSW, Heather Garnsey Executive Officer SAG on bankruptcy records in NSW and Dr John Hoskin and Russell Roberts - Director of Mental Health GWAHS will lead a guided walking tour of Bloomfield Hospital and talk about its records. The second day programme includes talks by Jan Richards, Manager Central West Libraries on how local library collections can help with your family and local history research, Angela Phippen on divorce records and John Partridge about using NSW gaol and prison records and Martyn Killion, vice president of SAG, on how the Sydney Benevolent Asylum helped our homeless and destitue ancestors. Registration includes the ttwo-day seminar, lunches and morning and afternoon teas. Cost is $85 SAG and Orange Family History Group members and $95 for non-members. On the Saturday evening a casual dinner will be held for participants in a local restaurant. If you would like to attend the dinner please let us know at the time of booking. Cost will be approx $50 plus drinks per person, payable on the evening. To book your place for the Lost in Black Sheep Weekend Seminar please call (02) 9247 3953 or visit www.sag.org.au.

Orange Family History Group Vice President Shirley Duckworth presented Central West Libraries, Library Services Manager Jan Richards with a copy of the Orange and District Pioneer Register CD-Rom during National Family History Week. Shirley spoke about the hard work behind the scenes to complete the project. The CD is a compilation of Volumes I and II of the printed versions. The Pioneer Register records the families who contributed to the development of the area up until1888. The CD is available for purchase at $20 per copy by contacting the Orange Family History Group at Orange City Library (ph: 6393 8132). Pictured above is Jan Richards receiving a copy of the Pioneer Register CD Rom from Shirley Duckworth on behalf of the Orange Family History Group. Jan congratulated everyone for their efforts and was proud to accept the Pioneer Register CD-Rom.

It was a full house at the seminar on Tracing Your Family History – A Beginner's Guide held during National Family History Week. Hosted by Orange Family History Group and Librarian Peter Douglass, participants learnt about useful resources from catalogues to newspapers, websites and photographs. There were also lots of tips and advice on how to get started and stay on the right track with your family research. Members of the Orange Family History Group are on hand at Orange City Library on Fridays to assist anyone undertaking family research. The group also meets on the third Tuesday of the month at 1.30pm upstairs in Orange City Library and interested people are welcome to attend. Pictured above is some of the large audience and below is Librarian Peter Douglass with Orange Family History Group members Shirley Duckworth, Pam Langham and Marie Cousins at the seminar.