Genimates at Congress 2018...

One of the big pluses for me attending a genealogy conference is that I get to catch up with my genimates. Australia is a big country, and we don’t have many ‘national’ (big genie events), so therefore we don’t see each other often. But Congress brought people from interstate, and even some from overseas as well, and it was great to catch up with them all, and meet some others as well. Some who I’ve known through social media, and others I know of by name. As I was an exhibitor at Congress and didn’t get to any of the talks, I can’t write any report on those for you… but based on what the other geneabloggers have written they were awesome. GeniAus (Jill Ball) is collating a list of all Congress related blog posts, and you can check them out here. So for me when I wasn’t at my stand, I was off chatting to other exhibitors and asking them if they’d be kind enough to sign my autograph book (yes, I did take it with me), and also catching others for a quick pic when they were nearby. So my post here is simply pics of some of the genimates that I caught up with there. So Congress came, and Congress went. It was a busy 4 days. It was a fun 4 days. And let’s hope that a group takes on Congress for 2021, and then we’ll see you all again in 3 years...

Congress 2018 – It Begins...

Three long years after we were all in Canberra, and an even longer week this week (don’t ask, it’s a long story) … Congress (Australia’s big genealogy event) is finally here. It’s no RootsTech by any means. But then again NOTHING is like RootsTech other than RootsTech. But Congress is THE BIG genie conference for Australia. It’s the event that brings people from all across the nation, and even across the ditch, together to, as Mr Lonetester says, “geek out on genealogy” for 4 whole days. The conference began on Friday, so I arrived Thursday afternoon, which was timely as I was able to have a very lovely afternoon tea with my roommates (Helen Smith and Judy Russell), and then headed out to dinner with a bunch of others for a pre-Congress get together. It was great to catch up friends who I’ve not seen for ages, and make some new ones too. There was laughs, there was photos, and there was ribbons, beads and geniecards. Friday started early for me, as an exhibitor we had to get in early to set up! And even at that time of day (just on “light-o-clock”) the International Convention Centre (ICC) was packed. Was this a heap of eager genies? Well yes … but not that many. It turned out that there were a number of other events being held at the ICC on that day as well … an aromatherapy conference, a tattoo expo, an orthodontic conference and more. So yes, there were literally thousands of people around for a while, till all the events started. So after 2hrs of lugging boxes in, and setting up the our stand, the exhibition opened at 9am, and for a change we (the Gould...

Get Ready for the Congress 2018 Experience...

Ok, so who’s ready for Congress 2018? – You’ve registered as a delegate – booked your accommodation – sorted our your travel to get there – got your tree all up-to-date, and on appropriate devices (just in case you get time to research, or even better, find a ‘cousin’ there) – you’ve got (and packed) your geniecards (I know you won’t forget those) – and now you are eagerly counting down the days … (there’s 118 days for those who were wondering) If you’ve done all of that, awesome! I love that you’re so organised, and so excited about it, but seriously you don’t need to read on, as this is really for those who haven’t booked and are still ‘thinking about it’. Let me tell you that Congress is not “just an event”. Personally I would call it more of an experience. I have been to RootsTech in the US (the world’s biggest genie event), and that for sure is experience, not that Congress is on the same scale, but still. There’s far more to it than just going to some talks. There’s the whole social aspect of it, either as organised ones or spontaneous catchups with a few people. Expect to meet a heap of new people, all who whole LOVE genealogy as much as you do. So trust me you’ll make a heap of new friends. And if you’ve been doing genealogy a while, you’ll catch up with others you’ve met before, or maybe just on social media. You can also check out what’s for sale from the bunch of vendors who will be there, and of course you’ll be learning from many of the world’s best speakers. You will be on a high the whole...

Congress 2015: Catch Ups, Meet Ups, Great Talks and Sore Feet...

I was fortunate to be able attend the 14th Australasian Congress on Genealogy and Heraldry recently. I was just of the 500+ avid genealogists who made their way to the National Convention Centre in Canberra to attend this once-every-three-years event. It was fun. It was tiring. It was exciting to meet so many people that I have met online. And it was fabulous to catch up with others I have met before. Unlike most of the others (in reality probably all) who’ve been reporting on Congress, I wasn’t there to attend the talks, but rather be there as an exhibitor – helping out on the Gould Genealogy & History, Unlock the Past, Unlock the Past Cruises stands. I arrived in Canberra late Thursday night, which was too late to set up, so that meant an early start on Friday morning … to get in and set up before the exhibition opened at  10am that day. Surprisingly we did alright, and were pretty much ready to go … and I even had time to pick up my Congress kit and grab a cup of hot chocolate before the morning tea break. Morning tea time was when the exhibition hall first opened to the public, and for exhibitors that was when it got rather crazy. We had a pretty big stand, and the five of us at the stand (Alan, Helen, Rosemary, Eric and myself) we were kept non-stop busy until the next talk was due to start. After a little breather, the same thing happened at lunch break – so it was just as well we ate before the official lunchbreak started.  As for that hot chocolate that I bought prior to it all starting … well … let’s just...

Congress 2015 – Counting the Days...

With less than two weeks until the ‘14th Australasian Congress on Genealogy and Heraldry‘ conference (which is generally known as simply “Congress”), you might be forgiven for thinking that I wasn’t going to it, or didn’t know about it. But the reality is  that I am counting down the days to it. There’s eleven days until the Congress opening ceremony that is being held at the Australian War Memorial. However I won’t be attending that, as I’ll only be flying in to Canberra on Thursday night … in time to be there for Friday, the first day of the event. Held on 26-30 March 2015, this is the big once-every-three-years event. The biggest in Australia and New Zealand. The one that attracts speakers and attendees from around the country and overseas. OK, this is no RootsTech, but still for anyone with an interest in learning more about genealogy, THIS is the one to go to. Held over four days, there’s 35 speakers, and over 70 talks to choose from covering a wide variety of genealogy topics, so who wouldn’t want to go? As per usual, my experience at this event is likely to be different from most attendees (or as they call them here, delegates), in that I am going as an exhibitor. You’ll find me helping out on the combined Gould Genealogy / Unlock the Past / Unlock the Past Cruises / Genealogy Ebooks stands, so if you are attending please do stop by and say hello. But I have still printed out the talks schedule, and hope to make it to a few talks, if they’re not already booked out. But we’ll see. This year’s Congress has a heap of geneabloggers attending, which Jill Ball (aka Geniaus)...