The Croker Prize for Biography is a great way to hone your writing skills and share your family history stories

The 2020 Croker Prize for Biography is now open with the theme: My Most Elusive Ancestor. Entries close 31 May 2020.

ENTRY FORM

The Croker Prize for Biography is a wonderful opportunity for you to hone your writing skills, share your family history stories and demonstrate your research. It also enables the Society to showcase your work to assist other members with their research and writing.

Entrants are to write a 800-1000 word biography on an individual, based on original research, which must be related to the selected annual theme. 

Entries are judged according to the following criteria:

·       Entries must relate to the identified theme.

·       Entries should be well written, informative and entertaining.

·       Entries must be logically organised with an introduction and conclusion, using good grammar and spelling.

·       Entries should demonstrate good genealogical research skills.

Full terms and conditions are available here: CONDITIONS

ABOUT

The annual Croker Prize for Biography was established in 2014 in memory of Colin and Loas Croker, who thoroughly enjoyed visiting the Society to research their family trees. Through this annual prize, we acknowledge the very generous benefaction they left to us after their deaths.

A different theme for the competition is set each year, which is announced in the March journal and on the website. Members can submit one entry each on that theme, with the winner chosen by a committee of former recipients and Society representatives. A cash prize of $1000 is awarded to the winner and their entry is published in the September issue of Descent.

All entries remain on the website for the current and previous year and are then transferred to the Society's digital archive system, where they will be found through the MIDAS catalogue.

Use the link below to download and read entries for the previous two years.

2019

2018

Previous Themes and Winners

2019 – ‘A Woman of Influence’ – Winner Wendy Pryor - ‘The Indomitable Miss Jane Skillicorn’

2018 - 'A life-changing experience' - Winner Patricia Smith - 'A double-edged sword'

2017 - 'A Tough Life' - Winner Kim Hatherly - A Boy from Shoreditch'

2016 - 'The Ancestor I most admire is ... ' - Winner Christine Collins - Dan's Legacy

2015 - 'My immigrant's story' - Winner Bob Wright - Granny Greenhalgh (2015 Board Prize & 2015 Members' Choice Prize)

2014 - 'The blackest sheep in my family's flock was ...'

Winner Members's Choice Category - Bob Wright - Old Brine: Terror of the Richmond River (Brian O'Neil)

Winner Board Category - Elizabeth Adams - Sailing Uncharted Waters - the wreck of Master Mariner William Whitfield.

Image: Narrabeen Newport bus 1919, SAG Manuscript and Image Collection, Item 6/1338