SATURDAY 12 AUGUST | 10.00am - 1.00pm

So… you think you want to write a family history…. with Pauline Peel

ABOUT THE WORKSHOP

This is a workshop for beginners, for people who have done genealogical research and are

motivated to write a family history. Pauline passionately believes that recording family

histories is important not only for the family but also for the broader community and our

understanding of our history.

Using her personal experience of writing The Family From Elagh Hill, a family history about

her Booth Keenan family of Irish ancestry, Pauline will take you through the process and

experience of writing a family history. In this interactive workshop you will consider the

decisions to be made before you commence and along the way; the time commitment; the

pitfalls and the joys; the publication, the learnings.

In this highly participatory workshop, there will be opportunities for questions and

discussion about your ideas. NB – the workshop is focused on the those who have never

written a family history book but have done their genealogical research and are considering

next steps. Participants are encouraged to bring their preliminary ideas to the workshop.

Pauline will be joined by writer Steve Capelin who, over a twenty-year period has captured

his family story in a range of forms including, a story-based website, a poster version for

distribution to his extended family and a novel, Paradiso, published in 2021.

ABOUT THE TUTOR

Family and local history has been Pauline’s passion since finishing full-time work a decade ago. Together with her family she self-published a family history, The Family From Elagh Hill and has written several stories and articles about her family.  Her research about the Irish of Warwick is published online and has been presented at forums in Sydney, Warwick and Brisbane. In 2021 she was a co-convenor of the Annerley Stephens History Group (ASHG) Women of Stephens local history conference and also co-edited the published papers. 

Pauline’s passion for community and the telling of stories has been reflected throughout her career from her role as a founding member of the West End based Community Theatre Company to her roles as a Senior Executive with Brisbane City Council, the Qld State Government and the South Australian Government.