Unlock your family history at Bribie Island U3A

What started as a journey to find his biological father has led David Barnes to help others learn more about researching their own family tree.

For the past five years, David has been a regular tutor at Bribie Island’s University of the Third Age (U3A), helping others to put the missing puzzle pieces of their past together through his genealogy classes.

“I teach a beginners course on family history, and then I complement that with a beginners course about DNA testing,” David says.

“So many people are interested in finding out more about who they are and where they come from, but don’t always know where to start.

“Everybody starts at square one, and it’s like a game of snakes and ladders – sometimes you go up the ladder only to come back down straight away.

“When looking into your family history, there are lots of ups and downs, and hitting brick walls, but you can go around, over, and under those walls if you know how to.”

David says he was inspired to teach because he wanted to pass on the knowledge he learnt while looking for his father.

“I have always been fascinated with my family history because my father’s name is not on my birth certificate,” David says.

“I actually have two birth certificates – I have my original, which has my mother’s name and her signature, but nothing for my father.

“I was also legally adopted by my maternal grandparents because my mother was young when she had me – so legally she is my sister as well as my mother, which I always knew, but didn’t ask about because I didn’t want to rock the boat.

“But in saying that, mum and dad will always be mum and dad to me – they were the ones who raised me.

“I always tell this story to my students because I hope it will help alleviate any stress or worries they have, especially if they were born out of wedlock or adopted.”

While he didn’t find his father, David did find out more about his ancestors who came out to Australia from the United Kingdom during the gold rush, with more following years later as immigrants.

David says documents like birth, death, and marriage certificates will help you get started on your journey.

“There are so many great websites out there to help you like Ancestry.com, MyHeritage, and Findmypast, which I will show you how to use,” David says.

“Ancestry.com has the biggest data base for DNA samples with about 25 million people tested.

“There are many other websites for DNA testing, and I call them ponds because it’s like fishing in a pond – you don’t know where your fish is, because depending on where people live in the world, they could use different testing sites.”

It’s never too late to learn

If you're looking to learn a new skill or hobby, be sure to check out the wide range of courses available at Bribie Island U3A.

Many of the courses are based around art, culture, computers and information technology, craft, drama, dance, environment and science, games, history, languages, lifestyle and fitness, literature, music, and photography. 

For more information about David’s class, as well as the many other classes available at U3A, visit the website or phone 3408 1450.