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Congratulations Shauna Hicks (OAM)

We warmly congratulate member Shauna Hicks on her recent accolade: Shauna was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for her service to community history as part of the Kings Birthday Honours. As one of our founding members and one of our Inaugural Fellows, Shauna holds an honoured place in the establishment and development of the Society. 

 Shauna worked in government for over 35 years primarily in libraries and archives including the State Library of Queensland, the John Oxley Library in Brisbane, the Queensland State Archives, the National Archives of Australia in Canberra, and Public Record Office Victoria in Melbourne. 

Her qualifications include Bachelor of Arts in History and Anthropology from University of Queensland, Master of Arts in Australian Studies from Griffith University (QLD), Diploma in Family Historical Studies from the Society of Australian Genealogists.

In 2007, the Australian Society of Archivists award Shauna a Distinguished Achievement Award for career achievements and services to the archival profession and, in 2009, she received the (AFFHO) Services to Family History Award for her achievements in Queensland, Canberra and Victoria.

Shauna has been tracing her own family history since 1977 and is one of the 22 founding members of the Queensland Family History Society (of course, we hold them all in high regard for their foresight!). No doubt the allocation of member numbers may have been by a process of random draws out of a hat, but Shauna’s #7 member number (and its association with a well-known 007) was indeed prescient – it reflects well her energy and drive, and her innovation and commitment to the fields of family history and genealogy.

As recorded through the decades in the Society’s journal, Shauna has taken on many roles at QFHS:

• Management Committee Member (1980 to December 1986)
• Cemetery Coordinator and Liaison Officer (1980-1983)
• Education Officer (1983-1986)
• Vice President (1986)

The 1986-1987 Annual Report (published August 1987) states: We were most unfortunate to lose the services of Shauna Hicks from the Committee. Shauna has been with the Society Committee since its formation and she has served in the various roles of Cemetery Co-ordinator, Education Officer, Guest Speaker … and unofficial adviser to many members who appreciate her expertise in family history research.

Shauna received the QFHS Award for Services to Family History in 1999. Five years later, she was made an Inaugural Fellow of the Queensland Family History Society for her long and sustained positive promotion of the Society in all facets of family history and genealogy, and for her continuous contribution to the running of the Society.

Shauna was an early indexer of records – in 1984 she commenced indexing the records of Charters Towers Miners Homestead Leases for 1874 to 1912 and, as early as 1982, Shauna was speaking to regional societies on research – in June 1982 she spoke to the South Burnett Genealogical Society at Kingaroy.

Whilst working at Public Record Office Victoria, Shauna played a key role in the digitisation of key records making them far more readily available to researchers whilst at the same time preserving the paper originals.  Following retirement from her professional career as an archivist, Shauna was an integral part of the Unlock the Past team assisting researchers learn through her guidebooks (author of some 15 titles in the UTP series), presentations on cruises, and seminars in various parts of Australia.

To round off a comprehensive biography, Shauna is a member of

• Professional Historians Association (QLD)
• Association of Professional Genealogists
• Genealogical Association of Victoria
• Genealogical Society of Queensland
• Genealogy SA and, of course,
• Queensland Family History Society.

Shauna is also Patron of History Queensland, the peak body uniting and supporting family and local history organisations and collections throughout Queensland.

Congratulations, Shauna Hicks - a bright and shining star in the Australian family history firmament!

We Remember Them: wartime stories in our family trees

Captain Francis Ryan Smith posing in front of an aircraft, France
Image: State Library of Queensland (postcard 1918)

The We Remember Them project will gather stories from our members focusing on the wartime stories in their family trees.  A virtual Honour Board will be created on this website to display an image of the individual and a few vital statistics. Each image will be linked to the story of that person’s wartime experiences. Read More