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...
Read article →
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...
Read article →
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...
Read article →
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...
Read article →
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...
Read article →
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,...
Read article →
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...
Read article →
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 ...
Read article →
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...
Read article →
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...
Read article →
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 ...
Read article →
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...
Read article →