We had a terrific Christmas Party on Sunday.  Luckily, the weather was very kind to us, with a balmy 29 degrees – it was a bit warm in the sun, but the new tent was a great success, and next year we hope to have both tents available for use.

Congratulations to our prize winners on the day – Lorraine Cameron and  Dellas Johnson won the lucky door spots, while Michele Gane won the major prize of the leg of ham, and Jean Macleay and Lynda Smith won the Masterfood Hamper prizes.

Thanks go to everyone who assisted in making this day a success. We couldn’t do it without the helpers who helped with the salads, cooking on the BBQ, setting up the tables and chairs, and tidying up afterwards.

 A special thanks to the members who helped get the tent down and the chairs and tables back inside – it always seems harder to get everything stored away at the end of a busy day.

​It truly was a Group Social Day – well done everyone.

​Researching Records in United Kingdom from Australia -
guest speakers Joy and Allan Murrin.

​Well, what a great Seminar we had last Saturday – over 70 people attended and I think everyone came away with some tips and information about researching our records in UK.  Joy and Allan Murrin are very experienced speakers and were very generous with their time and expertise. The day was a great group effort, right from the beginning with obtaining the services of Joy and Allan, the publicising with local outlets, to all the helpers on the day – well done everyone.  The raffles were well received – Pam Mansergh won the major prize – the Samsung Tablet which had been donated by the Bendigo Bank.  The Flippal Scanner was won by Denise Chivas, and two Gift Certificates for Transcriptions donated by the Murrins were won by Jean Jones and Eileen Wheway

Anzac Ave and Anzac Rd Plaque Unveilings
A brilliant blue sky on 12th August in Frank Ballance Park in Wyong was the scene for our plaque unveiling ceremony to commemorate the naming of Anzac Ave on the same day 100 years earlier. The students from Wyong High School Aboriginal Dance Group began the ceremony and two young girls from Wyong Primary School sang both verses of the National Anthem to close the event. All the students were great ambassadors for their schools.
Our first speaker, Ms Emma McBride MP, spoke about the Federal Government Anzac grants, which provided funding for our plaques, and also told us that her grandmother had lived in Margaret St Wyong just up the road.
Mr David Harris MP spoke about the trees that had been planted and former Wyong Mayor spoke about how progress had seen the demise of the trees.
The plaque was then unveiled by Mrs Tracey Smith, a great granddaughter of Mrs Emma Goldsmith who had unveiled the Honour Roll in 1916. The plaque is attached to the wall at the entrance to the park on the corner of Margaret St and Anzac Ave.
Mrs Pat Frewin, Wyong RSL Sub-Branch President spoke about the service that the local men of Wyong gave to their country and also about the Honour Boards in the RSL Club which were later viewed during a wonderful morning tea that the RSL provided.
The Tuggerah unveiling on 26th August was well attended, particularly by descendants of the original tree planters. The choir from Tuggerah Public School sang for us after President Kerrie had made an Acknowledgement to Country and welcomed our guests.
After our official guests had spoken, in a similar vein to their speeches two weeks earlier, the plaque was unveiled by Mrs Evelyn Gorton, a granddaughter of Mr Joseph Preston, who had planted one of the trees back in 1916.
At both functions our Anzac banners were on display and made a wonderful backdrop for our commemorations. David Harris acknowledged our efforts to commemorate our fallen soldiers in a short address he made in State Parliament and our President Kerrie congratulated all our members who helped organise and run these historic events. 

Our Social BBQ was held on Sunday this year, to facilitate the participation of some of our members who work during the week.  We were very pleased with the roll-up, with the attendance of some of our new members and also some of our longtime members that we don’t always get to see.  It was fortunately a sunny (if chilly) day, so we were able to have the tables outside on the grassed area, close to the BBQ.
Because the May General Meeting was cancelled, our guest speaker that had been booked graciously agreed to attend on Sunday.  Susan Manahan from Tuggerah Library gave us a very interesting talk on the new Picture Wyong website, which features many photos from early Wyong.
Esther Dean did a wonderful job of presenting Kerrie Metcalfe and John Selwood with their 15 year Certificate of Appreciation, and Russell Welham with his 10 year Certificate of Appreciation.
After Susan’s talk, we all enjoyed a delicious lunch thanks to Kerrie and Melissa for the salads, Roger on the BBQ, and to all those who brought in the excellent slices and desserts for afterwards.
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​Most of you will be aware that we have been running our Beginners Course at the Cottage over the past six weeks. These courses are always very popular, however, this course has seen our largest number of beginners so far. Almost all have become members of our group and one member did it as a refresher course.

Looking at the evaluation sheets we received, everyone seemed happy with the course outline and also how it was presented –and also the morning teas were well received.

Our Publicity Coordinator, Lorraine Cameron spends a lot of time publicising our events so it was very pleasing to see the course publicity was found in a variety of places, for example: Seniors Paper, Shopping Centres Coffee Chat magazine, heard on radio and more.

It takes more than one person to organise these courses so I wish to thank all those who played their part.

This course is being followed up with a Family History Filing session and it is pleasing to see so many of our new members have registered.

Good luck to all the course graduates who are eager to get on with their Family research.
Trish McDonald -Education Coordinator

The recently held Facebook Workshop was well attended. Participants learnt how to set their privacy and account settings, and how to navigate the Facebook environment. Instructions on how to Like and Share posts was delivered as well as how to connect with genealogy websites and networks.

A Facebook Special Interest Group (SIG) will be held on 23 April 2016 where members can attend and learn more about using Facebook, and how Facebook can be used to connect with others for genealogy purposes.

​The April SIG will demonstrate how to put all your genealogy sites/networks into a list which you can access from the sidebar on Home to allow easy reference.

​Melissa Metcalfe #516
 

​We had a lovely, friendly, chatty afternoon tea on our last day for 2015.  With nearly 40 members enjoying the Afternoon Tea, and inspecting the new floor on our verandah, it was a very enjoyable afternoon.

Melissa Metcalfe made a beautifully decorated Christmas Cake for us to enjoy, although unfortunately she had to work, so couldn't enjoy it with us.  We kept her some of the small amount that was left.  The only sad note for us was that our President Kerrie is still in hospital, and so was unable to celebrate a very successful year with us.  Everyone sent her their best wishes, with hopes of a speedy recovery.

​I have posted some more photos at the bottom of the Events page

​Kerry Clarke, Secretary