IT may not be widely acknowledged in Australia, but in the UK it is quite a big deal: this year is the 200th anniversary of the death of Matthew Flinders and Governor Phillip. And the Southern Highlands Chapter of the Fellowship of the First Fleeters will be doing their best to let people know about it.
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Secretary of the Southern Highlands chapter, Wendy Selman, says it is a pity that we don't know more about the first European settlement.
"People should be aware of our early history. The people who came out on the First Fleet pioneered much of what we have today," Mrs Selman said.
To enhance that knowledge, in April the president of the Matthew Flinders Society, Vic Grant, will address the chapter, and in June the author of Admiral Arthur Phillip: The Man, Lyn Ferguson, will be the guest speaker.
While to be a full member you need to prove your relationship to a First Fleeter - convict, marine, seaman or Government Official - anyone can join as associated member and public always welcome to meetings.
"Our meetings are not formal - just a morning tea to get to know people and then a guest speaker who is usually a historian or an author," said Mrs Selman.
Other events planned for this year include a tour of Joadja and an introduction of the Local Studies Centre at Bowral Library.
The Fellowship of First Fleeters is an organisation comprised of descendants of those who arrived in Sydney Cove with the First Fleet on January 26, 1788. It was formed in 1968 and since then over 8000 descendants have established their lineage and joined the Fellowship. Links have so far been established in 136 families to 191 individual First Fleet Ancestors and there are currently over 1770 active members.
The Southern Highlands Chapter of the Fellowship is celebrating its 10 year anniversary this year.
It was started by Valerie Collyer, assisted by Leonie Knapman and Linda Emery, with Patricia Robinson as President for the first seven years. Pamela Cormick is the current President.
The Chapter has grown steadily and now has around 60 members.
Neville Usher has been involved in the Chapter's committee for several years after working in the Fellowship's head office while he lived in Sydney.
"It wasn't until the 1960s that my family discovered their First Fleet connection through my father's mother. And it has been a roller-coaster ride since then.
"For example, I had known a couple in Goulburn for about 10 years through work, and one day the wife mentioned her ancestors - John Small and Mary Parker - and we discovered we came from the same blood line.
"I have also received a call from someone seeking to join the society and as I was going through the background, they were also descendants from John Small and Mary Parker," Mr Usher said.
He said that while it may sound daunting having to produce paperwork to prove your links to a First Fleeter (you may need to go back over six generations) it is possible that you may only need to go back a couple of generations to link to a person already identified as a descendant.
"Being a member of Fellowship has opened up a whole family history for me, and I have met several people who share the sane bloodline. And the program of events and speakers is superb," Mr Usher said.
Both Mr Usher and Mrs Selman said that anyone interested in Australia's history, especially those researching their family history, are most welcome at the Chapter's meetings.
"You never know - you may be sitting next to a distant cousin at one of our meetings," Mrs Selman said.
The next meeting of the Southern Highlands Chapter is Wednesday February 12 at the Mittagong Community Centre at 10.30am, where Rod Davis will speak about the exploration of the Sydney plain under Governor Phillip. Everyone is welcome; $5 entry includes morning tea. For more information contact Neville Usher 4869 1406.
