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 Society's assets and are available for sale to other societies and members of the public. In addition, the Society has also obtained many reference books, newsletters, CD's/DVD's, all pertaining to family history research. We have internet access and can search popular genealogy sites. This material is now available in our rooms at the Moe Community Hub, 44 Albert Street Moe, opposite the Post Office.
Our rooms are open to the Public on each Wednesday afternoon from 1-4 pm when visitors and members can receive assistance from experienced researchers. The group also meets on the 4th Thursday of each month between 2 and 4 pm to hear a speaker or take part in an interesting discussion. The group goes into recess in December and January.
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 located 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 our Reference Collection and assets. In approximately 1994 after Victorian councils were amalgamated we shifted to the meeting room at the back of the library. In 2021, after the Moe Library relocated to premises in George Street, we moved into what had been the librarian's work room. The Society had been associated with the library building in Kirk Street for over 30 years.
Today, in 2023, we have rooms in the Moe Community Hub at 44 Albert Street Moe, opposite the Post Office.