Genealife in Lockdown - June - August 2021

 Genealife in Lockdown Week and National Family History Month

Alex Daw of the Family Tree Frog Blog has challenged bloggers Downunder to publish a blog post each Sunday during National Family History Month in August 2021. You can read Alex's most recent post for her blogging challenge right here. Thanks to Alex for thinking of this blog challenge which for many has been just what was needed to resuscitate our blogs!

Chris Goopy who writes the blog That Moment in Time has kindly compiled a list of bloggers and their posts for this Australasian Blogging Challenge. 

I am writing this blog post while all of NSW and Victoria are back in a strict lockdown due to growing numbers of cases of the Delta strain of Covid and not enough of the population being vaccinated yet. Other states have also had lockdowns but Greater Sydney, where my family lives, has been in lockdown for over eight weeks.

One thing I am grateful for is zoom and facetime calls which have kept my friends and family  in touch with each other. I have watched my youngest granddaughter take her first steps from a distance and lockdowns have been made so much more bearable because of technology. Facetime calls are especially fun with my super tech five year old grandson who loves to add filters and effects to each call. 

                                                     A typical facetime call with my five year old grandson

 Ruins from the Second Convict Settlement on Norfolk Island ©

Following The Genealogy Show in June of this year, I was busy preparing a presentation about second settlement convict life on Norfolk island for the AFFO Congress which was to be held there in August. More specifically, I was comparing the diaries of convicts who served time on Norfolk island and religious chaplins who ministered to the prisoners. I set out to determine why this remote penal settlement earned the reputation of being Hell in Paradise. [1]  I find the history and philosophy behind convict treatment and punishment, although difficult to understand, quite fascinating to research.

                                                    Looking towards Slaughter Bay from Shearwater

I can't give much more away about this presentation because the AFFO conference in August was cancelled due to Covid lockdowns in most states of Australia and it has been moved to 2022. I had extended my one week conference stay stay on Norfolk island to two weeks and I was looking forward to catching up in person with many of my genealogy friends as well as returning to a place that I love to visit. I am thrilled however, that now I and others now have Congress next year to look forward to with much anticipation!

                                                                      The Wingecarribee Wetlands

Taking a short break from my year of genealogy presentations, I pursued my love of walking and enjoying the natural beauty of where I live.  Among other places, I have explored the Wingecarribee Wetland area which is teaming with birdlife. Along the river and wetland area are seats for bird lovers such as myself to sit and watch the wildlife. I am fortunate to live in a beautiful part of Australia where there is no shortage of scenic walks. 

                                                       Carrying my large lens camera  while walking.

 My beautiful part of Australia 

I have more presentations to deliver this year and preparing them has kept me busy along with house histories which I always enjoy researching. Finding the chronology of people who lived in houses and their stories can be quite fascinating. With house history research, as with family history, not everything is online so researching throughout 2020 and 2021 has been challenging with intermittent Archive, Library and Historical Society closures. 

                             Using SixMaps (Spatial Information Exchange) to research a house history

As for my family history research, I have used my time at home this year to revisit past research. With many new records available online it has been possible to expand on past research and for me this has been one of my most productive research years. I have crumbled long standing brick walls and discovered new records and family stories.

   I popped up just recently on my friend Angela's tv in Ireland on a repeat of Episode 6 Season 2 of Coast Australia

My love of crochet has helped to fill my days while I cannot see my family. My latest project is a colourful reading rug for one of my grandchildren. The rug, only just started, begins with a round mandala but will be a square when finished.

                                                            The mandala which starts the rug

This year I have spent some time colourising old photographs using My Heritage's photo colourising tool. Seeing ancestors in colour really brings them to life and I think that this is one of My Heritage's most inventive and fun additions to their family history site.

                               My Swiss born g g grandmother and her children in Maryborough, Queensland

I am pleased that I managed to fit in one short trip away this year before NSW plunged back into lockdown. Prior to the current lockdown, my husband and I drove to Canberra. We both love the city and its surrounding countryside. While there we visited the Botanic Gardens, something we have not done before, despite many visits to Australia's capital city. The gardens, constructed from the 1970's comprise a spectacular rain forest, a red centre desert garden and many other Australian native plants. 

                                            The Red Centre Garden at the Botanic gardens in Canberra

We drove to the top of Mt Stromlo to see the ruins of a 2003 bushfire that destroyed much of the observatory atop the mountain. It is pleasing to see that new telescopes and buildings have been constructed in the wake of the terrible fires. 

                                                              Ruins of the Mt Stromlo Observatory

As September and spring approaches, the cases of Covid in NSW are worryingly on the rise and it is a race for the NSW population to be vaccinated. This lockdown does not look like ending until late October or later and it is my greatest wish is to see my family. I am glad however, that they are all fully vaccinated, staying at home and staying safe. Signs of spring in my garden, blogging, researching family history and family keep me feeling cheerful amidst lockdown and curfews. 

                                                     My garden approaching spring

FOOTNOTES

1.  Nobbs, R., (ed.), Norfolk Island and its Second Settlement, 1825-1855, (Library of Australian History), 1991.