Whittlesea Historical Society (WHS) had a great day out late last month, visiting the State Library of Victoria in Melbourne’s Swanston Street.
WHS member Daniel Giddens, who is also a librarian at the State Library, organised the tour with a focus on family history resources.
Under the guidance of Mr Giddens and his colleague Caitlyn Grant, 18 members and guests of the WHS were guided through the areas of special interest to family history researchers, and were amazed at the wide range of resources available.
The members noticed many of the items were freely available to use, but that some required notice to be retrieved from storage.
Many attendees were keen to return to the library in the future to continue research for their own family histories.
As a special treat at the end of the tour, WHS was given a viewing of some documents in the Newspapers and Family History Reading Room, with a specific focus on the history of City of Whittlesea.
WHS members and guests then enjoyed lunch in the Mr Tulk Cafe—a restaurant named in honour of Augustus Henry Tulk, the first librarian of the State Library of Victoria in 1856.
The day proved to be a fantastic opportunity for WHS members to converse among themselves, and learn more about recently joined members.
The WHS’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held on October 27 at 1.30pm at the Whittlesea Bowls Club.
All are welcomed to attend and find out more about the club’s offerings.
