Who are we?

Family History ACT (FHACT) was founded in 1964 (then known as the Heraldry & Genealogy Society of Canberra) to promote and encourage the study and preservation of family history, genealogy, heraldry and allied subjects, and to assist members and others with their family history research.

Family history is a popular hobby where you can achieve fantastic results. Today, as the ongoing internet and digital revolution offers more and more access to information about the past, you can be confident that you will succeed in finding ancestors. Your chances of success are also much improved if you have access to the resources and the people of a family history society. FHACT offers access to a wide range of resources—many not available on the internet—as well as the opportunity to meet and work with others who share your interest in researching family history. Through them, and the education and interest groups that are an integral part of FHACT, you will develop the skills, knowledge and expertise needed for success.

Our library is located at The Cook Community Hub, 41 Templeton Street, Cook, ACT. The library is unique in the ACT and contains a comprehensive collection of about 20 000 titles and many thousands of microforms, including all available Birth, Death and Marriage (BDM) indexes of the Australian States, a vast collection of Australian and Overseas Cemetery records, Monumental Inscriptions and Parish records.

Many of the FHACT services may be accessed through this website. These services include access to the library catalogue, information on membership, meeting details, research services, our journal and its index, publications for sale, genealogical links including libraries and archives, members' interests and a sub-site on Boer War Memorials of 1899-1902.

FHACT has strong links to the surrounding areas in New South Wales and has published much data covering these regions. We publish a quarterly journal, The Ancestral Searcher, and pursue a vigorous publishing program including local monumental inscriptions and our flagship publication Family History for Beginners and Beyond.

FHACT also runs an annual writing competition, the EM Fletcher Writing Award, a short story competition based on a family history/genealogy theme.

Within FHACT are a number of specialist interest and software user groups which meet regularly. These special interest groups include: Australia, Convict, Digital Asset Management, DNA, English & Welsh, Heraldry, Irish, Scottish and Writers, and software user groups for Family Tree Maker, Reunion & Mac Support, The Master Genealogist and Legacy.

Monthly meetings are held in our Education room at Cook, 41 Templeton Street, Cook, ACT, and via zoom on the first Tuesday evening of each month at 7:30pm.

We are members of: