Heritage week 2024 - Killererin to NSW in the 1800s - what happened next

Heritage Week 2024

Every year, Heritage Week gives groups a great opportunity to delve deeper into their community, exploring deep down into all aspects of community life in the past which shaped the future for all those living here today.

Heritage week forces us to do more research which is a good thing. This year, the theme is “Routes, Connections and Networks” and I cannot think of anything more appropriate to do than the event we are hosting in Barnaderg NS on Friday 23rd August next. In this instance, someone else has carried out the research.

Next Friday night Killererin, has a rare opportunity to hear from a direct descendant of one of those who made that long, arduous and dangerous journey from our parish all those years ago.

Diane McCue

Diane McCue is a retired teacher from New South Wales who has many connections to Killererin. She is now making the return journey having carried out extensive research on her connections to this parish. Today, the journey is still exhausting. Almost 24 hours in fact but vastly more comfortable than the journey her ancestors made.

Researching her Connections

This is not Diane’s first visit here. Indeed another committee member Eileen and I had the pleasure of meeting herself and her husband on her last visit in 2019. At that time, she told us that she was writing a book on her many connections to Killererin and would give us a copy when it was finished. She was carrying out research for this project while here.

Heritage event in Barnaderg NS Friday 23rd August, 2024

Next Friday evening the 23rd August as part of our Heritage week celebrations, Diane will give a talk in Barnaderg NS at 8p.m. She will talk about several families who left long ago and what life was like for them after they arrived in New South Wales, Australia. She has many tales to tell and we look forward to hearing what she has to say. Some of the families she has focused on are the McHughs, Connaughton, McGrath and Ryan families. We are privileged to get this opportunity.

RESEARCH YOUR FAMILY TREE WITH MARTIN CURLEY

Today, Researching your Family Tree has become a very popular pastime. Many start and reach a standstill. I myself was one of those until we organised a Research Your Family Tree class some years ago. Martin Curley gave that class over a period of several weeks and my eyes were opened to the different sources available to help me along the way.

Next Friday evening after Diane has enlightened us on what happened to some of the people who left here, you too can find out how to start your own research on your own family history. If you have already started and can’t figure how to progress, this is your opportunity.

There will be light refreshments after Diane’s presentation and then MARTIN CURLEY will do a brief presentation followed by a Question and Answer session. Don’t miss this opportunity, We look forward to seeing you there.