Central Coast Family History Society Inc.

We are members of:

HISTORY: The NSW & ACT Association of Family History Societies was formed in 1984. From its formation until 1999 it operated under the name of the NSW Association of Family History Societies and from that year it incorporated the ACT into its name to better reflect the interests of the Heraldry & Genealogy Society of Canberra Inc. which had been a member since the Association’s inception.
OBJECTIVES:
To foster an interest in family history and to represent the views of its member societies in matters of state, national and international genealogical interests.
The Association does not undertake genealogical research nor does it exist to help individual family historians.
Rather, it can provide researchers with contact details of the most appropriate member society or societies to assist with their enquiries.
STRUCTURE:
The Association is co-ordinated by a Committee of Management of eight members who are elected annually at the Annual General Meeting.
The State is divided into four regions and two executive members are appointed from each region to ensure even representation.
ANNUAL CONFERENCE:
The NSW & ACT Association of Family History Societies Inc. has an annual conference which is hosted by a member society.

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The Australasian Federation of Family History Organisations Inc. (AFFHO) is the umbrella organisation for family history societies in the region.

AFFHO was established in 1978 to coordinate and assist the work of Australian and New Zealand groups with interests in family history, genealogy, heraldry and related subjects.

AFFHO is managed by an elected Council comprising of a voting member from each state or territory and New Zealand. Councillors are elected annually by the member societies within their region. The Council also comprises non-voting delegates from those states that have a state association. Currently these are NSW/ACT, QLD and VIC.

The role of AFFHO is to:

• co-ordinate and assist the work of organisations interested in family history, genealogy, heraldry and allied subjects,
• promote and encourage the study of the above subjects throughout Australia and New Zealand,
• promote, develop, foster and support the establishment of educational, advisory and other services for the benefit of members,
• maintain close co-operation and liaison with societies and organisations having objectives and aims similar to those set forth above,
• affiliate and enter into arrangements of a co-operative nature with organisations having objectives and purposes similar to those of the Federation for the purposes of assisting the Federation to further its objectives and carry out its purposes, and,
• carry on any other activities which may seem to the Federation capable of being conveniently carried on for the purpose of furthering the objects of the Federation or which may directly or indirectly further those objects.

This is put into effect by:

• formulating policies and disseminating information on matters concerning members;
• lobbying for changes in policies, particularly those of Government, that affect family history records and access;
• endorsing and promoting congresses on family history and allied subjects;
• publishing the AFFHO Newsletter (Newsflash) and books on suitable subjects;
• monitoring international happenings on the genealogical scene through an informal association and exchange of newsletters with other national federations.

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WHAT IS THE FEDERATION 
The Federation of Family History Societies (FFHS) is an educational charity formed in 1974 and granted charitable status in 1982. Over the years, membership has grown to over 160 societies throughout the world, including national, regional and one-name groups. The principal aims of the Federation are:

• to co-ordinate and assist the work of societies or other bodies interested in family history, genealogy and heraldry
• to foster mutual co-operation and regional projects in these subjects
• to represent the interests of its member societies, and family historians in general, on numerous national and regional bodies.

MEMBERSHIP
Membership is open to any society or body specialising in family history or an associated discipline. Full membership is open to properly constituted organisations in the British Isles and associate membership is available to overseas family history, genealogical and heraldic groups as well as to other bodies within the British Isles for whom family history is a secondary interest.

AWARDS
The Federation encourages its member societies to produce high quality journals and websites by making awards each year. The Elizabeth Simpson award for the journal making the best contribution to family history, and the FFHS award for the best website are presented each autumn at the Federation general meeting. Details of past winners and how to enter are available on our Awards pages.

EDUCATION
Education is a vital element within the Federation. This is achieved informally through the regular meetings and discussions conducted by its member societies; also formally through the many courses on family history organised around the world. A list of speakers prepared to talk on family history, heraldry or allied topics is available from the Federation.

CO-OPERATION
between family historians, heraldists, archivists, archaeologists and many others is essential as more and more people become involved in the study of their roots and heritage. The Federation is the ideal vehicle for such cooperation. A full list of member societies’ contact details is available.

REPRESENTATIONS
The Federation:

• makes representations to official bodies on matters affecting the study of family history and related topics
• has a seat on the British Genealogical Record Users’ Group
• is represented on the British Association for Local History and the Regional Archive Councils
• has established regular liaison with the Society of Antiquaries, the Society of Archivists, the Historical Association, the British Records Association and the British Records Society, The National Archives and the General Register Office.

The Federation provides an authentic, audible, and respected voice for the many thousands of individual family historians.

NATIONAL PROJECTS are co-ordinated by the Federation

• a considerable contribution was made to the National Inventory of War Memorials, established by the Imperial War Museum.
• the 1881 census was the object of a national indexing project, completed in 1996
• in 2010, the third edition of the National Burial Index, with over 18 million entries, was released on CDROM.

FAMILY HISTORY FAIRS, EVENTS AND OPEN DAYS
The Federation attends various events around the country and family history fairs and society Open Days are organised  by its member societies. These draw the attention of the general public to the study of family history, thereby encouraging new members to join family history societies.

For a listing of events GENEVA (GENealogical EVents and Activities).

EXCHANGE JOURNALS
Many societies exchange their journals with their fellow members of the Federation. This ensures the maximum amount of publicity and interchange of information throughout the world, as these journals are usually available for individual members of societies to read.