Great news for fans of the hit TV show Who Do You Think You Are? The new Australian series starts on SBS One on Tuesday 2nd April at 7.30pm.

Celebrities in this series include actress Asher Keddie, actors Michael Caton, Lex Marionos and Don Harry, TV personality Rove Mc Manus and actress Susie Porter.

In the first episode, comedian and television presenter Adam Hills traces the desperate journeys undertaken by his migrant ancestors.

Adam is keen to find out what brought his two great grandfathers to Australia in the early 20th century.

His great grandfather, Oscar Kluckhenn, who arrived in Australia in 1907 at age twenty, had to hide his Austrian nationality as World War One loomed.

Adam also traces the story of great grandfather Joseph Vassallo’s journey from Malta, and discovers a tale of migration through desperation.

Want to discuss the show? Join the conversation on Facebook or Twitter using the hash tag #WDYTYA.

If you use Internet Explorer

Go to www.ancestry.com.au and click on the star icon in the top right corner of your Internet Explorer browser, click Add to Favourites and then click Add.

The next time you want to visit Ancestry, simply open your Internet Explorer Browser, click on the star icon and you will see a link to the Ancestry site. Simply click on the link and begin your family history research.

If you use Google Chrome

Go to the Ancestry website using Google Chrome, click on the star icon and give your bookmark a name, like Ancestry.com.au for example. Choose the folder as “Bookmarks Bar” and click done. Next time you open Google Chrome, there will be a link to Ancestry in your bookmark bar. The name will be whatever you chose to call your bookmark. Simply click on it to visit the site and get started on your research.

If you use Firefox

Go to www.ancestry.com.au, click on the star icon and name your bookmark e.g. Ancestry.com.au. Choose the folder “Bookmarks Menu” and click Done. Next time you open Firefox, click on the Bookmarks Menu and there will be a link to Ancestry saved there. The name will be whatever you chose to call your bookmark. Simply click on the link and go to Ancestry.com.au to begin your research.

If you use Safari

Find out more about adding Favourites using Safari here.

We are bringing the Ancestry.co.uk Academy to you LIVE this year in a full live stream from The Olympia Exhibition Center in downtown London. Watch the live stream here below:

See the Academy Schedule for the weekend below:

Academy Schedule

We’ve just launched onsite the new Manchester Parish Records, 1541-1985. These crucial records are the result of months of work behind the scenes to digitise the original registers. I can give you an insight into that work from my point of view as one of the camera operators.

The registers are held by Manchester Libraries, Information and Archives which is the appointed Diocesan Record Office for the area. The registers date right back to Tudor times, and consist of baptism, marriage and burial records.

The role of the camera operator involves entering details about each register onto the Ancestry software, including the name of the church and date range covered. Then the register is photographed from cover to cover, with the images saved directly to the computer.

Many of the volumes are fragile due to their age, and careful handing is essential to prevent damage. We use book supports and archival weights to protect the documents and hold pages in place. The camera height can be adjusted depending on the size of the volume – obviously the key is to make sure the writing is in focus. It’s important to get as clear an image as possible as some of the ink has faded and handwriting styles vary greatly.

Different types of register reveal different information. Most of the early registers grouped baptisms, marriages and burials in the same volume.  As time went on more information was recorded; the mother’s name was more likely to be entered on baptism records, the parishes of both the bride and groom appeared in marriage registers and the age of the deceased and sometimes cause of death were noted in burials.  Then in 1813 pre-printed baptism and burial registers were introduced, recording details of where people lived and their professions.

These professions are one of the most interesting features of the parish registers, and they often reveal the development of local industries. Greater Manchester is well known for its manufacturing, transport and textiles heritage and trades relating to these industries were commonly recorded. For example, spinner, carder, dyer and spindle maker were common occupations for people working in the cotton industry.

When we’ve finished the digitisation process, we send the photographs of the registers to be transcribed, and then the images and the information they hold can be put online. Hopefully you all enjoy them, and find some useful information about your family.

Clare Connolly is one of a team of Ancestry camera operators who have been working on the digitisation of the new Manchester Parish Registers, 1541-1985.

©Images reproduced with courtesy of the Manchester City Council

Do you have a burning question for Ancestry.com.au? Perhaps you’ve hit a brick wall with your research and are not sure what to do next? Ancestry’s Brad Argent will be answering your questions in a new family history Podcast.

Simply submit your questions on our Facebook Wall, through our Sticky Notes blog or by emailing editor@ancestry.com.au. We’ll do our best to answer as many as possible.

If you are on Twitter, simply post your question on Twitter and use the hashtag #AskAncestryAU. You can also follow Ancestry on Twitter.

We look forward to helping you with your research!

Last year, we launched the Interactive Image Viewer as an interactive tool to help you view and interpret information from many of the Census records available online. We’re excited to announce that the Interactive Image Viewer will now be available for several more collections in the coming weeks. Finding and understanding historical records is one of the most exciting and important parts of family history, so we’ve been working hard to make an intuitive and enjoyable experience that will work for different Web browsers and devices. Although we still have work to do, here are a few changes you’ll find:

James Walsh was a 26 year old shoemaker when he arrived in Australia on board the Edward in February of 1831.  Born in Waterford, Ireland in 1805, he was convicted of receiving stolen goods and given seven years transportation.  His Convict Indent (an official list of convicts being transported aboard a particular ship) describes James as just shy of 5’6” (172 cm) with a ruddy ‘pock-pitted’ complexion, brown hair and hazel eyes.

The indent goes on to describe James as having a crooked right arm with a mermaid and fish tattoo on his left arm, a tattoo of an anchor between the left thumb and forefinger.  Interestingly it also tells us that James had taken an earlier voyage to Australia at his majesties pleasure – on board the Prince Regent in 1821 – served his time (7 years) and then made his way home only to be shipped out again.

James’ first ‘involuntary cruise’ to Australia on board the Prince Regent (arriving in Sydney in January 1921) was uneventful. His second trip out on the Edward was far more terrifying.  James boarded the Edward in late August 1830 with 157 other male convicts in Cork and they set sail in November.  According to the UK Royal Naval Medical Journals (records kept by the ships surgeon to assist with improving conditions on-board in future voyages) in December there was an outbreak of Cholera that infected , among others Patrick Carroll – the ships cook.  Five convicts were to die on the voyage, another two in hospital shortly after disembarking in March 1831.  James must have been terrified to what his fellow convicts fall ill and perish right before his eye – and he had nowhere to hide.

During his earlier ‘visit’ to Australia, James worked as a carpenter and he no doubt turned his hand back to carpentry when, according to the Settler and Convict Lists, he was assigned to the Australian Agricultural Company in Port Stephens not long after his arrival.  In January of 1836 James acquired his Ticket of Leave and 15 months later, in April 1837, his Certificate of Freedom.

The rest of James’ story is waiting to be discovered…

FREE* access too over 2.8 million convict and criminal records until Monday 28 January 2013! Start searching.

It’s a family history conundrum. You don’t like to imagine your ancestors having difficult lives. But every time they hit tricky times they seem to be really well documented, and provide some of your most fascinating discoveries.

This is true of Poor Law records. It’s definitely the case with criminal records. And it crops up again with our new divorce records.

UK, Civil Divorce Records, 1858-1911  are legal records that were made as part of each divorce case. They provide a blow-by-blow account of all the claims and counter-claims that led up to the split. For example, you could find out exactly where and when your great-grand-uncle started an affair – and even who with!

On top of that, the records include an entire history of the marriage before it all went wrong. This could include the date and place of the wedding, details of any children, and even the couple’s different addresses.

That means that not only can you read about your family’s scandals, but you can use all that extra detail to find more of their birth, marriage and death records, and build up your timeline of their lives.

It almost leaves you wishing more of your ancestors had marriage problems!

Search our new divorce records

See all our birth, marriage & death records

The Japanese military attack on the Pearl Harbor naval base in Hawaii on Dec. 7, 1941, thrust the United States into WWII. It wasn’t long after that, Australia and New Zealand found themselves also under threat of Japanese attacks. While the majority of Australia’s soldiers fought alongside the British Royal Army against the Germans in the Middle East and Africa, the Japanese made their way through South Asia and South Pacific with little resistance. It was then that Australia and the United States joined forces to stop their military expansion.

My grandfather was one of a million American servicemen who found himself in Australia during World War II. While Australians had popular Hollywood movies to familiarize them with American culture, Americans knew very little about Australia or its citizens. Our soldiers were in a foreign land trying to make sense of the currency, a new environment, unfamiliar foods and, of course, colorful Australian slang.

On my recent trip to Canberra, Australia’s capital city, I visited the Australian War Memorial. I was beyond impressed and moved by the Australian War Memorial’s collection and its presentation of the artifacts. The memorial was filled with detailed dioramas and paintings that depicted battles, along with pictures of soldiers paired with stories of their bravery. Some displays left me speechless, such as the restored planes paired with a large screen that played re-enactments of air battles which brought the aircraft’s history back to life. Another exhibit – a wall of thousands of names of soldiers who died in battle – was decorated with small red flowers called poppies. The wall left me with an overwhelming sadness that I could only compare to what I felt on my first visit to the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C.

After spending the afternoon wandering through this shrine to Australia’s fallen heroes, my curiosity was piqued by a little blue book found in the gift shop. The book titled, Instructions for American Servicemen in Australia 1942 was reproduced from the original which was created by the Special Service Division, Services of Supply, United States Army, and issued by the War and Navy Departments Washington, D.C. Although our soldiers presence was mostly welcomed due to our countries’ common goal, that didn’t mean there wasn’t some tension. In order to try and avoid any unneeded drama, this small booklet was produced and issued to each American soldier arriving to Australia, familiarizing them with the Australian people, land, history and culture.

The book mainly focused on our similarities as relatively new countries with British roots. It described Australia as made up of proud, independent people who believed in the importance of personal freedom and democracy. A brief history was given of their involvement in past wars and their record as well-respected, brave soldiers who wouldn’t quit. All of the information covered in the book was used to build respect and a sense of common ground since they were qualities Americans also strived for and respected. More importantly, it stressed the fact we needed Australia’s help just as much as they needed ours.

While the book’s main purpose was to establish a sense of camaraderie between the newly arriving American servicemen and the Australians, at times it tried a little too hard to make that connection. I found some humor as it pushed our mutual love of sports and compared our carnivorous appetite. However, the part that really made me smile can be found at the back of the book, which covers Australian slang. After several of my own visits to Australia, it made me think back on all the words or phrases that ended in funny misunderstandings or left me scratching my head.

Having a grandfather who spent a great deal of time in Australia during World War II, this book was a fun little find. Sometimes it seems as though our loved ones’ service in the South Pacific during World War II isn’t covered as extensively as our involvement in Europe. Not only is this booklet a piece of history, it allowed me a look into the lives of our servicemen; I can only imagine the mixed feeling of excitement for those who had never left the country before, while also knowing there was a chance they might not come home alive.

Here was a book that was most likely issued to my grandfather that found its way into my hands, 67 years after he served, in the country he fought alongside. There is not one day that goes by that I haven’t wished I asked my grandfather more about his service and his time in Australia. I know he really would have gotten a kick out of my trips to the country he always wished to return to for a visit. It is small unexpected surprises like this that help me put his story together and make me like to think he’s still with me.

By Kris Williams
Twitter: KrisWilliams81

Every year Google reviews thousands of apps and selects their top picks—we’re pleased to share that our Ancestry app for Android is one of Google’s top picks of 2012!

A recent update to the Ancestry app for Android introduced hints so members can make new family discoveries from the convenience of their phone or tablet. The app automatically syncs with members’ trees on Ancestry.com.au so they can view or update their tree anywhere.

It’s an honor to be one of Google’s top picks, but we’re not finished yet. We still have a lot of plans to improve the mobile experience and a list of feature requests from our members to work through.

A big thanks to the product and development teams who played a part in the apps making.

Download our FREE app today.