Early Australia and Convicts
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Genealogy Sunshine Coast is open Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 9.00am til 4.30pm.
9.30am - 11.00am with Sue Hanna and helpers $2.00 for members $5 non-members All Welcome!
Did your ancestors come to Australia in the early days of the colony?
20% of Australians have a convict in their past! Are you one of them?
Were your ancestors from the marines, officers or free settlers?
What were their crimes or occupations? What ship brought them here and what were the conditions like? Learn about life in the early colony. Hear the others in the group tell their ancestors' stories. We can help find the records you need.
It's quite likely you will find connections with others in the group!
Thursday 7th May 9.30am
Folk Hero or Felon?
The topic will be bushrangers. We will look at the daring men, mostly Irish, who flaunted authority and robbed banks and held up stagecoaches. Names such as Frank Gardiner, Ben Hall, Captain Thunderbolt, Captain Moonlite and the Kelly Gang aka the wild colonial boys took advantage of the gold rush era. What motivated them? What daring antics did they get up to? Were your ancestors affected by the bushrangers in some way? We would love to hear your stories too! Come along and join in.
Ben Hall
Captain Moonlite
Frank Gardiner
Ned Kelly
Thursday 12th March 2026
Do you wonder what your ancestor's life was like in the early days? During this session, Sue will continue her talk about gold discovery in Australia, with the conclusion of the gold discoveries in Queensland in Clermont, Charters Towers, Palmer River and Mt Morgan.
The impact of the gold discoveries on population growth, immigration and infrastructure especially in Melbourne.
Did your ancestors arrive during this time? Where did they come from? Why did they venture to the far reaches of the globe to make a life here in a very different environment?
Our library has a very large collection of resources for researching this era; some of our data is not available on the internet; it is very useful to gain context for the circumstances that affected the lives of your family.
painting: Early Brisbane
Did your ancestors come to Australia via the port of Moreton Bay? Did they come to Brisbane from the southern ports to work in agriculture or on the railway? Come along and have a chat with Lee Goleby about how to research your early Queensland relatives!
Convicts and Early Australian Interest group will be held on the following dates:
please note the group has changed the meeting day to the 1st Thursday of each month from now on.
Thursday 12th March
Thursday 2nd April
Thursday 7 May
Thursday 4 June
Thursday 2 July
Thursday 6 August
Thursday 3 September
Thursday 1 October
Thursday 5 November
Thursday 3 December
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