For more than four decades, the Genealogical Society of Mackay has been helping locals uncover the stories behind their surnames, their streets, and the generations who helped shape the region.
@ The Coalface spoke with long-term member Yvonne, who shared how the Society has grown from a small volunteer group into a valued local resource for family history research.
“The Mackay Branch of the Genealogical Society of Queensland was formed at a meeting in the CWA Hall in Gordon Street on 22 April 1981. There were seven financial members at that first meeting,” Yvonne revealed.
In those early days, members began gathering local records, including cemetery transcriptions from the Mirani and Eton cemeteries, building a collection that would grow steadily over time.
“When we first moved into the Pioneer Shire Library in Ungerer Street in December 1982, our entire collection was literally housed in an apple crate.”
As the Society continued to evolve and adapt to growing interest, it experienced several changes in both structure and location over the years. In 2025, the Society moved again, settling into premises at 4 Casey Avenue, South Mackay, and adopting its current name, the Genealogical Society of Mackay Inc. Membership has grown at times to more than 100, and the group remains a self-funded, not-for-profit organisation run by volunteers.
Yvonne said that along with helping locals research their family trees, the Society has contributed to the wider community through heritage work, public activities and local history projects.
“We’ve supported the community through cemetery walks, pioneer chart displays, and assisting Mackay Regional Council with heritage projects and local history verification.”
Their work has also included investigating war veteran graves for the RSL, verifying burials in the heritage-listed Mackay Cemetery, supporting Council projects such as researching street names associated with soldiers, and assisting police with cold case enquiries.
For those unsure where to begin with family history research, the Society offers practical support, guidance, and access to local records that can be hard to find elsewhere.
“We ask people to bring in whatever information and certificates they already have at home, then we sit with them and start a pedigree chart, working back one generation at a time.”
Depending on where a person’s family comes from, volunteers help researchers navigate key online databases and as a FamilySearch Affiliate Library, the Society can also provide access to digital images not available to people researching from home. For those who are not confident with computers, the Society can also help researchers use indexes on microfiche and work through the process step by step.
The local records held by the Society are often the most valuable for Mackay families, particularly collections tied directly to the region’s history.
Some of the Society’s most-used local resources include funeral notices dating back to 1955, funeral director records from 1923 to 1993, cemetery records and headstone photographs, as well as Daily Mercury newspapers from 1955 to 2007.
A long-running project focuses on documenting families who settled in Mackay between 1860 and 1885, with 556 families recorded to date and 250 featured in the 2009 publication Early Settlers of Mackay. While another book is not currently planned, the collection continues to grow, and anyone with ancestors from that period is encouraged to get in touch and contribute to the record.
For the volunteers behind the scenes, family history is about more than names on paper. It is about keeping connection alive across generations.
“It’s important to preserve family histories and records so future generations can see how families and communities have progressed.”
| The Society is open Mon & Tue 9-12pm and Wed 9-2pm and are holding an Open Day on Saturday 7 March 2026 from 9am to 1pm. For more information, or to submit a research enquiry, visit genealogicalsocietyofmackay.org.au |
