Family History Month at Rotorua Library

Every August we celebrate Family History Month, a time to promote the family research resources we hold in the library to assist with family research and to inspire people in the community to delve into their own family histories.

So what will we be offering this year?

Displays

There will be a photographic display of early Rotorua settlers. Do you have any connections to those early settlers? Come and check it out.

On the ground floor and also on the 2nd floor will be display cabinets displaying toys and memorabilia from the family histories of staff members.

Drop-in Assistance

As in previous years, members of the local Rotorua Branch of the New Zealand Society of Genealogists will be up on the 2nd floor each Wednesday from 10-2 pm offering free assistance. This could be for someone just beginning to delve into their family history or for those who are stuck and don't know where to try next.

Ben Manley will also conduct a free drop-in session on Maori Land Court research on Monday 19 August from 10-2 pm.

Workshops

Each Friday from 10 am-12 noon there will be a workshop conducted by one of the Heritage and Research Team in the i-Mac Suite on the 2nd Floor. Topics covered will be Papers Past, Cenotaph database, Maori Maps/Maori Land Online, Maori Land Court Research and Ancestry.com. These workshops cost $6.00 each and can be booked on EventFinda.

On Monday 26 August 10 am-12 noon Ben Manley will conduct a Mapping Histories workshop in the i-Mac suite, cost $6.00. Again, this can be booked on EventFinda.

Free Events

This year we have six special events, all of which are free and will be held in the Discovery Space on the 2nd Floor.

We are very fortunate as on Thursday 8 August 10.30 am-12 noon. Raymon Naisbitt from Utah, USA will be presenting on Exploring FamilySearch.org from a British Isles perspective. Raymon works for FamilySearch.org. so will have many tips to share. He's an enthusiastic family researcher, and has been doing so for many years. Many thanks to the local Genealogy group for supporting this event.

Thursday 8 August 1-3 pm, the discussion will be on an Introduction to DNA. Jan heads the DNA group, and will share about the DNA research process, some things to watch for, some successes and will also answer questions.

We're very excited to have Alex Gilbert from I'm Adopted with us on Saturday 10 August from 2-2.30 pm. Alex was in a Russian orphanage until being adopted by a New Zealand couple. In his teens he located his birth parents. Since then he's written a book, done a documentary which screened on TV and set up an organisation helping other adoptees to find their birth parents called I'm Adopted.

On Thursday 15 August 1-3 pm a panel will be sharing on presenting family history. Once you've begun researching and gathering photographs, documents and sometimes memorabilia how do you store, manage and put it together so it's able to be shared with others? There will be examples shared by our panel on these aspects of family history.

Thursday 22 August from 5-6 pm, Ben Manley will give an introduction to Mapping Technologies. This lecture will introduce free, basic tools that combine maps with narrative text, images or video to create interactive, visual narratives.

Tuesday 27 August 1-2.30, we're Talking Adoption. Marianne and her team form the Oranga Tamariki Adoption Services team will share about the adoption process, how to go about finding birth family if you've been adopted or gave a child up for adoption, and the services their team offers.

So, we hope you come along, get inspired and hopefully we'll be able to offer you assistance on your family research journey in the months ahead. Check out the posters in the library, the library website, Facebook or EventFinda for further details.

Armistice Day Commemorations in 2018

At 11am on 11 November this year, Aotearoa New Zealand will mark the centenary of the armistice that ended the First World War in 1918. On that day 100 years ago, after four years of brutal conflict, war finally gave way to peace.

The First World War had taken a huge toll on New Zealand. Around 100,000 New Zealanders – or ten percent of the population at the time – served overseas during the war, and over 18,000 lost their lives. Families and communities back home felt these losses acutely.

When news of the Armistice reached our shores it was met with thanksgiving, hopefulness and joyous noise.

The Armistice centenary gives us the opportunity to acknowledge the loss and trauma of the First World War, as well as reflect on peace and hope at the centenary of its closure. As well as joining together in remembrance, we can recapture the relief and jubilation of that important day a century ago. https://ww100.govt.nz/armistice

So, what’s happening in Rotorua during November 2018 to mark Armistice Day?

Week of 5^th November: Beyond the grave. Rotorua high school students will be  cleaning  WW1 soldiers' headstones located in the historic section of Sala Street Cemetery. This project is co-ordinated by the Rotorua Museum and RSA.

Te Aka Mauri Rotorua Library's Anahera Sadler & Ani Sharland, Sala Street Cemetery

9^th November: Rotorua Armistice Day 1918 presentation by Heritage & Research staff at 11am in the Discovery Space, Te Aka Mauri. This presentation will be repeated on Armistice Day at 1pm at the Blue Baths.

Te Aka Mauri Rotorua Library's Alison Leigh & Trish Brown

10^th November: Book Launch of Touched by War, by Alison Brown and Matthew Martin at 11am Discovery Space, Te Aka Mauri. There will be copies of the book for sale.

11^th November: Armistice Day Commemoration Service 10.30 – 11.30 at Cenotaph followed by 3 hours family friendly afternoon celebrations. See local papers and the  council website for programme. Activities include donkey rides, Highland Pipe Band, Rotorua Brass Band, Travelling Tuataras, Black Porch and more. Afternoon tea and scones will be available at the Blue Baths where there will also be a repeat of the Rotorua Armistice 1918 presentation by a Heritage & Research library staff member

6^th -19th November: Field of Remembrance. Crosses in Government Gardens.

16th November: Author talk and book launch of The Aro Street Girls by Lyndsay Campbell, 1.30 Discovery Space, Te Aka Mauri Rotorua Library.

Month of November: Displays in Te Aka Mauri, along with weekly blogs on the Library website, include Quilts, Books, 1918 Hot Lakes Chronicle newspaper.

Month of November: He Pou Aroha - Community Cenotaph Kiosk from Auckland War Memorial Museum will be on the 2nd floor at Te Aka Mauri to help you discover and share stories of those who served. Anyone can contribute to the Online Cenotaph by digitising Taonga, documents, letters, medals, photographs, and war memorabilia. Or simply discover your connection and lay a digital poppy or leave a personal message.

November: Creation and Presentation of Roll of Honour, Masonic Lodge. A roll of honour of the names of Lodge Rotorua Brethren who served in WW1 to be hung in Lodge Room.

This blog was compiled by Trish. With thanks to Tracey Shepherd, Allan Birtwistle (Rotorua Masonic Lodge), Auckland War Memorial Museum, Rotorua Lakes Council