We are pleased to present the profiles of our speakers.

 

 

CAROL BAXTER

 

Pursuing thieves and murderers through the ages is just an average day for the history detective, Carol Baxter. Like Dr Who, she hunts ordinary individuals who unwittingly had such an extraordinary impact on their world that the consequences changed the course of history. Then she brings their stories to life as ‘true-crime thrillers’.

 

Carol is the internationally-acclaimed, award-winning author of four such thrillers with a fifth, Black Widow: the True Story of Australia’s First Female Serial Killer, being published by Allen & Unwin this year. Her fourth book, The Peculiar Case of the Electric Constable, was praised by the London Times as being ‘as lively and readable as a crime novel’ and by Britain’s Independent as ‘totally irresistible’.

 

Carol is also the author of three ‘how to’ books for family historians: Writing Interesting Family Histories, Help! Historical and Genealogical Truth: How do I separate fact from fiction? and Help! Why can’t I find my ancestor’s surname? Another two will be published prior to the conference.

 

Carol is an Adjunct Lecturer at the University of New England, a Fellow of the Society of Australian Genealogists, and the editor of six volumes of early New South Wales musters. She also teaches researching and writing skills at genealogical and historical conferences in Australia and on international cruise ships.

 

 

 

 

 

FIONA BURN

 

Fiona Burn is a Reference Officer in the Access and Communication program, in the Sydney Office of the National Archives of Australia.  She was Assistant Director of the Program responsible for managing the reference and access services until August 2011 when she took extended leave.  In 2012 she made the decision to return to her first love of reference work.

 

Fiona holds a Bachelor of Arts (University of Newcastle) and the Graduate Diploma in Information Management - Archives Administration (University of NSW).

 

Fiona was a Federal Councillor of the Australian Society of Archivists Inc from 1995 – 2000. She was the Convenor of the Religious Collections Special Interest Group 2001-2004. She has held a variety of positions on the NSW Branch Executive. She was an Australian Society of Archivists representative on the General Council of the History Council of New South Wales from 1999-2012.

 

 

 

 

 

DEBBIE CAMPBELL

 

Debbie Campbell is a Digital Heritage Consultant and currently works with two historical societies. In 2014 she joined the Management Committee of the Tweed Heads Historical Society.

 

Debbie was formerly the Director of Collaborative Services at the National Library of Australia and the inaugural business owner of Trove. 

 

As an avid genealogist and family historian since 1981, Debbie is familiar with the experiences of discovery both online and offline. She writes about the memory services made available by Australia's cultural heritage agencies in her blog at http://utfp.blogspot.com.au.

 

 

 

 

HEATHER GARNSEY

 

Heather Garnsey has worked full-time with the Society of Australian Genealogists since 1984 and regularly represents the SAG at conferences and on shows such as "Who Do You Think You Are?"

 

Heather holds a Masters in English history with a special interest in the old poor laws of England.

 

Heather is a Fellow of the SAG and holds a Dip FHS, as well as being a former President of the NSW&ACT Assoc of FHS and Vice-President of AFFHO Inc.

 

Heather's own ancestry includes the usual mix of English, Scottish, Irish and German lines, as well as convicts and plenty of black sheep!

 

 

 

 

SHAUNA HICKS    Public Record Office Victoria (PROV)

 

Shauna has been tracing her own family history since 1977 and worked in government for over 35 years in libraries and archives in Brisbane, Canberra and Melbourne. Since retiring, she has written a number of family history guides and is a regular speaker at genealogy cruises, conferences and seminars.

 

Shauna now operates her own business at www.shaunahicks.com.au and is the author of the blog Diary of an Australian Genealogist.  Shauna has a number of tertiary qualifications from Queensland universities including a Master of Arts in Australian Studies, a Graduate Diploma in Library Science and a Diploma in Family Historical Studies from the Society of Australian Genealogists. She’s a Fellow of the Queensland Family History Society; a recipient of the Australian Society of Archivists Distinguished Achievement Award and the Australasian Federation of Family History Organisations’ Services to Family History Award.

 

 

 

 

WENDY HOLZ

 

The Mitchell Library forms part of the State Library of NSW, which is Australia’s oldest library and is a vast and surprising repository for biography, memoir and family history which can all be used to help build the story of a life or a family.  While its focus is New South Wales, it also helps people from across Australia and internationally when they are seeking information unique to its collections.

 

Wendy has worked at the State Library for many interesting years and finds the collections are unendingly fascinating.  Wendy currently works with the Family History Team and assists researchers to use the collections of both the Mitchell and State Reference Libraries.  

 

 

 

 

KEN HUNT

Recently retired and living in Port Macquarie, Kenneth Hunt has had various careers and a lifetime interest in science. As a child he wanted to be an astronaut but a visit to Cape Canaveral is the closest he has come to living that dream.

 

His work experience ranges from working in rose gardens; selling cameras; 6 years with the Australian Army including working in pathology departments and overseas service; 22 years in the Australian Federal Police reaching the rank of Detective Superintendent and working in areas as diverse as Fraud, Family Law, Computer Crime and Counterfeit Currency; two years with the UN in the Middle East; renovating properties; running his own training and consultation business; tutoring at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and finally - for six years prior to retirement - owning a manufacturing and design company.

 

Ken holds many qualifications including a Bachelor of Business (RMIT) and a Graduate Diploma in Intelligence Analysis (Swinburne Institute of Technology). He is currently undertaking an online genetics course through Udacity.

 

Having been involved in Family History for many years, Ken’s interest in science and a “brick wall” led him down the avenue of using DNA as a genealogy tool. Since then, his family tend to steer clear of him as he is known to whip out a DNA testing kit on the slightest pretext and request cheek swabs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AMANDA IANNA

 

 

Amanda Ianna is Registrar for the NSW Registry of Births Deaths & Marriages.  She’s been with the Registry for 18 years and has worn many hats in that time.  In recent years she’s held the position of Assistant Registrar, Client Services and Business Owner for the LifeLink Project.  

 

Amanda recently oversaw the implementation of a new whole of business operating system which has brought with it significant changes. This operating system delivers a whole new way the Registry does business and records vital records for individuals in NSW and Australia.  Amanda is passionate about the records that the Registry holds, and making  them accessible to genealogists. She’s focused on driving change within the Registry and leads by example.

 

Amanda holds a Graduate Certificate in Change Management from the Australian Graduate School of Management in 2006 and has gone on to achieve a foundation certificate in Managing Successful Programmes.

 

 

 

MARTYN KILLION

 

Martyn Killion has been involved in family history since 1977. He has also been a Councillor of the Society of Australian Genealogists since 2000 and is currently the Society’s President, a role he held between 2001 and 2005. He is also a Fellow of the Society and holds its Diploma in Family Historical Studies.

 

From 1991 to 1995 Martyn was President of the Australasian Federation of Family History Organisations (AFFHO) and from 1991 to 1996 was NSW representative of the Australasian Association of Genealogists and Record Agents. Martyn was also employed at State Records from 1987 to 2003 and was a foundation staff member of the Western Sydney Reading Room at Kingswood.

 

Martyn is a well known speaker and authority on family history sources and research techniques. He has presented seminars and lectures all over Australia and in New Zealand and England.

 

 

 

DR. CAROL LISTON

 

Dr. Carol Liston is Associate Professor in History at the University of Western Sydney.  She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Sydney. She is co-editor of the Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society and has been elected president of the society for 2014-15.

 

Carol's research and teaching cover early colonial history in New South Wales, with interests in people (convict, colonial born and free immigrant), local history, heritage and the built environment. Her particular interest is the colonial development of the County of Cumberland.

 

Carol's publications include histories of Campbelltown, Parramatta and Liverpool, biographies of Sarah Wentworth, Thomas Brisbane and accounts of social life under Governor Macquarie and the convict women at the Female Factory, Parramatta.

 

An enthusiast for the use of archival resources and primary records as the basis for historical research and writing, Carol is excited by the increased availability of digital records, such as land records, and uses them in her local and family history research. Her current research project with Dr Kathrine Reynolds is an investigation of convict women transported from Britain to New South Wales between 1818 and 1835.

 

 

 

BEN MERCER

 

 

Ben Mercer is a self-confessed history geek.

Before joining Ancestry.com.au, Ben’s interest in history compelled him to start Inside History, a digital and print magazine for Australian and New Zealand genealogists and historians.

 

The other major strand in his career is technology. After completing a B.Econ degree at the University of Queensland, he worked in IT in Australia and the UK, specialising in data warehousing and project management.

 

Ben’s role at Ancestry.com.au allows him to combine these two passions. He works closely with the key cultural institutions that partner with Ancestry.com.au across the region, including archives, libraries, museums and societies, so that historical collections are digitized and made available on the Ancestry.com.au portal.

 

Of course, Ben has extensively researched his own family history. Two of Ben’s grandfathers fought in World War One. Ernst Godlington Mercer fought for the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) on the Western Front, and was wounded at the Battle of Menin Road in 1917. His other grandfather, George Wheeler Skennar, was a Byron Bay dairy farmer who served at Gallipoli with the ANZACs in 1915, and went on to be wounded in the Battle of Pozieres in 1916.

 

 

 

 

 

BRIAN PANISSET

 

Brian has had a varied career, coming to genealogy somewhat later in life. 

 

His career has moved from building aircraft; to developing computer systems; to consulting in retailing and broadcasting. Brian gravitated to researching family history, impelled by his wife’s interest and what he calls his “Sherlock Holmes gene”. 

 

In the research process, Brian has encountered a number of documents written in centuries past.  There are still bits he can’t make out, but he’s happy to discuss his knowledge that experience and frustration have given him.  From British 18th. century wills to French Parish registers of the 17th. and 18th. centuries, to those incredibly spidery northern British Parish Registers – Brian enjoys keeping his brain cells active.

 

 

 

 

 

PAUL PARTON

 

Paul Parton is a presenter for FamilySearch in their Outreach program. He also gives technical support to 145 Family History Centres Australia-wide.

 

Paul has had an interest in family history for more than 40 years. He was a professional trainer prior to his retirement as Pacific Area Director of Information Technology Services with FamilySearch’s parent organisation.

 

Paul was also involved in the early development of data acquisition systems for Australia’s nuclear research facility.

 

 

 

 

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR DAVID ROBERTS

 

Associate Professor David Roberts was awarded his doctorate by the University of Newcastle, and is now the convenor of the Bachelor of Historical Inquiry and Practice at the University of New England. He is the Director of UNE’s Heritage Futures Research Centre, and has served as editor of the Journal of Australian Colonial History since 2003.

 

Associate Professor David Roberts’ research lies primarily in the field of early Australian history and ranges across a variety of topics including: studies of local oral tradition; the intersections of folklore and national history; histories of Christian missions; Aboriginal religious responses to colonization; and the Eureka treason trials of 1855. He is best known for his work on convict Australia, including studies of the heritage and memory of the convict era and its impact on Australian culture.

 

Professor Roberts was the co-editor of two best-selling essay collections - The Great Mistakes of Australian History (2006) and Turning Points in Australian History (2009). Currently he is working on a comprehensive study of criminal law and penal practices during the convict era, with a particular focus on penal settlements of colonial New South Wales.

 

 

 

CLIVE SMITH

 

Clive has worked as an archivist at the National Archives in Canberra (1974-1983), for Westpac Banking Corporation in Sydney (1983-1991), and for the World Bank Group in Washington D.C. (1991-2001). For the past few years he has volunteered as archivist at the Port Macquarie Museum.

 

Clive started to dabble in family history in 1977, but really only took it up in earnest after his retirement from full-time employment, essentially transforming from a keeper of archives to a user.

 

As an archivist, Clive argues that you must not only know how records were created in order to fully understand the information they contain, but you must accurately cite your sources (and whether you consulted those sources directly or through an intermediary), so that others can validate or rely on your interpretation of the information.

 

 

 

 

RUSS WILDING

 

Russ Wilding joined MyHeritage in March 2012 as its Chief Content Officer and is leading the growth of historical content at MyHeritage. 

 

Russ enjoys working with archives around the globe and welcomes the challenge of bringing millions of unique records to family historians and genealogists worldwide.  Russ brings a wealth of expertise in historical content acquisition, licensing and digitization from his previous 11-year role as CEO of iArchives, Inc. and Founder and CEO of its customer-facing website Footnote.com, which was sold to Ancestry.com in 2010.

 

Russ also had a long and successful career in the financial world, holding past positions as CFO and Board member at Assist Cornerstone Technologies and Senior Manager at world leading professional services firm, Ernst and Young.