Shauna Hicks has been tracing her own family history since 1977 and worked in government for over 35 years in libraries and archives in Brisbane, Canberra and Melbourne. Since retiring, she has written a number of family history guides and is a regular speaker at genealogy cruises, conferences and  seminars. She now operates a small part time research and consultancy business Shauna Hicks History Enterprises at www.shaunahicks.com.auand is the author of the blog, Diary of an Australian Genealogist.

Shauna has a number of tertiary qualifications from Queensland universities including a Master of Arts in Australian Studies, a Graduate Diploma in Library Science and a Diploma in Family Historical Studies from the Society of Australian Genealogists. She is a Fellow of the Queensland Family History Society; a recipient of the Australian Society of Archivists Distinguished Achievement Award and the Australasian Federation of Family History Organisations’ Services to Family History Award.

Unlock the Past Cruises – 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 6th, 8th, 10th, 13th & 17th

Web sites

Publications

  • Family and local history resource directory for Victoria
  • Family history on the cheap
  • Finding ancestors in church records: a brief guide to resources
  • My ancestor was in an asylum: a brief guide to asylum records in Australia and New Zealand
  • It’s not all online: a guide to genealogy sources offline
  • What was the voyage really like?: a brief guide to researching convict and immigrant voyages to Australia and New Zealand
  • Our family history archives: a brief introduction
  • Tracing mining ancestors: a brief guide to resources in Australia and New Zealand
  • Trove: discover genealogy treasure in the National Library of Australia
    … numerous articles for journals and the History and Genealogy 2011: Australia and New Zealand

Topics

  • Ancestors in church: using church publications
  • Archives you may not know but should
  • Asylum records: a place to look for missing ancestors
  • Behind bars: convicts and criminals
  • Brief introduction to family history research
  • Caring for your family archives
  • Convict ancestors: fascinating and frustrating to research
  • Demolishing brick walls: tips and tricks
  • Diaries and letters: fleshing out the family history
  • Family history on the cheap: tips and tricks
  • Finding pictorial sources online
  • Google your family tree: tips and tricks
  • Irish genealogy online resources that you may not know but should
  • It’s not all online: where else can I look
  • Making the most of archives: tips for using national and state archives
  • Military ancestors: discover their stories
  • Mining ancestors: knowing where to look
  • Missing an ancestor: try looking behind bars
  • Online newspapers: new pathway to discovering ancestors
  • Online sources for Queensland family history
  • Online trends in family history
  • Researching Australian ancestors
  • School days: education records for family history
  • Skeletons in the family: looking at convicts, prisons, and asylum records
  • Trove and other NLA treasures
  • Victorian resources for family history research
  • Warning warning: tips and tricks to avoid common family history mistakes
  • What was the voyage really like
  • What’s in a middle name?