14 JUN 2026
New family history website
I've developed a new family history website at www.goreyhistory.com with information about the Gorey, Burgdorf and Wassenberg families in Australia. I've b...
Read article →Category: History
4 JUN 2026
Alec Chisholm: The bird man and more
I live and work in Central Victoria and Maryborough stands out in Australian history, not least as the birthplace of Alec Chisholm in 1890. Chisholm became a...
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28 MAY 2026
The first Michael Gorey in Australia
The barque Middlesex, on which Michael Gorey was born in 1841. The first Michael Gorey in Australia was my great-grandfather Edward’s eldest brother. M...
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21 MAY 2026
Alfred Deakin: Australia's second Prime Minister
Alfred Deakin was Australia's second Prime Minister after Federation and he could have been our greatest if his life hadn't been cut short. In writing this...
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20 MAY 2026
The rise and fall of Tom Wills
Tom Wills (standing at back wearing a cap) with his aboriginal cricket team in 1866 outside the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Greg de Moore’s book on Tom Wil...
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19 MAY 2026
Angustown School
My grandfather, Michael Gorey, attended the Angustown School in the 1890s. After moving frequently about the Corop and Echuca districts early in their marria...
Read article →1 FEB 2026
Claassen family in South Africa
My (ex) wife Juliet is Afrikaans and her surname is Claassen. One of Juliet’s cousins, Johann, is a genealogist and he contacted me recently after discovering...
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26 DEC 2023
Sex, feuds and devotion
The grave site of Mary Gorey at Kyneton, alongside her parents. This is a true story of sex, feuds and devotion. It’s the story of my grandfather’s aunt,...
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22 APR 2019
When the Dutch in Bundaberg faced Communist threat
A Lockheed Lodestar aircraft of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force in Queensland. In Anzac week we reflect on the contribution our allies m...
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28 DEC 2014
Tribute to Aboriginal sportsman Harry Hewitt
Extract from the South Australian Register, 1 June 1891 History has a way of turning up unexpected treasures and I feel fortunate to have discovered one ...
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20 AUG 2014
Georg Balthasar von Neumayer
I discovered during my genealogical research that two of my great-great grandparents, Daniel Burgdorf and Augusta Springer, arrived in Sydney from Germany aboa...
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17 OCT 2010
My grandfather: Shearer, spud farmer, Communist
I never met my grandfather, Michael John Gorey (after whom I was named), because he died before I was born. Mick grew up at Corop and Whroo in north central V...
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24 SEPT 2010
Robert Winthrop: Bigamist and bounder
Robert Winthrop (pictured) was a gold digger – gold that’s in the ground and women. Anyone familiar with the Flashman series by George MacDonald Fraser will ...
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28 DEC 2003
DNA match proves Gorey family connection
DNA tests have proved a connection between the South Australian and Victorian branches of the Gorey family in Australia. A link has always been suspected bec...
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