Hello, I’m Maree and I have been researching my family history for over 45 years. My father’s two great aunts were avid family historians and keepers of all things past and they instilled in me a love for genealogy – especially mine. Dad’s family didn’t throw anything away – ever, and as a result I have a wonderful treasure trove of bits and bobs, keepsakes and stories.

My research began with the Clarke, Phillips and Gard families of Tea Tree and Brighton and has extended to include my other convicts who had arrived over a span of 65 years from the first fleet in 1788 to the last convict ship to arrive in Tasmania in 1853. Of course, they weren’t all convicts. No, there those were dirt poor immigrants looking for a better life. There was also a couple of foot soldiers and a couple of female immigrants who were part of the British government’s emigration scheme.

Since completing the Diploma of Family History at UTAS in 2017, I have continued to hone my skills and have written many biographical stories about many of my very interesting and sometimes elusive ancestors who make up my very gnarly family tree and me.

It is a joy and seems to be a never ending story with endless new discoveries.