Founded in 1984, the group was originally housed in the library next to the Civic Centre.

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“About 1993 the Society decided to ‘go it alone’ and moved to premises in Rose Avenue,” the society’s President Fiona Hulbert told News Of The Area.

“The decision was made to move to our current location within the Community Village, when the Rose Avenue site was sold.”

Here the society has sufficient space to separate its computer lab from its library, giving members and visitors a quiet space to conduct their research.

“CHDFHS help members and visitors to build up their family tree and locate stories that might be relevant to a person in that tree,” Ms Hulbert said.

“Our monitors are available to assist members and visitors with their research.”

CHDFHS resources cover local, nationwide and international research.

“When visiting our rooms we advise people to bring in copies of documents that they might have to give us a starting point.”

Original documents should be safely stored at home.

“Sometimes the story that Grandma told has an element of truth to it but the facts might not be correct, [so] we try to steer people in the right direction.

“Our volunteer monitors all have their own area of expertise.”

Monthly workshops are held on the fourth Saturday from 1.30pm in the Community Village and cover a wide variety of topics aimed at locating elusive ancestors.

Family History Month is in August, and research fees are waived to encourage people to get started.

Ex-members and current society members of CHDFHS will join for an anniversary luncheon at the Coffs Harbour Surf Club on 24 August, from 11.30am.

For details, or to join the celebration, email the society at coffsgenie@gmail.com or call the rooms on 6648 3605.

By Andrea FERRARI