My Great Uncle Walter Holliday
Walter Holliday was born on 23 December 1891, at home, in Schwanfelder Place, Beeston, Leeds in Yorkshire, England; the eighth of nine children born to William and Mary Ann (nee…
One of the perks of CDFHS membership
I first caught the bug for Family History way back in 1986 during a trip to Glasgow. The bug went away for a while but has come back big time…
The pioneer who put her experiences into verse
You just never know what treasures you might find hidden in the bookshelves of historical collections. Whilst browsing in the Queensland section of the Cairns & District Family History Society's…
Munro Martin Parklands Transformation
After 134 years, the Cairns park known as Munro Martin Park has had a welcome ‘greening’. The new parklands were officially opened by the Cairns Regional Council and guests during…
Shadows of the Past 2016
Not sure what the neighbours who live near the McLeod Street Pioneer Cemetery think, when suddenly one night there are eerie lights wandering through there, band music sounding from within…
Martyn Street Cemetery 100 Years
Martyn Street Cemetery, or as it was originally known, Cairns General Cemetery, was gazetted and opened 100 years ago in 1916.
It was the third cemetery in the town of Cairns just 40 years after its settlement. It is the resting place of many of the early pioneers, battlers and gentry of the Cairns region. (more…)
Mystery plaque found in Cairns
CDFHS has been informed of the existence of a marble plaque - broken in two - that was found in a building in Cairns which is set for demolition. There…
Unidentified photos from Pugh family of Queensland
The three photos below were part of a collection from the Pugh family of Ravenswood in North Queensland.
Several of the Pugh daughters worked as nurses at different places throughout Queensland.
Pam Cooper has shared these lovely photographs in the hope that someone may recognise the people involved. (more…)
My great grandmother, “Nurse Wilson”
Twins, Anna Petronella Gronlund and her brother, Wilhelm Fredrik Gronlund, were born on 29 April 1864 in Rebbelberga, Skane, Sweden; the eldest children of Sven Jonasson Gronlund and his second…
DNA test raffle encourages new testers
Far North Queensland must be one of the DNA testing hotspots of Australia, but here at Cairns & District Family History Society we still work hard at encouraging even more of our members (and their families and friends) and visitors to try DNA testing as a part of their family history research. (more…)
Cairns-born adoptee finds his birth mother
Email from David (Nov, 2015)
I was born in Cairns in 1947 and my mother kept me for a short time and then decided to adopt me out. I had always known my birth mother’s name but had never been successful in tracking down any information. (more…)
Flashback to… 28 Hartley Street
Those who frequent the current Cairns & District Family History Society building at 20-30 Hartley Street may be interested to see what the address looked like when I grew up on the same site during the mid-1950s and early 1960s. (more…)
My ‘elusive’ grandfather – George Frederick Davies
I started my own family history research some 25 years ago. At the time, I was the Historical and Genealogical Officer with the New South Wales Land Titles Office, and had been assisting the general public for many years, through early land records research. I only ever knew one grandparent, my maternal grandmother, Anna Davies (nee Wilson), who I adored, the others having died long before my birth. I was one of her favorites. (more…)
Ghost walks return to life in Cairns
“Ghost walks return to life” in Cairns with Shadows of the Past dramatised evening tours of the McLeod Street Pioneer Cemetery. The event features 12 stories of the lives and deaths of the Cairns pioneers buried there. The cast of ghosts floating around and speaking their stories, or the stories of their loved ones, will take the audience back in time. The performance will be accompanied by the evocative music of Cairns Brass. (more…)
Keeping History Alive with the Q ANZAC 100 Workshop
I have just spent three absorbing, and very educational days with Niles Elvery, Regional Coordinator, and three other members of the Q ANZAC 100 team from the State Library of Queensland. The first morning was a unique opportunity to look at some of the State Library’s precious original First World War materials. (more…)