Regular readers of this blog know of my families’ long association with the railways in Queensland. Today is the Labour Day public holiday in my home state, Queensland, and I’ve been reflecting on this topic since Labour Day itself on 1 May. My father Norman Kunkel worked for the railway from when he was a … More Labour Day: the workaday life of a Queensland Rail numbertaker
I am participating in the A to Z 2012 blog challenge throughout April. My theme is a genealogical travelogue or a travel genealogue (I’m not sure which). Today is about two towns important to my family history in Australia. T is for Townsville (Queensland, Australia) Townsville is the hub for Far North Queensland (FNQ) as … More T travels to Townsville, Toowoomba and Tullamore
I am participating in the A to Z 2012 blog challenge throughout April. My theme is a genealogical travelogue or a travel genealogue (I’m not sure which). These “J” stories come with a genealogue warning. J is for Jondaryan (Queensland, Australia) Head west from Toowoomba en route to Dalby and you will come to Jondaryan, … More Jogging into Jondaryan, Jimbour and Jimboomba
This is Week 14 in my Beyond the Internet series in which I explore the sources of information beyond our computer screens. This week’s topic is War Diaries, shipping and photos. I’d love it if you wanted to join in with your thoughts on this topic, especially if you live overseas and have a different … More Beyond the Internet Week 14: War diaries, shipping and photographs
There’s not much happening in Darwin for St Patrick’s Day today but I’ve been reflecting on the day and its role in my family’s history. My immediate thoughts turned to the St Pat’s Day concerts we would sometimes hold at our school. I remember we would practice all the old Irish songs like When Irish … More St Patrick’s Day has many guises
This is Week 6 in my Beyond the Internet series of topics in which I explore the sources of information beyond our computer screens. I’d love it if you wanted to join in with your own posts on this week’s topic which is school committee papers and administrative records. I’d particularly like to hear how … More Beyond the Internet Week 6: School administration records
Shelley from Twigs of Yore has again initiated an Australia Day blogging theme. In 2012 the focus is “wealth for toil” drawing on the words of our national anthem, Advance Australia Fair. Our challenge is to choose an Aussie ancestor and relate how they toiled. There were several alternative approaches but I chose to tell … More Australia Day 2012: Wealth for toil on the railway?
Thomas MacEntee at Geneabloggers is encouraging us to celebrate the 2011 Christmas season with a series of posts called the Advent Calendar of Memories. This is today’s entry. Did your family throw a holiday party each year? Do you remember attending any holiday parties? My family have never been party people so no, we didn’t … More Advent Calendar of Memories 2011: 7th December – Holiday parties
Geniaus has brought to my attention, the Third Annual Great Genealogy Poetry Challenge initiated by Bill West. Bill has challenged genealogists world-wide to source a poem or music which is relevant to their family’s history as follows: 1. Find a poem by a local poet, famous or obscure, from the region one of your ancestors … More Third Annual Great Genealogy Poetry Challenge to honour my father: The Trains by Judith Wright
A couple of my family’s fallen Diggers, James Augustus Gavin and William Rudolph (Robert) Kunkel, were remembered in earlier posts. Today I want to focus on the service of the Australian Diggers in World War I who were descendants of the mid-19thcentury Dorfprozelten immigrants, five of whom gave their lives and another 17 served in … More Remembrance Day: honouring the Australian-born Diggers with German ancestry
Family history across the seas 