Only available until Friday 3 May.

By booking a Webinar Season Ticket you will be able to view every standard webinar we hold between May-July, either live or by watching the recording later. You book and pay once.

We'll set you up in each webinar and send you the confirmation link. And in addition you'll get one webinar free - so this quarter you get 5  for the price of 4.

The webinars covered by the Season Ticket this quarter are:

• Tracking down your ancestors in Ireland, Pauleen Cass, 6 May
• In the workhouse, Helen V Smith, 21 May
• Using Excel for DNA, Danielle Lautrec, 18 June
• TROVE - It's more than just newspapers, Heather Garnsey, 17 July
• Not quite Quincy - Coroners' records in England, Helen V Smith, 24 July

Location: Your place!

Presenter: Heather Garnsey   Bookings essential: $12, Members only

Many of us know and love TROVE, but how many of us are really using it to its full potential? This webinar will look beyond the historical newspapers and instead deal with all the other great resources you’ll find on this great free site.

Location: Richmond Villa, 120 Kent Street Sydney (more information here)

Convenor: Kerry Farmer        Free for members and non-members, but bookings are essential.  See important details below. 

Recent developments in the US have created a buzz in the forensic community about this powerful new application to assist investigations. However there are significant ethical and legal issues to consider prior to its widespread adoption in law enforcement.  The NSW and Victorian Police Forces have instigated a project to assess and validate the application of genetic genealogy to Australian investigations, and this session will give the project team an opportunity to engage with the genealogy community to discuss the issues.

Note this is not a lecture or general information session about genetic genealogy so please only register to attend if you have already tested your DNA, have a good understanding of the current debate taking place about the use of test results by law enforcement agencies on sites such as Gedmatch, and are interested in participating in this discussion.   

Numbers are strictly limited. Register your interest in attending here – confirmations will be sent out by 10 July.

Location: Richmond Villa, 120 Kent Street Sydney (more information here)

Presenter: Jeff Madsen   Bookings essential: $24 members, $37 non-members

Learn how to digitise your family history documents and photographs, the merits of different formats, resolution and other technical tips. Each attendee will have the opportunity to have up to four items digitised on the day.

BYO items and a USB stick to save the images onto. Limit 10.

Location: Richmond Villa, 120 Kent Street Sydney (more information here)

Presenter: Kerry Farmer   Bookings essential: $24 members, $37 non-members

What do you know about your convict ancestors before they arrived in Australia?  In this session you'll discover what information can be found about their criminal convictions which led to their transportation..

Location: Your place!

Presenter: Helen V. Smith   Bookings essential: $12, Members only

Coronial inquests were held when an accidental, suspicious or unnatural death occurred. The inquests can be a genealogical treasure trove with information about the deceased’s appearance, health, occupation, life and family relationships.

Location: Richmond Villa, 120 Kent Street Sydney (more information here)

Presenter: Jenny Joyce   Bookings essential: $24 members, $37 non-members

Almost all of us in Australia have immigrant ancestors. Those who came of their own free will may have paid their full passage, but many of them were "Assisted" or "Bounty" Immigrants.

Learn about the subtle differences for the many schemes that helped bring out people to settle in Australia.

Location: Richmond Villa, 120 Kent Street Sydney (more information here)

Presenter: Sue Dobson   Bookings essential: $12 members, $17 non-members

Learn the first steps of interpreting your DNA test results to help you understand how you relate to your matches. We will include a summary of basic DNA concepts and there will be plenty of time for questions.

Tour guides: Ralph Hawkins (SAG) and Loraine Punch (Friends of Rookwood)

Rookwood Cemetery, Lidcombe  Bookings essential: $35 members, $50 non-members (Bookings close Sat 3 August 10am)

A guided tour of Rookwood Cemetery from the comfort of a minibus, combined with short walks and talks. Hear about the history of the cemetery, how to find gravestones and stories of the people buried there.

NB The minibus will pick up passengers at Lidcombe train station at 10.15am and return them to the station after the tour. Those who choose to meet at the cemetery will be given instructions about where to meet.

As a bus hire is involved, there will be no refunds if you cancel with less than 48 hours’ notice.

Location: 120 Kent Street Sydney (more information here)

Free, members only but bookings are essential

The SAG MIDAS collection has a wide range of primary records such as manuscripts, photos, diaries and family histories – many of which are not held anywhere else! Explore highlights of the collections and take a guided tour.

Why not stay on after the tour and do some research? Limit 10.

Location: Richmond Villa, 120 Kent Street Sydney (more information here)

Convenor: Lilian Magill   Bookings essential: $12 members, $17 non-members

Writing that First Line. Chapter Headings. Opening Paragraphs. Giving it a Title. An open discussion, where anyone can ask for help, not just limited to the above topics.

If you need a helping hand, come and join in.

Location: Your place OR the SAG library at 2/379 Kent Street (booking required)

Convenors: Danielle Lautrec and Veronica Williams   Free for members and non-members but bookings essential

This is an online challenge for Family History Month! There will also be room for up to 14 people to work on the challenge from the SAG library, using library computers and resources.

If you are going to participate in this challenge from the SAG library you'll need to email us in advance at coursebookings@sag.org.au to confirm a spot is available for you.

Preparatory research can also be conducted at the library and archives prior to the day.

The challenge is to improve Australian content on Wikitree. This means adding new Australian profiles or contributing to existing ones.

Points will be awarded, with a bonus if you can demonstrate use of sources from the SAG. You will need a free Wikitree account. Instructions, rules and links to ‘how-to’ webinars will be provided.

Location: Richmond Villa, 120 Kent Street Sydney (more information here)

Convenor: Larry Czarnik   Bookings essential: $12 members, $17 non-members

Join other users of this popular family history software program for insights, ideas and opportunities to share tips and ask questions. Suitable for all levels of experience.

Location: Richmond Villa, 120 Kent Street Sydney (more information here)

Convenor: Larry Czarnik   Bookings essential: $12 members, $17 non-members

Join other users of this popular family history software program for insights, ideas and opportunities to share tips and ask questions. This is not a repeat of the AM session.

Location: Richmond Villa, 120 Kent Street Sydney (more information here)

Presenter: Gillian Kelly   Bookings essential: $24 members, $37 non-members

Before the industrial revolution, Nottingham was the heartland of English lacemaking. When the craft was mechanised the traditional lace artisans settled in France, where lace was still being made by hand.

Then came the revolution of 1848, which turned the Nottingham artisans out of France.Three shiploads of them came to Australia in 1848 to make a new life (www.lacemakersofcalais.com.au).

Come and hear their story.

Location: 2/379 Kent Street Sydney (more information here)

Presenter: Danielle Lautrec   Bookings essential: $37 members, $52 non-members

FamilySearch is a huge resource. This computer session will show you what’s there and improve your search techniques so you can find the information you need. Beginners are welcome. Limit 14

Location: Your place!

Presenter: Ben Hollister   Bookings essential: $12, Members only

If your ancestors came from the former German Empire and its predecessor states, the Church Book is the key to tracing your family (often back to the 16th century!).

This webinar will explain what you can expect to find in a record at different times and places, which repositories hold which records, and how to access those repositories.

Only available until Monday 19 August

By booking a Webinar Season Ticket you will be able to view every standard webinar we hold between Aug-Oct, either live or by watching the recording later.

You book and pay once. We'll set you up in each webinar and send you the confirmation link.

And in addition you'll get one webinar free - so this quarter you get 6  for the price of 5. (The season ticket does not include the webinar course on Genome Mate Pro.)

The webinars covered by the Season Ticket this quarter are:

• Why should I test my DNA, Michelle Patient (pre-recorded. link provided upon purchase of season ticket)
• Fantastic German church books and where to find them, Ben Hollister, 20 August
• Enhance your genealogy research with Facebook, Jill Ball, 9 September
• Four sources for New Zealand family history, Fiona Brooker, 24 September
• Have you finished your family history?, Danielle Lautrec, 17 October
• Biographical Database of Australia, Michael Flynn, 21 October

Location: Richmond Villa, 120 Kent Street Sydney (more information here)

Presenter: Danielle Lautrec   Bookings essential: $24 members, $37 non-members

Learn how to make sense of those family history puzzles using two helpful techniques of timelines and mindmapping. This will be a practical session, so bring your problems along!

Location: Richmond Villa, 120 Kent Street Sydney (more information here)

Convenor: Pauline Kettle   Bookings essential: $12 members, $17 non-members

Markets around in London from the early 1200s onwards were generally established close to church grounds, but the biggest development of larger and more specialised markets was around 1800 onwards.

The development of these markets, the expansion of types of markets and how they affected the surrounding population will be included in the talk.

Location: 2/379 Kent Street Sydney (more information here)

Free, members only but bookings are essential

Get an overview of the services and resources at the Library. Explore highlights of the collections and take a guided tour.Why not stay on after the tour and do some research? Limit 10.

Location: Richmond Villa, 120 Kent Street Sydney (more information here)

Presenter: Michelle Patient   Bookings essential: $24 members, $37 non-members

There are so many techniques and tools out there to help us understand our DNA matches.

In this session Michelle will talk about the process of analysing DNA matches, focussing on shared matches and clustering, and walk you through some of her favourite tools and ways of working with them.

There will be plenty of time for questions and live demonstrations.

Location: Your place!

Presenter: Jill Ball   Bookings essential: $12, Members only

Learn how to safely and securely use the many pages and groups on Facebook to learn of new resources, link up with distant cousins, gain advice from experts in your ancestors' localities, and share and discuss your findings.

There is a huge generous community who are willing to help you on Facebook which is the 21st Century equivalent of the bulletin board.

Location: Richmond Villa, 120 Kent Street Sydney (more information here)

Convenor: Lilian Magill   Bookings essential: $12 members, $17 non-members

Father, Dad, The Old Man, no matter what we call them, fathers are important. This month we celebrate Father’s Day with stories about our Dads, Grandfathers, Uncles or Stepdads.

With three minutes to talk, tell us about him. Photos are welcome and please send them to lhabberton2000@yahoo.com.au

Location: Richmond Villa, 120 Kent Street Sydney (more information here)

Presenter: Ralph Hawkins   Bookings essential: $24 members, $37 non-members

The blacksmith was a key tradesman in the cities and country towns, but it was the men trained in this trade that led the Industrial Revolution. Discover what a blacksmith did and who the allied tradesmen were.

Location: Richmond Villa, 120 Kent Street Sydney (more information here)

Presenter: Suzanne Upton, NSW State Archives   Bookings essential: $24 members, $37 non-members

From railways workers to office clerks, teachers to police officers - find out how official records at NSW State Archives can help track down the public servants and Government employees in your family tree.

Location: 2/379 Kent Street Sydney (more information here)

Presenter: Lorraine Brothers   Bookings essential: $25 members only (special price)

Did you know that the SAG library has a lot of resources in electronic format? Have you explored them fully?

Find out how to access such things as parish registers, family histories, cemetery records, funeral directors’ records, AGCI, journals, government gazettes, police gazettes and many more when you visit 2/379 Kent Street.

Limit 14.

Location: Richmond Villa, 120 Kent Street Sydney (more information here)

Presenter: Heather Garnsey   Bookings essential: $24 members, $37 non-members

DNA has seemingly given us third and fourth cousins we never knew we had, but how do we work out where they fit into the family tree, especially when their names are unfamiliar to us?

This session looks at how to track down more recent generations of a family and highlights records that give clues about those who have lived in the more recent past.

Location: Your place!

Presenter: Fiona Brooker   Bookings essential: $12, Members only

You've checked the NZ births, deaths and marriages, now where? Fiona Brooker covers cemetery, probate, newspaper and immigration records for tracing your family with NZ links.

Location: NSW State Archives, Kingswood (more information here)

Presenters: Jeff Madsen, Terry Kass, Emily Hanna   Bookings essential: $50 members, $65 non-members

Join us for a series of presentations on researching the land of your ancestors, including pre-1856 land records, parish maps and more. Full program will be on the website.

Location: Richmond Villa, 120 Kent Street Sydney (more information here)

Presenter: Gay Hendriksen   Bookings essential: $24 members, $37 non-members

Our family history is more than government records. Come and learn how to care for, interpret and write about your family collections. Bring your favourite item with you and share your stories.

Location: Richmond Villa, 120 Kent Street Sydney (more information here)

Presenter: Jill Ball   Bookings essential: $24 members, $37 non-members

Newspapers can add historical context to the lives of our ancestors. As well as giving us a picture of the times in which our ancestors lived they may report on events in addition to BDMs.

In this session we will examine newspaper collections from Australia and overseas, and discuss accessing and using the findings in our research.

Location: Richmond Villa, 120 Kent Street Sydney (more information here)

Convenor: Lilian Magill   Bookings essential: $12 members, $17 non-members

Several members will show the way items in the Society’s Manuscript and Image Collection (often referred to by the catalogue name, MIDAS) can enhance our family history or lead to interesting discoveries.

Location: Your place!

Presenter: Danielle Lautrec   Bookings essential: $12, as a special deal this webinar is available to both members and non-members

Donating your family history to the Society of Australian Genealogists is a great way to preserve your work and help others with their research, but you do not have to wait until you are finished with it! You could donate now. Find out what the Society accepts, how it is made accessible to researchers, how to organise your materials for donation.

Location: 2/379 Kent Street Sydney (more information here)

Free, members only but bookings are essential

Get an overview of the services and resources at the Library. Explore highlights of the collections and take a guided tour. Why not stay on after the tour and do some research? Limit 10.

Location: Richmond Villa, 120 Kent Street Sydney (more information here)

Convenor: Beverly Hyssett   Bookings essential: $12 members, $17 non-members

Discover ways to maximise the benefits of this family history software program. Learn from others, share tips and ask questions.

Location: Richmond Villa, 120 Kent Street Sydney (more information here)

Presenter: Christine Woodlands   Bookings essential: $12 members, $17 non-members

Learn the first steps of interpreting your DNA test results to help you understand how you relate to your matches. We will include a summary of basic DNA concepts and there will be plenty of time for questions.

Location: Your place!

Presenter: Michael Flynn   Bookings essential: $12, Members only

Find out what the Biographical Database of Australia holds and how it can help your family history research. Get an update on newly added content, such as immigration records.

External tour: Meet at St Thomas & Trafalgar Streets, Bronte 

Bookings essential: $25 members, $30 non-members

Enjoy a walk through this magnificent cemetery, visiting monuments of politicians, murder victims, authors, poets and criminals; including Dorothea Mackellar and Henry Lawson, Sir Francis Forbes, the magnificent Irish Monument to the 1789 rebellion and Nosey Bob, the State’s executioner! Not suitable for people with mobility issues. Limit 15

Location: Richmond Villa, 120 Kent Street Sydney (more information here)

Convenor: Veronica Williams   Bookings essential: $12 members, $17 non-members

Confirming DNA matches through triangulation. We will explore the different ways to use the tools on each of the main testing sites – FTDNA, My Heritage, 23andMe, GEDmatch and DNAGedcom. Suitable for intermediate DNA researchers.

Location: Richmond Villa, 120 Kent Street Sydney (more information here)

Bookings essential: $12 members, $17 non-members

Learnings from ‘DNA Down Under’. What changes do we need to make in our research? Are there important issues that we need to input into our 2020 agenda?

Location: Your place!

Presenter: Veronica Williams   Bookings essential: $35, Members only (fee is for 3 parts)

This is a 3-part webinar course. Part 1 = 29 October, Part 2 = 12 November, Part 3 = 26 November

This is an online discussion to learn about using Genome Mate Pro. The discussion will be facilitated by Veronica and participants are expected to have watched YouTube videos and other materials such as the DNA Geek blog. Internet, headphones and microphone are required.

Part 1 - Help, Options, Creating Profiles and introduction to Data Imports

Part 2 - Data Imports revision, allocating sides, defining segments to ancestors

Part 3 - Chromosome analysis, Segment Maps Links to the YouTube videos and other material will be provided to registrants.