For approximately 10 years, the Central Auckland Research Centre has run a fortnightly family history lunchtime series lectures from February through to November at Central Library.
They are a diverse range of lectures, covering many subjects related to family and/or local history, New Zealand and world history.
These popular talks are well-attended, but typically there are always people who are unable to make them largely due to geographic distance. I've frequently had calls and emails from people all over New Zealand and overseas - from as far away as the UK asking if we were going to be able to make the presentations available online.
This year, we have been able to record some of our lunchtime talks as part of a pilot study.
We were able to record most of the New Zealand Cemeteries Heritage Week events held at Central Library, and those proved very popular. We do captioning which means transcribing the whole presentation, to make each one accessible for the hearing-impaired.
Online now, is "The records of the English parish church" with Viv Parker.
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| Vivienne Parker, researcher & speaker, member of the New Zealand Society of Genealogists a former editor of The NZ Genealogist and the GRINZ Yearbook, and the compiler of Forty years on: The development of the New Zealand Society of Genealogists. |
"The records of English parish churches recount the day-to-day running of the parish, including not only baptisms, marriages and burials but also a wealth of information about our ancestors. Their findings also uncover the roles of the vestry and church wardens, who held the responsibility for raising funds, appointing people to various jobs, maintaining roads and bridges in the parish, the care of the elderly, dealing with miscreants and illegitimacies, as well as ensuring the removal of those who had no right to remain in the parish."
About 40 people attended this lecture that Viv did for us on Wednesday, 4 March.
Viv is a member of the New Zealand Society of Genealogists and frequently runs workshops and tutorials out at their centre in Panmure.
She is also a regular speaker for Auckland Libraries and helps out with other events such as the Karen Kalopulu Family History Lock-In (28 August this year) and the Sunday Family History Club sessions (next one on June 21) that are held around three times a year.
I hope you enjoy watching "The records of the English parish church" with Viv Parker.
Happy hunting
Seonaid
