Notes from the TARDIS

Notes from the TARDIS


Genealogy is a kind of time travel. These are my research reflections, discoveries, and wandering thoughts as I travel through the lives and stories of people from the past—sometimes with tea, sometimes with tears, and always with curiosity.

  • Why Use Ask Grandma Kylie?
    Why Use Ask Grandma Kylie? If you’ve been researching your family history for any length of time, you’ve probably noticed something curious — and sometimes frustrating. You search for the same person on different genealogy websites……and you get different results. That’s not your imagination. And it’s not because you’re doing it wrongly. Why I Use…
  • Introducing The Family Threads Project
    There’s a moment in every family history search — especially in the search for birth parents — when the past feels close enough to touch. A quiet shift where old records, DNA matches, and a whole lot of heart finally begin to weave together. For many people, especially those on low incomes, that moment feels…
  • How Ask Grandma Kylie Uses Open Data
    One of the unique features of the Ask Grandma Kylie chatbot is that it uses open data from data.sa.gov.au. So what is open data? Open data is information made freely available by governments and organisations for anyone to use, reuse, and share. In South Australia, data.sa.gov.au is the central website where this information is published.…
  • A Complicated Legacy: Researching Blanka Buring
    When I began researching my cousin Blanka Buring, I hoped to shine a light on her work in social welfare and child protection. She was active in New South Wales during the mid-20th century — a time when social work was evolving and women like Blanka were stepping into roles that shaped policy and care.…
  • Two Projects Close to My Heart
    Over the years, I’ve drawn on the work of incredible researchers and record-keepers who made it their mission to preserve the ships and passenger lists of those who came to South Australia. Diane Cummings, who compiled the extraordinary Bound For South Australia website, preserving countless shipping records with care and precision. Sue and Gery Swiggum,…