Professionals Tamborine Mountain 
Tamborine Mountain is an area with a rich history, but that doesn’t mean that the history of its people isn’t just as rich. Sandra McDonald is the chairperson of the Tamborine Mountain History Group, which serves to help residents uncover said history. She explains to us just what that means and shares what kind of fascinating secrets they can uncover.
by Kyle Hitchmough
Can you explain what the Tamborine Mountain Family History Group actually does?
We meet on the first Sunday of every month at the auditorium and we help one another with our family genealogy and research. It’s mainly researching our family history so we can record it for our kids and our families, but you’d be surprised how many people are interested in it. We’ve got about 15 members that come regularly and have a couple of members who have moved off the mountain, but they come up occasionally still. We have a social group as well; we have a Christmas breakup and a monthly coffee chat club.
What other services do you provide?
We also have what we call ‘brick wall meetings’. Say you were researching a family and you got stuck, not able to find anything about that particular ancestor. You’d come to the group and say, “can you help?” So, we would have a special meeting where the whole group concentrates on your ancestor to see what we can find. Usually, we get a pretty good result! It’s been going since 2004, I joined in 2008. It’s a really important thing to do, and it’s quite popular now with Ancestry.com and all that. We are dedicated enthusiasts and engage in what we feel is a rewarding pursuit.
How do you conduct your research?
I use Ancestry.com myself, since most of Athol’s family and mine are of Irish, English and Scottish descent. For most of my ancestry I go back through their records, and there’s ScotlandsPeople. Plenty of different programmes you can use. You have to pay for Ancestry, mine costs me $250 a year, but it’s well worth it because I’ve got documentation and proof that this is definitely my lineage. Some people use MyHeritage… there are various programs you can use. Most of the group I think are on Ancestry. They’re all similar. If you came to us, I would suggest you would use one of those, starting with your mother and father, and if you’ve got grandparents you should talk to them, ask them where they were born, and start from there. You just start working backwards from you and your direct line. Later on, if you want to go into extended family you can, but we all start on our direct line. You’d be surprised how many relatives you’ll find.
You hold your meetings at the Heritage Centre. Are you connected to them in any other way?
We are attached on the umbrella of the Heritage Centre, we meet on their premises and we join them, but we have our own subgroup. We have a couple of members who do work with them too, but it’s not a huge overlap, the groups don’t necessarily work together. We are our own group, but we meet at the Heritage Centre. It’s a great place, I love it.
What are the requirements for joining your group?
We pay $5 in every meeting for resources, we buy the Who Do You Think You Are? magazine. We have a resource library. We welcome beginners, and anyone interested in tracing their family history is welcome to join us. We can also help anyone build on research they already started. Some people who have finished theirs still come to our socials.
What kind of people do you find mostly make up your membership?
It varies! I’m in my 70s and I’ve been doing it for 10 years. They’re mostly 50s and 60s, but we have some much younger members. It’s a real mixture. A lot of retired people have more time to do things like this.
Are you a local to the Tamborine Mountain area? What’s your opinion on the area and the community?
Oh, yes, we’re permanent residents. We’ve been here for 14 years. We love it. I’m very conscious of the fact that Tamborine Mountain is a sanctuary. This is a very special place. We love everything about it. The misty mornings, the rainforest, the beautiful birds that come to my garden. Possums, wallabies, pythons, goannas, a beautiful big hare… I just love the wildlife aspect of living in a sanctuary and I hope that other people respect that too.
What’s the most interesting thing you’ve ever seen uncovered in somebody’s family tree?
One lady has gone right back to Henry VIII, she’s related to Anne Boleyn. It’s amazing. We’re all excited for. She’s really researched that: some people grab something and say “That looks like me!” when it doesn’t. You have to really go back and look.
What do you enjoy most about doing this?
It’s a little bit the search. The detective work gets me going. But it’s when you have a breakthrough that’s so good. You search for something for so long, and then at the end you think “Oh my god, I’ve found them!” It’s the breakthrough you get when you break through the brick wall and find someone you’ve been looking for for months.
We are always looking for new topics for our blog. If there’s something you like to see more of, email your suggestions to: social@professionalsserendipity.com.au, or email the writer at kyle.hitchmough@hotmail.com.
