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RESEARCH & SOFTWARE GROUPS


Anyone can attend our research and software groups, but members enjoy a discounted price. You do not need to 'join' a group - you just book for their meetings when you want to attend. All our group meetings are currently virtual using the Zoom platform. Pre-registration is essential in order to receive the link to log into a meeting. If paying online via PayPal, registration is available up until the time the meeting commences.

To find out when the groups are meeting next, see the Events Calendar or scroll to the bottom of this page. 


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AI & IT SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP

     The AI & IT Special Interest Group meets bi-monthly .

     Each session is made of a combination of these different segments (in order to try and encourage participation       and sharing). These sessions are designed to be member driven so if you have something to share or a topic to be covered, please put it forward.  Any content e.g. AI, software, hardware, tools etc. can be slotted into these broad categories.

  • Latest Updates - Developments in AI, software and hardware
  • News and Views - Opinions, discussion points, recommended software/hardware
  • Quick Tips - 3 minutes or less
  • Show & Tell - like at school - share something you've done with AI or Tech
  • In Depth Focus - longer demonstration of tools, software
  • Helpdesk - problems and support, suggestions

The Aotearoa New Zealand Research Group meets twice a year to assist members who are tracing their New Zealand ancestry. The convenor is Pauline Weeks and she can be contacted here


The Caribbean Research Group is for people researching family history with a connection to the Caribbean. A list of places within the Caribbean is available on the FamilySearch wiki.

CHINESE AUSTRALIAN RESEARCH GROUP

Information about this group will be updated soon.
The Colonial Australia Research Group meets to discuss research on families arriving in any part of Australia between 1788 and 1901. All are welcome to attend our meetings.

This group meets 4 times per year.


The first SAG DNA Research Group was established in 2015 to assist Society members to increase their knowledge of DNA research. Since that time it has covered a variety of topics that set the foundation skills for group members. The Society has developed a range of activities aimed at the wide spectrum of needs, from those just wanting to know what DNA is all about, to the advanced user. We now have two DNA Research Groups – Tools in practice for the intermediate level researcher and Research Discussion Group for those using advanced genetic genealogy techniques.

The English Research Group is an opportunity to meet with others who have ancestors from any of England's many counties, or just have a research interest in England. Discuss research strategies and resources, and swap ideas and knowledge.

This group is suitable for beginners through to those with many years researching experience. The research group meets about 3-4 times a year. You can become a member of the group just by attending our meetings. Newcomers are always welcome!

The group is co-ordinated by Linda, Annesley and Diana. You can submit a question to the group in advance of a meeting by clicking here

The FTM User Group meets to support those who use Family Tree Maker software to organise their genealogical research. The program was owned by Ancestry.com until March 2016 when it was taken over by Software MacKiev. The group is facilitated by volunteers who are willing to share their knowledge and experiences. Everyone is welcome, whether you are a potential, new or long term user of FTM software.

Our focus group supports members with two main initiatives.

1.      Meetings
These occur four times a year. Currently, these meetings are scheduled in February, May, August and November. These interactive meetings consist of presentations on techniques, tips, hints and experiences in using the many and varied features of the program. These are discussion-led sessions and there is plenty of time dedicated to questions and answers (Q&A).  The focus is on the current version of the software. However, users of older versions are welcomed and encouraged. Every effort is made to answer questions within the context of the version to which the query relates.

2.      Online discussion board
Access by invitation only (for security and privacy), members can post questions, seek answers, make suggestions and obtain support.  Fellow members can offer answers and suggestions based on their own experiences, or a member can simply read posts of others. Previous Q&As on various topics can be searched.

You can join by emailing your full name, SAG membership number and expiry date.

If you already have DNA chromosome analysis skills and are using the GDAT database tool to manage your DNA information, you might wish to join our new user group.  SAG user groups are aimed at ‘members helping members’ so this is a collaborative working group aimed at sharing information and knowledge.  You must be a SAG member to join this group.

Sessions will include a short presentation on a specified topic identified by the group, followed by discussion between group members, then round table Q&A regarding the product.


The Irish Research Group is an opportunity to meet with others who have ancestors from either the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland (maybe you have both) or just have a research interest in an aspect of Irish records. Discuss research strategies and resources, swap ideas and knowledge.

This group is suitable for beginners through to those with many years researching experience. The research group meets about 3-4 times a year. You can become a member of the group by attending any of our meetings. Newcomers are always welcome!

The Legacy User Group is for people who use Legacy Family Tree software and wish to share their knowledge and experience with others. Everyone is welcome whether a new or long term user of this family history software program. Even if you are just considering using Legacy you are welcome to come along.

The focus of the group is to give support to members using Legacy to enter and store family research. At meetings there are presentations on techniques, tips, and hints. All members of the group are encouraged to contribute information which could help others. Time is dedicated to questions and discussion at  every meeting.

Regular meetings are scheduled and details can be found in the Events Calendar.

Reunion is a great genealogy program for Mac users that allows you to easily document and display information about your family. It features a navigable graphic Tree View in the form of an hourglass or ancestor chart, allowing you to navigate to everyone in your tree. It also has a variety of visually appealing, high quality charts and other useful reports, and an outstanding help manual.

The group coordinators Danny O’Neill and Dale Fogarty aim to work collaboratively with its members on how to best use all the features of Reunion and how to resolve any Reunion or Mac-related issues that you may have. We would love to receive any topic suggestions or questions in advance by clicking here  to send an email to the coordinators. Please include your SAG membership number and expiry date of your membership in the email subject line.

Coordinators

Danny O’Neill is with the Canberra family history group FHACT (aka HAGSOC) convening the Digital Asset Management group (DAMSIG) and Reunion and Macintosh Support User Group (RAMSUG). Main interests are in photography, scanning and book designing, and struggles to maintain a large garden. He is retired from careers as a photographer and film archivist, and enjoys helping people where he can. He looks forward to working with Dale and the team in restarting the Reunion group that includes Mac related support, but is not an expert.

Dale Fogarty is a long-time user of Mac and Reunion, who is open to exchanging information and ideas to support our mutual enthusiasm for quality family history research, combining traditional genealogy and DNA approaches, and using a range of tools to organise, analyse and report findings. Dale enjoys working collaboratively, helping and learning from others. Dale is also the convenor of the Irish Interest Group at the Qld Family History Society.

The Scottish Research Group is an opportunity to meet with others who have ancestors from any of Scotland's counties from the highlands and Islands all the way down to the border areas, or just have a research interest in Scotland. Discuss research strategies and resources, and swap ideas and knowledge.
This group is suitable for beginners through to those with many years researching experience. The research group meets about 3-4 times a year. You can become a member of the group just by attending our meetings. Newcomers are always welcome!

TmG  Software Group

The Master Genealogist (or TMG) software allows family historians to fully customise data, reports and charts to suit their own     requirements. It is very flexible and powerful, and can be used by professional genealogists and beginners alike.

Unfortunately development and developer support ceased in 2014, but the software and licences are still available for purchase through an agent. There is a very active Australasian user group known as TMG DOWN UNDER, supported by a large world-wide email network, and associated software to produce GEDCOM, eBooks and websites from TMG data.

The aim of TMG DOWN UNDER is to allow members to exchange information, ideas, and techniques for using TMG and related programs in their family history, through monthly on-line workshops using ZOOM. Group members have different levels of experience with TMG, from many years through to complete novices.

The group operates an email List where questions can be asked and answered, and events publicised.  See the group website here for full information.

The Writing Group formed late in 2013 and meets on a regular basis via Zoom, usually on the second Thursday morning of each month. Meetings consists of a presentation, show & tell, and an open forum for questions and comments.

This is a support/self-help group, not one for expert writers (although we do have a few published authors in our ranks). Our aim is to encourage members to exchange information, ideas, and techniques for writing their family and local histories.

In 2023 The Writing Group is excited to welcome Elizabeth and Emily as the new group leads, following the retirement of the previous lead, Lilian.

This group is new in 2023. The inaugural meeting was held on 18 February. Led by Thistle, Larry, Melissa and Suzanne come along and find out how to research your ancestors from the USA & Canada.

Image: Group of men at a party, SAG Manuscript and Image Collection, Item 5/10059


HERE IS A LIST OF THE NEXT GROUP MEETINGS:

Upcoming events

    • 12 December 2024
    • 10:30 AM - 12:30 PM
    • Via Zoom
    • 179
    Register

    The Writing Group: Show and Tell

    What have you written this year? Did you achieve the writing you had imagined at the start of the year? What are you planning for 2025?

    Our last meeting of The Writing Group will be an opportunity to “Show and Tell” your progress and accomplishments for this year (articles, blogs, published books, research etc..) and to share the ups and downs of your writing journeys.

    Lilian Magill will speak about the Research Plan she presented to us in February, updated in June, and the benefits of such a plan.

    We will discuss the 2025 programme and we’d like to hear your ideas and requests regarding topics, guest speakers, writing sessions, presentations etc. Perhaps you would like to do a presentation on a topic in the New Year?

    Come and join us, new attendees are always welcome.

    Skill Level: All    

    Group Leads: Elizabeth Capelin & Emily Purser


    Each session will be recorded so you can join live or watch the recording later.

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LOCATIONS

Library - 2/379 Kent St, Sydney NSW 2000                       

Offices/Archives - 120 Kent St, Sydney NSW 2000 (Also our postal address)


Gadigal Land

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CONTACT US

+61 2 9299 5151 Library (during opening hours)

+61 2 9247 3953 Office            


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