Logan River Family History Inc.
Our Society is a friendly, non-profit, non-sectarian, non-political organisation that aims to bring together those people who are interested in the study of genealogy, family history and local history and to encourage and to assist members in their research. We also aim to preserve historical records, to maintain a reference and research library and to collect and preserve material relating to the families of the Logan area.
The Society has been operating since 2001 and the Logan River & District Family History Society Inc, and has grown from a handful of members to the present membership of 51 (and growing). Our expanding research library currently holds over 6,700 items, including numerous stories on local families and places. Our research facilities have also grown through the hard work of members' fundraising efforts, grants and donations.
We are seeking to preserve and bring Logan City history to the people of the Logan area by producing publications on the different historical areas and aspects of the city and by collecting information, stories and photographs about the families and history of the area.
The Society has had many homes since the early days, the Logan Village Library, the Beenleigh Historical Village, the Kingston Butter Factory and the Chambers Flat and Logan Reserve Community Centre.
And now, in early 2022, we have found a home in the Slacks Creek Progress Hall, Barbaralla Drive Springwood, which we will share with the Kingston Butter Factory Art and Crafts Inc. The Craft Group are upstairs and we are downstairs. We hope this will be our permanent home for many years to come.
In October 2022, we changed our name to Logan River Family History Inc.
Our Origins.
The Society was started in 2001 by Glenys Prins and about 5 members in Munruben before moving to a Church Hall in Jimboomba. It then moved to a small room at the back of the Logan Village Library.
In May 2005, Bet Halliwell placed a notice in the 'Albert and Logan News' saying that she would be holding a meeting at the Beenleigh Senior Citizens Centre for anyone interested in family history. Over the next few months around twelve people met at the Senior Citizens Centre where to talk about their research and to listen to a guest speaker. This group then decided to either join an established family history society as a branch of that society or to form a group of their own. Around August 2005, Glenys Prins, Secretary of the Logan River and District Family History Society, came to our meeting to discuss this society which was to disband at their next Annual General Meeting in October 2005 due to lack of membership. After discussion the group decided to join the Society if it could be moved into Beenleigh. This was accepted by the three remaining members and at the Society's Annual General Meeting in October 2005 the two groups became one.
In January 2006 the Society moved into the 'Old Council Chambers' at the 'Beenleigh Historical Village' with a membership of fourteen.
This was not an ideal place as members had to pack equipment and the library away whenever they would not be present as the 'Chambers' were open to the public. The Gold Coast City Council decided that they wanted to refurbish the 'Chambers' and display council related memorabilia and so the Society moved into rooms at the rear of the 'Old Beenleigh Post Office'. This area was soon outgrown.
In June 2012 we moved into Kingston Butter Factory. By this time the Society had grown from fourteen members to fifty members. After a few years at the Butter Factory, the membership grew to the 100 mark. Our relocation to Chambers Flat Community Centre came in May 2018, and our numbers dropped, possibly because we were so far away and it was a long drive for some members.
Our Library, Research Resources & Facilities.
Our library has grown to over 1,600 books, 675 CD's, 10 DVD's, 1,000 microfiche, 3,000 magazines and journals, electoral rolls, telephone directories and maps. We also have a large collection of family histories, written by our members and local residents, which tell about the early settlers and families of the area.
We have a fairly comprehensive collection of indexes to search, including local, national and international. Our map collection is growing; we have maps of the local area from various dates; maps of the counties of England and index maps of Ireland.
We have several computer stations with access to online databases for members and visitors to do research. Ongoing access to 'Ancestry.com' and 'Find My Past' is planned to continue.
We are a member of History Queensland Inc. which supports and guides our efforts and provides contact with other family history groups.
We are also a FamilySearch Affililate library, guests can search the FamilySearch files and view tier 1 and 2 records for free in our rooms. Tier 3 records can only be viewed in a FamilySearch Library like Karawatha.
Projects and Local Research.
The Society has several pubications:
- They Chose Beenleigh. This book is about the early settlers of the Beenleigh and Eagleby area from 1864 to 1885. 200 copies have been produced and sold. A revision and reprint has been completed.
- They Cared for Beenleigh. This is a history of the medical carers and facilities of early Beenleigh including doctors, nurses and chemists who serviced the area. Over 150 copies have been sold.
- The Beenleigh War Memorial, Revised Edition. This publication is produced on a USB. The stories of over 230 men and the one woman from the Beenleigh area who volunteered to serve our country during the First World War.
- The Logan Village Cemetery 1879- Apr 2001 - headstones and plaques.
- A Family History Journey - this is a 21st anniversary project using the winning stories from our Dugullumba Times journal.
Many years of research goes into each book before publication. We are also looking to start researching a third book that will be about the early settlers of the Kingston and Waterford area. We hope to eventually write books about the early settlers of all the suburbs of Logan City.