Anzac Day is just a week away and this year's Anzac Day is the centenary anniversary of when it was first observed in New Zealand.

The deadline for this blog challenge is Monday, 2 May; and we ask you to write about a person or a family that you have researched that were involved in war.

When you have published your blog, please include the name(s) and link in our comments section at the bottom of this post by Monday, May 2, and your entry will be collated with all the others and posted on a follow-up Kintalk blog on Monday, May 9.  If you don't have a blog, perhaps you could email it to kintalk@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz instead, and I will post it on the Kintalk blog for you.

Reviews and blog honour roll of previous blog challenges can be seen here:

2011 Trans-Tasman Anzac Day Blog Challenge
2012 Trans-Tasman Anzac Day Blog Challenge
2013 Trans-Tasman Anzac Day Blog Challenge
2014 Trans-Tasman Anzac Day Blog Challenge
2015 Trans-Tasman Anzac Day Blog Challenge - unfortunately the review for this year appears to be missing, but you can check out the links that other bloggers left in the comments of the original challenge blog and also here.

 To help you get started on some research:

• the Auckland War Memorial Museum;
• the Australian War Memorial site
• Archives New Zealand Archway - Discover World War One
• Discovering Anzacs - the joint initiative between the National Archives of Australia and Archives New Zealand
• the National Archives of Australia or look further by 
• using the resources listed on Cora Num’s website.
• National Archives of Australia Facebook page about their Shellshocked Exhibition and some of the personal stories that they have collected might also be of interest.

Helen Vail's blog 100 NZ WW1 Memorials 1914-2014 is a mine of information about WW1 memorials, and individuals that she has researched. Helen's goal is to personally visit and collate information from 100 New Zealand World War One Memorials throughout New Zealand by August 2014 to commemorate the 100 year Anniversary of the start of World War One and to honour those who paid the ultimate price.


Remember Ancestry, Findmypast and the Genealogist are all free to use with any of the 55 Auckland Libraries sites.

Happy blogging

Seonaid

We've had a sudden release of family history videos published to our website - packed full of loads of tips for this Tuesday!

New online:

Colleen Fitzpatrick: The "Unknown Child" of the Titanic - identified?

20 April 2015
Of the 328 bodies recovered by the salvage operation of the SS Titanic, just one was that of a child. His identity was unknown for nearly a century until 2002, when Dr. Alan Ruffman and Dr. Ryan Parr announced that they had identified the remains of the “Unknown Child”. But was this identification correct? Hear how we resolved the controversy so that the Unknown Child of the Titanic was unknown no longer.

Exploring Online Cenotaph with Victoria Passau

15 April 2015
New Zealanders have served this country in many international conflicts. Online Cenotaph, created by Auckland War Memorial Museum, aims to commemorate the stories of these veterans. This session showcases the new Online Cenotaph and discusses how family members and private researchers can contribute.

'The three uncles' The Cole brothers in the Great War with Tina Blackman

15 April 2015
An in-depth look at how the First World War affected one family where four brothers went to the Western Front and only one survived. In Tina Blackman's book, The three uncles: the Cole brothers in the Great War, readers will discover an extraordinary story that will resonate with many whose families were touched by the First World War.


Still to come: Colleen Fitzpatrick’s other two talks from 20 April:- CSI Roots and Adoption searches.

This will bring us to the end of our pilot programme of recording family history talks at this stage.

Family History Talks Online

See Auckland Libraries website for family history events, including the Auckland Family History Expo and other happenings during New Zealand Family History Month in August.

The 100th anniversary of the First World War has meant there has been a huge flurry of activity to make research resources available worldwide.

A large number of books have been reprinted, some have been revised and updated and a number have been newly written.

My Family History shelves are groaning with new resources, and I know that other non-fiction and reference collections throughout Auckland Libraries are similarly bulging with new books.

Here at Auckland Libraries we have created a webpage on our website devoted to the centenary commemorations, which includes links to a themed page or new and recommended reading list including selected family history titles. This is just a small sample of new items we have - we have many more resources on the shelves.

Additionally, we also have developed the Our Boys, Your Stories website, where we have curated digitised versions of our collection.

Have a look at the Resources page on the Our Boys website to see what has been developed to assist you! Particularly the "Our Boys, Our Families" research guide that has been developed to assist you with your research. Feel free to download the guide to your computer.

Anzac Day is the day that is a national day of remembrance for Australians and New Zealanders who died during armed conflict.

This is the fifth year that Auckland Libraries and the Kintalk blog have issued a Trans-Tasman Anzac Day Blog Challenge.

Do you have a story to share about an Anzac?

Stories we'd like to hear about could be about their service, or the way their sacrifice shaped or impacted on their family history. Maybe you want to blog from the perspective of those that were left behind?

Your story doesn't have to involve a serviceperson who lost their lives - during times of war, families had all sorts of experiences.

And you can write about those who also served in other wars, as all who served in Australia and New Zealand are now recognised as Anzacs.

Maybe you have written about your Anzac before, and have more research to add to the story?

To participate:

• See if your service person is included in the Our Boys website. If he/she is please create a free account and add your story or
• Write a blog post about an serviceman or woman and/or their family, and the impact war had on their family's story or
• Post a comment with the URL to your blog on the comments section of this post or
• If you don't have a blog then you can email us your story at kintalk@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz and we will share it for you
• Publish your post by 26 April 2015.

• the Auckland War Memorial Museum;
• the Australian War Memorial site
• Archives New Zealand Archway - Discover World War One
• Discovering Anzacs - the joint initiative between the National Archives of Australia and Archives New Zealand
• the National Archives of Australia or look further by 
• using the resources listed on Cora Num’s website.
• National Archives of Australia Facebook page about their Shellshocked Exhibition and some of the personal stories that they have collected might also be of interest.

Helen Vail's blog 100 NZ WW1 Memorials 1914-2014 is a mine of information about WW1 memorials, and individuals that she has researched. Helen's goal is to personally visit and collate information from 100 New Zealand World War One Memorials throughout New Zealand by August 2014 to commemorate the 100 year Anniversary of the start of World War One and to honour those who paid the ultimate price.

Remember Ancestry, Findmypast and the Genealogist are all free to use with Auckland Libraries.
Blog away
Seonaid

This year's blog challenge is late - primarily due to the fact that in March I was attending the 2015 AFFHO Congress (Australasian Federation of Family History Organisations) in Canberra (more about that in a later blog), and there was much I had to do to prepare before I left.

The 100th anniversary of the First World War has meant there has been a huge flurry of activity to make research resources available worldwide.

A large number of books have been reprinted, some have been revised and updated and a number have been newly written.

My Family History shelves are groaning with new resources, and I know that other non-fiction and reference collections throughout Auckland Libraries are similarly bulging with new books.

Here at Auckland Libraries we have created a webpage on our website devoted to the centenary commemorations, which includes links to a themed page or new and recommended reading list including selected family history titles. This is just a small sample of new items we have - we have many more resources on the shelves.

Additionally, we also have developed the Our Boys, Your Stories website, where we have curated digitised versions of our collection.

Have a look at the Resources page on the Our Boys website to see what has been developed to assist you! Particularly the "Our Boys, Our Families" research guide that has been developed to assist you with your research. Feel free to download the guide to your computer.

Anzac Day is the day that is a national day of remembrance for Australians and New Zealanders who died during armed conflict.

This is the fifth year that Auckland Libraries and the Kintalk blog have issued a Trans-Tasman Anzac Day Blog Challenge.

Do you have a story to share about an Anzac?

Stories we'd like to hear about could be about their service, or the way their sacrifice shaped or impacted on their family history. Maybe you want to blog from the perspective of those that were left behind?

Your story doesn't have to involve a serviceperson who lost their lives - during times of war, families had all sorts of experiences.

And you can write about those who also served in other wars, as all who served in Australia and New Zealand are now recognised as Anzacs.

Maybe you have written about your Anzac before, and have more research to add to the story?

To participate:

• See if your service person is included in the Our Boys website. If he/she is please create a free account and add your story or
• Write a blog post about an serviceman or woman and/or their family, and the impact war had on their family's story or
• Post a comment with the URL to your blog on the comments section of this post or
• If you don't have a blog then you can email us your story at kintalk@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz and we will share it for you
• Publish your post by 26 April 2015.

• the Auckland War Memorial Museum;
• the Australian War Memorial site
• Archives New Zealand Archway - Discover World War One
• Discovering Anzacs - the joint initiative between the National Archives of Australia and Archives New Zealand
• the National Archives of Australia or look further by 
• using the resources listed on Cora Num’s website.
• National Archives of Australia Facebook page about their Shellshocked Exhibition and some of the personal stories that they have collected might also be of interest.

Helen Vail's blog 100 NZ WW1 Memorials 1914-2014 is a mine of information about WW1 memorials, and individuals that she has researched. Helen's goal is to personally visit and collate information from 100 New Zealand World War One Memorials throughout New Zealand by August 2014 to commemorate the 100 year Anniversary of the start of World War One and to honour those who paid the ultimate price.


Remember Ancestry, Findmypast and the Genealogist are all free to use with Auckland Libraries.
Blog away
Seonaid

The Road to Damascus 1916-18

ANZACs in Palestine

Commemorating the 96th anniversary of the
Ottoman surrender of Damascus to the ANZACs

When: Tuesday 30 September, 4.30pm - 6pm
Where: Whare Wānanga, Level 2, Central City Library, Lorne St, Auckland
Cost: Free
Booking: To secure your place, please book online or contact the Central Auckland Research Centre on 09 307 7771.
 
Join us to explore the shared experiences of the Australian Light Horse and the New Zealand Mounted Rifles during the First World War.


This panel discussion of family history experts including Ben Mercer from Ancestry.com.au will cover the experiences of Kiwis and Australians who fought the Ottoman Empire across the Middle East.
Panellists for this event will be:

• Ben Mercer from Ancestry.com.au, speaking on the Australian Light Horse.  
• Local military historian Terry Kinloch on the New Zealand Mounted Rifles
• Rose Young from Auckland War Memorial Museum on artefacts from the Mounted Rifles.
• Mark Stoddart from Archives NZ on extracting nuggets from the Services Archives.
• Seonaid Lewis from Auckland Libraries on the war at home.

Special guest bio
Ben Mercer is Content Manager for the Australia & New Zealand branch of  family history research website Ancestry.com.au.

Before joining Ancestry, Ben’s interest in history compelled him to start Inside History, a digital and print magazine for Australian and New Zealand genealogists and historians.


Ben’s role at Ancestry allows him to combine his passions for history and technology. He works closely with the key cultural institutions that partner with Ancestry across the region, including archives, libraries, museums and societies, so that historical collections are digitised and made available on the Ancestry portal.



Of course, Ben has extensively researched his own family history. Two of Ben’s grandfathers fought in the First World War. Ernst Godlington Mercer fought for the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) on the Western Front, and was wounded at the Battle of Menin Road in 1917. His other grandfather, George Wheeler Skennar, was a Byron Bay dairy farmer who served at Gallipoli with the ANZACs in 1915, and went on to be wounded in the Battle of Pozieres in 1916.

Contact us
For further queries, please book online or contact the Central Auckland Research Centre on 09 307 7771.

2014 is a significant year, with August being the 100th anniversary of beginning of WWI.

Countries around the world are preparing to take part and contribute to commemorations. Many institutions have instigated projects to record memories and consolidate resources, particular online.

Have a look at what Heritage and Research at Auckland Libraries "Our boys, their families" has developed to assist you! Feel free to download to your computer.

ANZAC Day is the day that is a national day of remembrance for Australian and New Zealanders who died during armed conflict.

This is the fourth year that Auckland Libraries and the Kintalk blog have issued a Trans-Tasman ANZAC Day Blog Challenge.

Do you have a story to share about an ANZAC? 

Stories we'd like to hear about could be about their sacrifice, or the way it shaped or impacted on their family history. Maybe you want to blog from the perspective of those that were left behind?

Your story doesn't have to involve a serviceperson who lost their lives - during times of war, all sorts of loss unfortunately are experienced. 

And you can write about those who also served in other wars, as all who served in Australia and New Zealand are recognised as ANZACs.

Maybe you have written about your ANZAC before, and have more research to add to the story?

To participate:

• Write a blog post about an Australian or New Zealander serviceman or woman's family, and the impact war had on their family history
• Post a comment with the URL to your blog on the comments section of this post.
  Or if you don't have a blog then email us your story at kintalk@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz
• Publish your post by 26 April 2015.