In April 1789 a smallpox plague suddenly broke out at Sydney Cove. It swept around the entire continent and killed up to 70% of the Indigenous peoples in the Sydney area, but only one colonist. Despite the fact that the First Fleet was very well documented, the cause of the pandemic has remained a mystery.

In partnership with the Genealogical Society of Victoria, the RHSV is holding a free Zoom seminar on one of the jewels in its crown - the Pioneer Register. This will be of great interest to those interested in family history or wanting to know more about this unique collection and how it can help your research. Jillian Hiscock, the RHSV Collections Manager will be delivering the seminar. 

In March 1946, the war was over. The Italian prisoners of war who had been captured several years earlier in northern Africa were interned in camps around Australia and were waiting to be returned home. One Saturday evening, the commandant of the Rowville internment camp, Captain Waterston, shot and killed a prisoner, Rodolfo Bartoli, who he claimed was attempting to escape. What initially appeared to be a straightforward case of an Australian army officer carrying out his duty, soon appeared to be something else. Allegations of assaults, reckless firing of weapons, drunkenness and stolen goods began to emerge.

Sex workers in nineteenth-century Melbourne were judged morally corrupt by the respectable world around them. But theirs was a thriving trade, with links to the police and political leaders of the day, and the leading brothels were usually managed by women. Who were they? What did their daily lives look like? What became of them? Drawing on the findings of recent archaeological excavations, rare archival material and family records, historian Barbara Minchinton brings the fascinating world of Little Lon to life.

In this seminar on researching military service, Patrick Ferry will focus on research methodology and highlighting the range of resources available to help tell the story of a town / suburb / district’s soldiers. This seminar will be of great interest to historical societies, family history groups, military history buffs and people with a general interest in learning more about how to put some “meat” on the bones of their ancestors’ military service.