Family and local history go hand in hand, for without people and families we don’t have history!
Basic family history resources to get you started in family history
Local Family and Historical Organisations in the Penrith City area
Local History Publications: For sale at Penrith City Library.
Penrith City Library. Research Room
601 High Street Penrith – open 2 pm – 5 pm seven days – phone 02 47327899 – researchservices@penrith.city
Nepean District Historical Archaeology Group
Address: PO Box 874 Penrith NSW 2751
Meeting Times: First Saturday of each month at 9 am.
Workshops/Field trips: Saturday mornings, 9am – 12pm.
Objectives: To research, survey and record any sites in the Penrith City boundary. To organise field trips, displays, lectures and oral history recordings. No previous experience necessary. Background information on NDHAG
Nepean District Historical Society
Address: Cnr Great Western Highway and Gardenia Avenue, Emu Plains NSW 2750
Postal Address: PO Box 441, Penrith NSW 2751
Contact: Craig Werner President
Telephone: Museum: 02 47354394
Meeting Times: Fourth Saturday of every month at 1.30 pm.
Opening Hours: The Arms of Australia Inn Museum
Wednesday: 10am – 2pm, Thursday: 10am – 2pm, Sunday: 1pm – 5pm (and by arrangement with President).
Objectives: To foster interest in the history of the Nepean district. To provide a permanent collection of materials in a variety of formats, relating to the Nepean area, and to preserve these resources and make them accessible for historical research.
Address: Old School Residence, Great Western Highway Emu Plains NSW 2750
Postal Address: PO Box 81 Emu Plains NSW 2750
Telephone: 02 47353798
Meeting Times: 1st Saturday of each month (except January) at 1.30 pm at Old School Hall, Old School Residence, Great Western Highway, Emu Plains, NSW, Australia. Guest Speakers. Visitors welcome.
Opening Hours: Tuesday to Thursday: 10.00am – 2.00 pm / Thursday Night: 7pm – 9pm / Saturday: 2pm – 5pm
Objectives: To help members research family history by providing a resource centre, informative guest speakers, pooling members’ family history information and research experiences and liaising with societies with similar interests.
St Marys and District Historical Society
Address: The Chambers Building, 2-6 Mamre Road, St Marys, NSW, 2760. PO Box 640 St Marys NSW 1790
Meeting Times: Fourth Saturday of each month at 1 p.m. at the Chambers Building
Objectives: To encourage the study of the history of the St Marys district. To promote and preserve the compilation of facts and records relating to the St. Marys district.
Address: Western Sydney Search Room, O’Connell Street Kingswood NSW 2747
Contact: Search Room
Telephone: 02 9673 1788
Hours of Opening: Monday – Friday 9am – 5pm / Saturday 10am – 4pm.
Objectives: To identify, preserve and make available as State records all non-active State government records which are of permanent value.
I am trying to find information about a guesthouse named Thistledome at Wallacia to assist me in my family tree research
Hi Jillian
Yes, Penrith Library has information on Thiseldome (This-el-do-me). Search the Library catalogue, under Local Area Search. Also, we have photos of the guesthouse as well in Penrith in Pictures. See our links on the home page.
In Penrith the makings of a City there is also some info and a photo.
Come and visit us at the conference or fair on 14/15 March.
Best wishes
Lorraine Stacker
Information Librarian
Penrith City Library
Suggest you remove the Secretary’s name from the details of the Nepean Family History Society.
Thank you!
Vanessa
I am wondering if there is any information concerning a convent in penrith area around 1900 -1915 , apparently my grandfather and brothers were bought up by nuns in a convent in Penrith
Hi Deirdre,
Sorry for the delay in replying to your post – we have some major projects going on here at the moment. We have almost reached the end of the festivities celebrating Penrith’s Bicentenary, which has kept everyone on the hop.
We certainly had a convent in Penrith – the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart was established by Mary MacKillop in January 1880 and the convent was located on the corner of Evan and High Streets, Penrith. The sisters also set up a school. There was a new convent opened in 1906 on the site of the original building, which had to be expanded to cope with the number of students wishing to attend the school, and that convent was demolished in 1976.
References to the new convent building can be found in the Nepean Times (available in full via the National Library of Australia’s TROVE newspaper collection) on 30 June 1906 and a lengthy description of the new building and the opening ceremony is the 10 November 1906 edition. I’ll attach links below.
Our local files are a bit thin on the subject of the convent – it definitely had a school and we have a very short prospectus that seems to indicate that the pupils were girls. That’s not to say that there weren’t boys attending the school at other periods. As far as we know there was only this convent in Penrith.
30/6/1906 page 2 column 4: New R.C Convent
10/11/1906 page 7 The Cardinal’s Visit to Penrith
You may find more information if you search the Nepean Times. You can also find images of Penrith with view of the Convent if you search the TROVE images collections : Convent images
Let us know if we can help you with anything else!
Regards,
Vanessa Stockford
Research Coordinator
Penrith City Library
Good Morning.
I am trying to trace any mention of my 4x great grandfather. His name was Thomas Deane. He and his son, also Thomas worked as a tutor for a gentleman in Mulgoa for a period sometime between 1831 and 1844. Perhaps it was the Cox family. Any information would be greatly appreciated
Thank you,
Melanie Bennetts
Good Afternoon,
i have started tracing my my family history. My ancestors had something to do with the church at St Marys . I believe he is buried in the church grounds. His name is Peter Royal married Sarah Adams. Is worth my time going to the library at St Marys to explore further or would it be better to attend Penrith Library?
Regards
Peter Royal
Hi Peter,
There will be more information available at Penrith, in particular in the Research Room (open 2pm – 5pm every day).
The burial register lists Peter Royal, Tobacconist, born 29 June 1805 in England, died 6 June 1866 in his shop
and Sarah Royal (nee Adams) Born 1836, married Peter Royal in 1849, died 18 June 1907
We have indexes to the St Mary Magdalene South Creek Registers and a book about the people buried in the churchyard that may be of help to you – In the Little Churchyard on the Hill by Lyn Forde.
I can also suggest the St Marys and District Historical Society as a good place to visit for information about early inhabitants of St Marys. Info from their website http://www.stmaryshistoricalsociety.org/
Open to the Public on Wednesdays & Saturdays from 10.00am – 2.00pm (meeting days till 1.00pm)
The St Marys & District Historical Society meets on the 4th Saturday of each month (except December & January)
at “The Chambers” (The Old Council Chambers), Bldg 2, 29 Swanston Street ST MARYS.
(entrance via Collins or Swanston Street) – parking at rear
Business meeting 1.00pm – 2.30pm, then speaker or workshop.
Enquiries – please ring Carol Volkiene – President: 9623 4785 or Norma Thorburn – Treasurer: 9623 2307
Regards,
Vanessa Stockford
Research Coordinator
Penrith City Library
Good afternoon,
I am researching my family history. My 4 x great grandfather is John Lees who built the first Methodist chapel in Australia at Castlereagh. His granddaughter, Jane Lees b.1807 (daughter of John Lees Jnr & Ann Bolton) married Thomas Lee on 14 Jan 1865. I want to know more about Thomas Lee but I can’t be sure whether the information I have found is correct. The marriage certificate provides minimal information and many of the Jane’s children list them as illegitimate. Jane marries again in 1881 and this certificate states she is a widow. I have not been able to find a death certificate for Thomas where I can be certain that it is definitely him.
Do you have any information regarding Thomas Lee?
Kind regards,
Tracey Lee
Hi Tracey, Research Services will look into what information we have and will get back to you. regards, Lorraine Stacker, Information Librarian
Hi, My Great Grandfather, Joseph Weaber has listed his address as River View Farm, Wallacia via Mulgoa on his naturalisation papers in July 1917. Would you have any information regarding this property, or Joseph himself?
Hi Peta
A search of the Nepean Times on trove reveals River View Farm was located near Blaxland’s bridge at Wallacia. It was originally the home of Robert Wallace. The Library’s old council records for 1938 also indicates a farm of 23 acres, located on Mulgoa Road at Wallacia was known as Riverview. On that property were 3 cottages, a hall and shop. This indicates that it was probably a holiday rental property.
For more information please contact Research Services staff at researchservices@penrith.city.
Many thanks for the information forwarded. I am wondering if there are any council records of the property River View Farm in 1917, would Joseph Weaber have owned that property in 1917? I am thinking to list your residence on naturalisation papers would require a more permanent address than a holiday rental, Joseph Weaber died in 1921 so would not have had any involvement in 1938. thanks for replying, regards, Peta
Hi Peta
I would assume that Weaber was either working on the property or was living there, renting one of the rooms. There is no indication that he had owned the property. I have checked our email address (researchservices@penrith.city), it should be working again soon.
Regards
Lorraine Stacker
thanks for your prompt service
Hello
I am trying to trace my husbands 3 x G Grandfather who is listed in the 1872 Greyville’s Post Office – Bringelly as a gardener at Maryland Bringelly, would you know if Maryland was an actual place or would it be Maryland House? I am planning a trip to the Penrith library on Friday and would love to know if you have any information, his name was Robert Young and his wife was Frances (Fanny) nee Streater. Frances is buried in Cobbity at the St Pauls Anglican and Robert is buried at Woronora in Sutherland
Regards
Alison Barnes