Family history, thoughtfully brought to life
Places That Remember helps you trace the people, places and journeys that shaped your family—then preserve what you discover and reconnect with the places where your ancestors’ stories began.
The story beneath the surface
An invitation to remember
A name in an old record. A face in an unlabelled photograph. A town, road or railway station that brings long-held memories to the surface. Together, these fragments can reveal where your family began, how they moved through the world and what they carried with them.
Look beyond names and dates to understand lives, relationships and turning points.
Connect family stories to the streets, landscapes and communities that held them.
Shape what you find into something clear, personal and lasting for generations to come.
Ways to begin
Whether you would like Deslie to research your story, want to learn how to explore it yourself, or hope to stand in the places your ancestors once knew, there is a thoughtful place to start.
Discover the people and places behind your family name.
From birthplaces and family connections to journeys across towns, countries and continents, Deslie follows the available records to shape a clear, human story.
Discover family researchLearn how to uncover your own family history.
Warm, approachable workshops for curious beginners and developing researchers—covering where to start, how to read the clues and how to preserve what you find.
Register your interestTravel somewhere that already belongs to your story.
Thoughtfully curated itineraries connect ancestral villages, family landscapes, local archives and cultural traditions into a journey that is entirely your own.
Imagine your journeyFamily history research is shaped by the records that have survived. While discoveries cannot be guaranteed, every search is undertaken with care, transparency and respect.
A gentle, considered process
You do not need a complete family tree to begin. Curiosity is enough.
Names, memories, photographs and unanswered questions are all useful places to start.
Records, locations and movements are traced carefully, one meaningful connection at a time.
The wider story comes into view as people and dates are connected to real landscapes.
Preserve the story for your family—or follow it into a deeply personal journey.
More than a destination
An ancestry-led journey offers more than sightseeing. It is a chance to stand within your family’s landscape, encounter its traditions and see familiar stories from an entirely new perspective.
Each itinerary is bespoke, balancing careful historical research with memorable local experiences, beautiful places to stay and time to simply take it all in.
Plan a heritage journeyEvery itinerary is individually researched and planned around your family story.
Learn with Deslie
Welcoming, practical workshops demystify archives, records and research. Come with a question; leave with a clear way forward.
Enquire about upcoming formats and availability.
From Deslie’s desk
Part practical handbook, part invitation to look more closely, Deslie’s book is taking shape as an accessible path into family history research.
Join the book listMeet the founder
A familiar place can open the door to a lifetime of stories.
Deslie saw the power of place during a trip with her dad along the Pacific Highway. At Morisset Station, familiar sights brought back memories tucked away for decades—of waiting for river ferries, camping by the roadside and family life in another time. She realised that roads, stations and bridges are more than landmarks; they can hold the stories of the people who passed through them.
Sorting through her mum’s old photographs, Deslie found a beautiful portrait with no names on the back. Her research identified the couple as her third great-grandparents, George and Jane Green, who sailed from England to Australia in 1841. Discovering who they were sparked her passion for preserving family stories and making sure the lives behind old photographs are not lost.
Places That Remember grew from that passion. Through thoughtful research, practical workshops and bespoke heritage journeys, Deslie helps families move beyond names and dates to the landscapes, choices and memories that shaped them.
What you can expect
Before we begin
Every family story is different. These are some of the things people often wonder at the start.
Very little can be enough. A full name, an approximate date, a remembered place, an old photograph or a family story can all provide a useful first clue.
Yes. Existing notes and records can be reviewed, organised and developed into a clearer narrative, with new lines of enquiry identified along the way.
Absolutely. The workshops are designed to make family history research feel welcoming and manageable, with practical guidance you can use straight away.
Each journey begins with your family story. Research informs the meaningful locations, while your interests, pace and travel preferences shape the final itinerary.
Not always—the story depends on the records that have survived. Every search is approached with care and transparency, and gaps are explained honestly.
Begin somewhere
Perhaps you have a name and nowhere else to begin. Perhaps years of notes are waiting to become a story. Or perhaps you are ready to visit the places your family once called home.
Tell Deslie a little about what you know—and what you hope to find.