In this article, AAGRA’s Vice President, Rachel Croucher uses a blend of archival research and oral history to explore the impact of the British Empire on the Punjabi Sikh branch of her family tree. Her great-grandfather, Natha Singh, was a Sikh Hawker from Punjab who arrived in Australia in 1902. Natha’s eldest daughter from his brief marriage to Australian-born Emily Edith Bellingham, Florence Melba, was Rachel’s paternal grandmother. Rachel’s article takes a raw look at how colonial racial thinking influenced the way her ancestors were treated by society and the judiciary during the White Australia Policy era. She also discusses how the partition of India as well as cultural and language barriers have affected her research journey. Rachel then concludes by sharing some exciting developments in relation to Punjabi family history research during British rule and beyond.

Rachel’s article is published in the September edition of the “Descent” Magazine, which can be viewed at many Family History Societies, you may wish to check at the closest one near you.