Are you researching your Family History? Have you hit a brick wall or don’t know where to look to get the information you need? Do you need a little help accessing archives or information?

Michelle is experienced with assisting with family history and genealogy enquiries from basic searches to those a little more complex. She can guide you to available resources or undertake the research for you using the resources available. She can help retrieve newspapers both online and on microfiche, transcribe convict records and find answers to specific questions you may have. Michelle can assist with enquiries regarding resources in Tasmania and New South Wales.

If you would like to consult Michelle in person about a particular aspect of your own research or would like to gain a different perspective check out the Soundboard Session service.

Have you ever wondered what stories your house might have to tell? Would you like to know more about the people who lived there before you? Are you planning renovations and need historical information on your house and the area it is situated?

Michelle has a particular love of finding the history of houses. This includes Land Title searches which provide the history of ownership of land.

This might be for the house you live in now, or a family property that you are connected to. Michelle has experience with locating the Historic Deed or Historic Certificate of Title and Purchase Deed using the Lands Title resources in both Tasmania and New South Wales. This may include documents showing transfer of ownership, copies of surveys for both General Law and Real Property Act and locating historic property maps.

Comprehensive history of the owners of the property, changes to the house, and division of the land over time can help determine the value of a property or assist with heritage or environmental assessments and conservation plans. Contact Michelle for further information about this service.  

Are you researching your family history and your family members aren’t as excited as you are about what you have discovered? Have you come to a brick wall and you need a new perspective? Do you want to get some ideas about resources? Or are you working on a project and just need to talk to someone to help clarify your ideas and direction?

A soundboard session is a one hour discussion designed to allow you to try out ideas and opinions as a way of evaluating them. Michelle wants to hear about your research process, what you’ve found and if you have any theories or areas you wish to develop further. She may offer suggestions and guidance, or just ask questions and offer a different perspective. Sometimes your best ideas occur when you talk to someone about them. Contact Michelle to book the next available session.

Michelle has worked with a range of clients, with each project being different. She aims to answer research questions and provide context and historical perspective. Michelle can assist with all manner of research enquiries and if you require information Michelle will be the one to find it for you.

The research enquiries that she has helped with include:

As a Research Assistant for a professor at Deakin University, Michelle accessed the British Medical Association archive at the Wellcome Collection on a trip to London in 2018. The initial enquiry was regarding migrant doctors to Australia in the 1930s. Though the time period of interest was small, Michelle uncovered how the BMA in Australia was set up and how it was managed, including the constitution that was developed in 1914. This helped to provide context to why migrant doctors were unable to practice medicine in Australia at the time.

Michelle has assisted an author with research for his two books. The author provides Michelle with a list of questions and she answers them and provides references to where the information was found. She also helped with re-throughs and fact checking.

She has experience as a Heritage Consultant and is able to assess potential heritage impact on building developments and write Heritage Impact Statements that accompany development applications submitted to local councils.