My name is Pauline Cockrill, originally born in London in 1960 and have called Australia home since 1992.  Now based in Adelaide, South Australia, I’m a professional museum curator, historian and writer. 

Since a teenager, I’ve been fascinated by our name, its origins and our family history. A family bible belonging to my great-great grandfather George William Pursell which came into our possession in 1975 really got me started on the long, addictive genealogical journey. It began with hand-drawn family trees and ‘old school’ research at St Catherine’s House in Aldwych or local libraries and county archives. I wrote letters, talked to relatives and tramped streets and cemeteries taking photos of family related locations. Fast forward to the 1990s and I’m now living in Australia. The internet not only kept me in touch with home but was also a game changer for family history research.  The accessibility and speed of online searches meant the tree grew branches I could never have imagined.  Digitisation also meant the ability to share my own and discover new family photos.

So today our family tree – which is still essentially a work in progress – is now accessible via Ancestry.  You’ll find the link below.  This blog attempts to highlight some of my research and bring to life many of our ancestors as well as create a space for other family members to share memories and information. 

I look forward to getting this all out of my head and into the ether and to start some interesting conversations – enjoy!

Cockrill family tree