Joining up some of the dots on family history will be showcased this afternoon at the monthly meeting of the Tauranga Historical Society.

Whakamarama farmers Norman and Maureen Bruning will be talking about their grandparents, the Johansen and Reid families, and their time in Tauranga.

Maureen and Norman have published a Bruning family history book which helps to solve the puzzle of how the New Zealand Brunings are related to each other. The 444 pages cover the first of the Bruning ancestros who arrived in Nelson in 1844 from Germany, reflecting the daily life around them, and includes a chapter on each of their ten children. It also includes sections on their descendents including those who served in both World Wars.

Learning how other people tracked down their relations and early ancestors who came to New Zealand is a helpful way to pick up ideas for unravelling our own family histories, and Norman and Maureen will have a few tips to share today at the public meeting.

The Tauranga Historical Society works to preserve and promote the historical and cultural heritage of the Bay of Plenty for the people of the region and beyond. Monthly meetings are held on a Sunday afternoon. The key objectives of the organisation are to foster and maintain an appreciation of places and objects of historic interest particularly in the Bay of Plenty; to encourage the study and research of local history; and to manage, preserve and display the Brain Watkins House as a house museum open to the public

Open to all, the meeting today starts at 2pm at the Brain Watkins House hall which is located behind the Brain Watkins House on the corner of Cameron Rd and Elizabeth St. A $2 door charge includes afternoon tea.