15th cruise: Singapore – program - Unlock the Past Cruises

Program features

sessions are only held while at sea
65 topics in the main theatre
3 two-hour DNA workshops
6 hours of one-on-one DNA help (30 minute 1 on 1 consultations with an expert)
A special Discover your family history program of 5 talks for beginners
Research Help Zone session – opportunity for one-on-one or small group help from experts

Preliminary program – subject to change

DAY 1 – Friday 29 Mar 2019 – depart Sydney 6.45 pm (changed from the previously advised 5pm)

DAY 2 – Saturday 30 Mar 2019 – at sea

10.00am-11.00am – ‘A faraway place’ – Gallipoli, Anzac and all that – Reid
11.00am-11.30am – break
11.30am-12.30pm – Ireland civil registration of births, marriages and deaths – Rencher
12.30pm-2.00pm – break
2.00pm-3.00pm – Developing a DNA research plan – Smith
3.00pm-3.30pm – break
3.30pm-4.15pm – Discover your family history 1 – where to start
4.30pm-5.15pm – DNA 1 on 1 help (20 minute consultations with an expert)
6.00pm – dinner
8.00pm-9.00pm – ‘If only I could see your grave’ – Western Front, the crucible of WW 1 – Reid

DAY 3 – Sunday 31 Mar 2019 – Brisbane 8am-5pm

8.00am-5.00pm – no scheduled talks
6.00pm – dinner
8.00pm-9.00pm – Finding Irish records on FamilySearch, Ancestry and Findmypast – Rencher

DAY 4 – Monday 1 Apr 2019 – at sea

10.00am-11.00am – GEDmatch the genealogist’s friend – Smith
11.00am-11.30am – break
11.30am-12.30pm – Australian resources for researching families of German origin – E. Kopittke
12.30pm-2.00pm – break
2.00pm-3.00pm – Introduction to other Irish internet sites – Rencher
3.00pm-3.30pm – break
3.30pm-4.15pm – Discover your family history 2 – in Australia
4.30pm-5.15pm – Research Help Zone
6.00pm – dinner
8.00pm-9.00pm – Milestones in German history that impacted my ancestors – E. Kopittke

DAY 5 – Tuesday 2 Apr 2019 – Airlie Beach 7am-6pm (tendered)

DAY 6 -Wednesday 3 Apr 2019 – at sea

10.00am-11.00am – ‘Now the war is over’: war recollections, records etc. – Reid
11.00am-11.30am – break
11.30am-12.30am – Locating your ancestor’s place of origin in Germany – E. Kopittke
12.30pm-2.00pm – break
2.00pm-3.00pm – Irish church records: Church of Ireland, Catholic, and Presbyterian – Rencher
3.00pm-3.30pm – break
3.30pm-4.15pm – Discover your family history 3: in the countries they came from
4.30pm-5.15pm – DNA 1 on 1 help (20 minute consultations with an expert)
6.00pm-dinner
8.00pm-9.00pm – ‘That army of assisted emigrants’ …assisted emigrants to Australia, 1832 to 1914 – Reid

DAY 7 – Thursday 4 Apr 2019 – Cairns 7am-6pm (tendered)

In port 8.00am-5.00pm – no scheduled talks
6.00pm – dinner
8.00pm-9.00pm – Free night — check out the ship’s entertainment or join us in the conference centre

DAY 8 Friday 5 Apr 2019 – at sea

9.00am-10.00am – Researching in Scotland: … the obvious and more obscure records part 1 – R. Kopittke
10.00am-10.30am – break
10.30am-11.30am – Irish probate records – Rencher
11.45am-12.45pm – ‘Messing about in archives’: a local history collection for everyone – Reid
12.45pm-2.00pm – break
2.00pm-3.00pm – The poor are always with us: English poor laws pre 1834 and the workhouse – Smith
3.00pm-3.30pm – break
3.30pm-4.15pm – Discover your family history 4: what you can do online
4.15pm-5.15pm – Researching your Freemason ancestor – Hamilton
6.00pm – dinner
8.00pm-9.00pm – Out of the ashes: Irish genealogical collections – Rencher

DAY 9 Saturday 6 Apr 2019 – at sea

10.00am-11.00am – Detect that photo: getting the most out of your photos – Smith
11.00am-11.30am – break
11.30am-12.30am – DNA workshop: Ancestry – Smith
12.30pm-2.00pm – break
2.00pm-3.00pm – Using all the features of FamilySearch – Rencher
3.00pm-3.30pm – break
3.30pm-4.15pm – Discover your family history 5: DNA (forget the hype), how it can really help
4.30pm-5.15pm – Flip-Pal mobile scanner demonstration and Research Help Zone
6.00pm-dinner
8.00pm-9.00pm – ‘The Kingdom of the Ryans’: an Australian settler family landscape, 1830 to 1970 – Reid

DAY 10 – Sunday 7 Apr 2019 – Darwin 10am – overnight

DAY 11 – Monday 8 Apr 2019 – Darwin overnight – 4pm

4.15om-5.15pm – Everyone’s talking about WW1: What about the Boer War, Australia’s first real war involvement – G. Doherty
6.00pm – dinner
8.00pm-9.00pm – Irish valuation and tithe records – Rencher

DAY 12 Tuesday 9 Apr 2019 – at sea

9.00am-10.00am – Researching in Scotland: using the obvious and more obscure records part 2 – R. Kopittke
10.00am-10.30am – break
10.30am-11.30am – FamilySearch historical records: tips and tricks – Rencher
11.45am-12.45pm – ‘The scattered children of St Patrick’: fantastic objects and places associated with the Irish in Australia, 1788 to 2011 – Reid
12.45pm-2.00pm – break
2.00pm-3.00pm – Reading and understanding German records (workshop) – E. Kopittke
3.00pm-3.30pm – break
3.30pm-5.00pm – DNA workshop: MyHeritage and other products – Smith
6.00pm – dinner
8.00pm-9.00pm – Online newspapers: what happened in the “dash” – R. Kopittke

DAY 13 Wednesday 10 Apr 2019 – at sea

10.00am-11.00am – Finding grandma – M. Doherty
11.00am-11.30am break
11.30am-12.30pm – Irish census and census substitutes – Rencher
12.30pm-2.00pm – break
2.00pm-3.00pm – ‘There is no person starving here’: Ireland, Australia and the Great Famine in Ireland – Reid
3.00pm-3.30pm – break
3.30pm-4.30pm – What do you do when your family history is “Boring!”: Looking outside your own family confines – G. Doherty
4.30pm-5.15pm – Being German in the Australian region during World War 1 – E. Kopittke
6.00pm – dinner
8.00pm-9.00pm – Interpreting and evaluating name lists – Rencher

DAY 14 Thursday 11 Apr 2019 – at sea

10.00am-11.00am – Researching a health history – Smith
11.00am-11.30am – break
11.30am-12.30am – Estate, land and property records in Ireland – Rencher
12.30pm-2.00pm – break
2.00pm-3.00pm – Beyond just indexes: why we should check source records – R. Kopittke
3.00pm-3.30pm – break
3.30pm-4.30pm – Chasing the poor and landless – Rencher
4.30pm-5.15pm – DNA 1 on 1 help (20 minute consultations with an expert)
6.00pm – dinner
8.00pm-9.00pm – ‘All Irish history is here’: a walk in central Dublin – Reid

DAY 15 Friday 12 Apr 2019 – at sea

10.00am-11.00am – A Freemason in Changi – Hamilton
11.00am-11.30am – break
11.30am-12.30am – Australian government, police & education gazettes – R. Kopittke
12.30pm-2.00pm – break
2.00pm-3.00pm – Framing the problem for overseas research – Rencher
3.00pm-3.30pm – break
3.30pm-4.30pm – ‘A map of the past … useful to the modern traveller’: a journey around Ireland … – Reid
600pm – dinner
8.00pm-9.00pm – WINDUP – prize draw and group photos

DAY 16 – Saturday 13 April 2019 – arrive Singapore 8am

15th cruise: Singapore – program