Rosemary Absolom has traced her father’s family back to the convicts and located 14 aunts and uncles she never knew she had.
Ms Absolom’s father passed away in recent years and during his battle with illness, she asked him questions about their family history.
The more she heard, the more interested she became in her family’s origins so she decided to do her own digging.
She has found two relatives who fought in World War I, 18 who fought in World War II and others who fought in Vietnam.
“They’re popping up everywhere,” she said.
“Anzac Day now takes on a whole new meaning.”
One of her relatives was a prisoner of war, another was a member of the Purple Berets and another was on board the HMAS Sydney when it went down.
“When I started this, I had no idea how far it went,” she said.
“It actually engrosses you.
“You can see where you’ve come from and you can see yourself in them.
“I’m hoping my children will carry this on where I’ve left off.”
Ms Absolom is determined to know as much as she can and will enlist the help of an expert as she attends Saturday’s free workshop on investigating first World War records.
The workshop will be held at the Museum of the Riverina Historic Council Chambers site from 10am to 2pm by historian and heritage consultant, Samantha Leah.
