Our first Share Your Story for 2026 will be held on Friday 20th February commencing at 2pm.  It will be held in the Drama Room (upstairs in Community Arts Centre) which is in the old part of the Cultural Centre in Wingewarra Street Dubbo. Our first presenter will be Brenda Moon who many may know as the face of the Regional Australia Bank in Dubbo.  Please RSVP by Wednesday 18th February to Lyn at baretsmiths@bigpond.com Your $8 payment includes afternoon tea and the chance for a chat and a catch up.

With Christmas and New Year fast approaching, you only have a few days to visit our family history rooms in 2025.  We will be closing at 1pm on Saturday 13th December 2025 and re-open on Tuesday 13th January 2026.  We wish everyone a safe and happy Christmas and New Year and look forward to catching up with you in 2026.

Any family history researcher is keen to find a grave, or at least a grave site for their early ancestors. Many of us have spent time wandering around various cemeteries looking for a headstone relevant to us.   We are now excited to share that Dubbo Regional Council has  made records for all cemeteries within its council area available  to the public online.  To access what they call “Councils Memorial Mapper” I have found the following procedure the best way to gain access.  First go to the council website, click on Community and Groups under which  you will find cemeteries.  Then go to Search Cemetery Records where you will find a link to “Councils Memorial Mapper”.  Remember less information is sometimes the best with family research, so maybe start with just a surname. It will take a short time for the map to appear. Good luck.

Do you have any ancestors with the name Butler? This might be a gathering for you. As well as a variety of genealogy subjects there will be talks about Butlers who have contributed to the early development and history of NSW.  Names such as William Butler a convict on the First Fleet, James Butler who was the butler to John and Elizabeth Macarthur, Laurence Butler and Fernando Butler just to name a few.  You will hear about the Butlers from New Zealand and Argentina. As well, trips to the Elizabeth Farm, the Old Government House and Lancer;s Memorial Museum will be conducted. This event will take place from Friday 17th October to Monday 20th October 2025 and will be based at the Holiday Inn Hotel, at Warwick Farm.  Visit the website www.butlersocietysoutherncrossregion.org or email Alan Squires at squiresa@bigpond.net.au

Our Family History Rooms will be closed on Easter Saturday, 19th  April 2025.   

On Friday 6th December, committee members Linda Barnes, Sharon Scherrer and Colleen Braithwaite attended the council presentations of funding under the SPARC program.  It was wonderful to receive $1500 from Dubbo Regional Council under this program towards the publication of our updated, expanded and revised “Early Pioneers of Dubbo – pre 1882”.  The award was presented by mayor Josh Black at the Cultural Centre.  This new publication can be purchased for $55 from the society rooms, or by ordering on line.