Genealogy Chat

Louisa, yes I live in Merton Surrey. Though it's not strictly Surrey. The London Borough of Merton covers parts of S.W. London and parts of Surrey. This is Nelson's Merton - a straight ride to Portsmouth. Wyndham - that is weird! M.Steer

Hi Margaret, just logged on and saw your message lol Fancy you living in Merton, do you mean Merton Surrey (sorry if that sounds dumb I live in Australia so don't know if there is more then one). Even weirder is you mentioning Wyndham, that is the middle name of one of the Merton relatives sons. Louisa : )

What a small world! Louisa, I live in Merton. Stephanie, my Father worked in the Wyndham and the Ocean. M. Steer

Thats right - I deal with the Miner;s claims at a Solicitors - my job is dealing with the Probate and Wills which is how i came to start my family tree

Stephanie, Interesting that Ogmore (Aus) was once a thriving mining town. So was Ogmore, S.Wales. M. Steer

I Sooooooo didnt read your post properly just found this tho OGMORE is a small community situated off the Bruce Highway about 20 klm north of Marlborough and 1Hr from Rockhampton. The town was once a thriving mining center-and recently proposed gem/stone mines

Louisa, thanks for the web addresses - will check them out later. Would be nice to hear from someone who knows the area (Australia that is) - perhaps I should allow for the time difference. Fingers crossed! M. Steer

Hi, i live in South Wales, UK and Ogmore is definately one of ours Stephanie

Not a problem margaret, found these for you they may be able to tell you http://www(.)lgp(.)qld(.)gov(.)au/applications/lgDirectory/CouncilInfo/Default(.)aspx?OrgCode=LIVI www(.)livingstone(.)qld(.)gov(.)au regards Louisa

Louisa, thanks for your reply. I realise that many 'British' place names have travelled the world. However, Ogmore is a tiny place (named after a river) I doubt if even half the population of Wales have heard of it. I'm just intrigued to know how a town in Australia got the same name. M. Steer

Hi Margaret, Since Australia started as a colony for Great Britain many towns are named after UK towns. in alot of cases there are towns with the same name in each state ie there is a Springwood in Queensland and one in New South Wales. In my research in Australia I have noticed that the Scotish, Welsh etc have tended to form their own little communities. I do know that the town is a coal mining town and thats about it. If you want to find out more google again with qld added. Then find out what council the town is under (group of towns) and if you contact that council via e-mail they should be able to refer you to the History Society in that area for more info. More often then not the town actually started as a large property known as a 'selection' of land. The owner selected an area of land after being granted X amount of land from the Crown. In our family one selection was named Merton after Lord Nelsons castle in England. Over the years property may have ended up owned by the state and the property may be divided into sub-townships. Hence several towns managed under one council. Hope this helps, Louisa

I know this isn't strictly the right place for this message - sorry but here goes anyway. My Grandparents, and Father lived in Ogmore Vale, (S. Wales) I still have family living there. A cousin still lives in my Grandparents house. Whilst googling today I discovered that there is an Ogmore in Queensland, Australia. Does anyone know of it, does it have a Welsh connection? M. Steer