Judy Purkiss in Gidgegannup, Western Australia | Genealogist

Judy Purkiss

Locality: Gidgegannup, Western Australia

Phone: +61 403 210 985

Address: 11 Persoonia Close 6083 Gidgegannup, WA, Australia

Website: judy-purkiss-family-historian.business.site/?m=true

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25.01.2022 Some sad news from today: FRIENDS OF ANZAC COTTAGE CEASE ROLE WITH 104-YEAR MEMORIAL A volunteer group dedicated to preserving and sharing the remarkable story ...of ANZAC Cottage has walked away from its work, casting doubt on whether the iconic Mount Hawthorn memorial will remain open to the public. Just days from the cottage’s 104th anniversary, the Friends of ANZAC Cottage today made the difficult decision to step away from its community engagement role, amid ongoing tensions between the group and cottage lessor the Vietnam Veterans Association of Australia (WA). The move means the Friends of ANZAC Cottage will no longer conduct community engagement for the historical house, including monthly open days, wartime commemorations and educational visits for school and social groups. ANZAC Cottage was built by the local community in one day on February 12, 1916 as the first memorial in WA to those who served at Gallipoli, and as a home for returned wounded soldier Private Cuthbert Porter and his family. His descendants are still actively involved in the Friends of ANZAC Cottage. Community spirit has always been the cornerstone of ANZAC Cottage and we are disheartened that a breakdown in the relationship between the VVAA WA and Friends of ANZAC Cottage means our community engagement work will now draw to a close, Friends of ANZAC Cottage president Peter Ramsay said. This situation has been simmering for some time. We have been concerned about the lack of communication between the groups, poor maintenance of the building and its grounds, and the scant regard the VVAA WA seems to hold for the significance of this irreplaceable memorial. We have tried on numerous occasions to resolve these issues in the best interests of the cottage and the community, but despite these efforts we have been unable to reach an acceptable resolution with the VVAA WA or through mediation with cottage owner, the City of Vincent. We are extremely saddened to announce today that the relationship between our group and the VVAA WA is now untenable and we have decided to step away. Today, the VVAA WA rejected a final offer by the Friends of ANZAC Cottage to take over the lease, despite the group’s proposal for the VVAA WA to continue to hold meetings at the cottage free of charge and relieve them of the requirement to undertake maintenance. This represents a saving of at least $3000 per annum for VVAA WA. Formed in 2006, the Friends of ANZAC Cottage has worked to share the story and community spirit of the house at 38 Kalgoorlie Street, Mount Hawthorn, which is classified by the National Trust, recognised by the WA Heritage Council and on the Register of National Estate. VVAA WA has had limited involvement in community engagement for the cottage and uses the site to hold its monthly meetings. The property fell into disrepair in the 1980s and in 1992 a group of Vietnam veterans embarked on a project to restore the cottage, enlisting the help of Private Porter’s daughter Marjorie Williams, now aged 99. Mrs Williams, who was born in the front room of ANZAC Cottage and served with the Australian Women’s Army Service in World War II, saved the cottage from demolition in 1989 by using her war widow’s pension to fund a legal ruling, which deemed it be vested in the State. Anne Chapple, Mrs Williams’ daughter and the granddaughter of Private Porter, said today’s decision was devastating for her personally and for her family. Not only does ANZAC Cottage have personal significance to my family, but I have worked hard with the Friends group to ensure the greater community has the opportunity to enjoy its history, Mrs Chapple said. Since 2006, I have been involved in raising funds for the cottage through grant applications and helped host open days, special ceremonies for ANZAC Day and Remembrance Day, school visits and researched the history, origins and personal stories about this special place. While these stories remain, I am extremely upset that this personal historical context will no longer be shared with future generations at ANZAC Cottage. Mrs Chapple said it was disappointing that several new initiatives the group planned to implement this year, including a kids club for open days, an exhibition of works by local high school students and development of a local research group, would likely not go ahead. Last year, the Friends of ANZAC Cottage hosted 647 primary school children on educational visits to the house, and in 2018 initiated art installations at two local bus stops depicting the Gallipoli Peninsula conflict in Turkey and Vietnam War at Nui Dat. Rosewood chief executive officer Mario Zulberti said Rosewood had been a proud major sponsor of ANZAC Cottage for many years and losing the Friends of ANZAC Cottage was unfortunate for the local community. This is a wonderful community gem that epitomises our sense of community and draws generations together to reflect on key wartime conflicts, Mr Zulberti said. The Friends of ANZAC Cottage have worked tirelessly to ensure the story of the cottage and the important role it played in Australia’s war history is preserved for future generations. See more

22.01.2022 This is awesome, just my opinion however, I feel this is very tastefully done

22.01.2022 Drum roll please! The new National Archives of Australia website launches today. Swing by to check out our fresh look and explore the new content we’ve shared ...online at https://www.naa.gov.au Whether you’re delving into family history or seeking guidance on best practice information management, we’ve made it easier to find what you seek. Some older pages have been retired and bookmarked URLs may no longer work. If you need assistance finding what you need, our team is here to help. Contact us at https://www.naa.gov.au/about-us/contact-us We’re so excited that we want to join Sherry Wheeler and party like it’s 1969! NAA: A12111, 1/1969/6/91

21.01.2022 Genealogy Tip 101: If theres a document available, take the time to read it. #JudyPurkissFamilyHistorian #genealogytips #WesternAustralianGenealogist

20.01.2022 Wow, this would make huge difference to researching Irish ancestry.

19.01.2022 Finding how and when your ancestor immigrated can be a challenge. If you can't find a passenger list then look at other records like naturalisation records, obituaries. newspapers, employment records, state record and library archives etc. You never know where a snippet of info is hiding.

19.01.2022 Fantastic Western Australian photos here that show life as it was in past years.

16.01.2022 The humble apron.... meant so much more.....

15.01.2022 Genealogy Tip 102: Having trouble finding your ancestor? Have you looked for them by their nickname or middle name eg. Elizabeth could be recorded as Liz, Eliza, Beth, Bet, Betty or John recorded as Jack, James as Jim etc. However, some families have more unusual nicknames which sometimes take a while to prove it’s the same person ie: in my own tree I have Henry whose nickname was Mick and Martha whose nickname was Beeb. #WesternAustralianGenealogist

14.01.2022 Headstones Besides the nostalgic reasons for photographing headstones, there are some other good and logical reasons for doing so: a) Headstones deteriorate, so what is readable now, may not be readable in years to come. b) Headstones hold information that may be helpful to your family tree research.... c) Headstones may be removed by cemeteries in the future, having a photo preserves the image and information on it. When photographing a headstone, do the following: a) Take a photo of the whole grave b) Take a closer image of headstone ensuring the image is readable c) If there are photo’s of the people on the headstone take photo’s of them as well. d) Check the rear and sides the headstone, sometimes if space was limited on the front, further engraving was completed on other sides. e) Find out from the cemetery who else was buried in the plot, in case, not everyone was listed on the headstone. How to obtain a photo of a headstone: a) If you live nearby, then go and take a photo yourself. b) Contact the cemetery themselves to see if a photography service is available. c) Check if the local family historical society have photo’s available of the cemetery. d) Try a free service such as Findagrave, the site relies on volunteers. e) Engage the services of a genealogist in the local area to go and take a photo. Headstone photo’s are a lovely touch to the story of your ancestor and from time to time they give you additional information that you may not have had. In Western Australia, Judy Purkiss Family Historian is available for research enquiries,, she can be contacted by email on [email protected].

13.01.2022 Ancestry is proud to bring you the new season of Every Family Has a Secret, on SBS and SBS On Demand. Premiering this Tuesday, 7.30pm - watch every day Austr...alians unveil and research their family secrets, and how their discoveries have life changing effects on their sense of identity and family history. https://bit.ly/33PWIXc. See more

11.01.2022 Perseverance is needed to unravel some family trees. It can also be needed to locate some graves in cemeteries. However, perseverance, or perhaps stubbornness, was recently needed to find the actual cemetery! There were no street signs in the town of Bullfinch in Western Australia pointing to the cemetery and it wasn’t showing up on Google maps. Directions from the museum in a nearby town said it was about 2km’s down the road next to a closed pub. This clue eventually resulted in finding a gravel track off the back of the carpark of the boarded up pub, followed it through a farmers gate to find a sign for the cemetery in the farmers bush paddock with his camels!

09.01.2022 If you were from down Palmyra way in the Seventies you may have seen Harry Miller walking with his basket in hand delivering loaves of bread. The horse whose name was Barney would just keep moving along behind him.Was this unique to Palmyra or did you guys have something similar?

09.01.2022 Love the first sentences of this article where it says "Welcome to the google of the 1800's"....

08.01.2022 An old film clip of a train trip that shows a lot of history of an area. A gem.

08.01.2022 Over years headstones can become unreadable (see top photo). When this occurs pop a piece of paper over the engraved letters and gently rub with charcoal or crayon and the letters reveal themselves (see bottom photo, scroll in to look at it larger).. #genealogy #AustralianGenealogist #ancestry #familyhistory #cemetery

08.01.2022 Looking for records from the Kew Archives, they are offering free access for a short while. Choose the records you'd like wisely as each person is limited to a set amount. Happy searching.

04.01.2022 Family Legends can be similar to the size of the fish that got away, they can become tall stories, exaggerated and/or changed. Most stories start from "something" so find documentary evidence to prove, disprove or correct the stories you have been told. Photo Credit: Zazzle.com

04.01.2022 Having trouble following your "Smith" line/s, well, it's not surprising given it's the most popular surname in England, Australia and parts of the US.