In the beginning ...

The Mid-Gippsland Family History Society Inc. was first formed at a gathering in Moe on the 10th of December 1980. We were first known as the Mid-Gippsland Genealogical Society. The Society then, as now, is affiliated with the Genealogical Society of Victoria. (GSV)
The inception of the Mid-Gippsland branch of the GSV was set up for the purpose of assisting people in their search for their background or personal family histories. The Group was originally established to serve the Mid-Gippsland area, VIC AUS, which includes the following towns,Boolarra, Cowwarr, Churchill, Glengarry, Gormandale, Moe, Morwell, Toongabbie, Trafalgar, Traralgon, Walhalla, Willow Grove, & Yallourn North.

Other similar groups serve the remainder of Gippsland. The Mid-Gippsland Society is as all such Societies, a self-help, non-religious, non-profit organization, created for the sole purpose of promoting family history and collecting records for the use of the family historian.

These records form part of the Societies assets. Other societies and members of the public may buy copies of these records from us. In addition, the Society has also obtained many books, newsletters, microfiche, microfiche readers, computers and CD'S/DVD'S, all pertaining to family history research. This material is now housed in the community room of the Latrobe Shire Library, Kirk Street Moe. Because we share this room our Library is locked away in a Compactus.

We are open to the Public on Wednesday afternoons from 1-4 pm. Also, we are open for members only, on the first Saturday of the month from 9am to 12pm. We meet on the 4thThursday of each month (except December) between 7 and 10.30pm.

During the formative years of the Mid-Gippsland Society, meetings were held at the Regional Educational Centre Moe. Then for a couple of years we were out at the Gippsland Institute of Advanced Education (now Monash) in Churchill. In 1991 the Society transferred its meetings to the Narracan Hall which is situated in Old Gippstown, Moe. At about this time we underwent a name change and became known as the Mid-Gippsland Family History Society Inc. An agreement was reached in 1992 with the then Moe City Library to house the Mid-Gippsland FHS Inc. assets, this was known as the Mid-Gippsland FHS Inc. Reference Collection and only members can borrow on a meeting night. In approximately 1994 we shifted to the old staff room, now the meeting room at the back of the library.

Today, 2021, we have moved into the Librarians' Office of the Moe Community Hub. This space allows us to not only open for research by the public but to also hold our meetings all under the same roof.

It is envisaged that the Mid-Gippsland Family History Society Collection will be found useful by students and other Community members in tracing their own family histories.