RAHS Senior Vice President Christine Yeats has  worked closely with the Mudgee Historical Society and Mid-Western Regional Council Library to design a seminar in which participants can learn skills to undertake their local history and heritage research. 

The seminar will also focus on the rich history of Mudgee with speakers using case studies from the area. 

“Mudgee is an ideal location to host the seminar because of the support shown by the local historical society and library, Mudgee’s history and the fact that it is a regional hub,” Ms Yeats said. 

The seminar is one of a series of RAHS initiatives that are part of a project entitled Beyond the Blue Mountains - Following the Road from Bathurst. 

The project is funded by a grant from the Office of Environment and Heritage and aims to increase community awareness, interest and understanding of the historical and heritage significance of the inland settlement of New South Wales. 

The Mudgee seminar will include sessions on Land Titles, German migration and settlement in the Mudgee region, Heritage Education, Oral History, Archduke Franz Ferdinand’s visit to Australia, Online and other resources for local history, and making the best use of social media. 

RAHS President Associate Professor Carol Liston will provide advice and guidance to assist researchers in accessing and using the historically significant records that Land and Property Information is making available through its SIX Portal. 

This seminar is an opportunity for people to learn the skills to make their own discoveries and share them with others. 

“Take the opportunity to become familiar with searching land titles and find the best way to go about recording oral histories. Learn about the process of listing local and state heritage items and about using social media to promote your work,” Professor Liston says. 

“There is so much interest in people and places from the past. 

“This interest in history is clearly demonstrated by the popularity of television programs such as SBS TV’s Who Do You Think You Are?” 

Those with an interest in the history of migration to Australia will want to hear about Dr Kathrine Reynolds’ work on nineteenth century German migration to Australia. Kathrine, who is the RAHS Treasurer, will also be discussing the Rheinberger and Muller families of Mudgee. 

Other topics that focus on the rich local history of the area include Christine Yeats’ talk on Bushranger John Owens and Dr Dorothy Kass’ talk on Alexander Hamilton, schoolmaster and naturalist at Guntawang, 1870-1887. 

For booking information go to the RAHS website: www.rahs.org.au/ai1ec_event/rahsoeh-regional-seminar-mudgee/?instance_id=858