My name is Neil Ritchie and this site traces my family tree. 

So far I've gone back all the way to the early settlers on my mother's side and it appears I have a convict ancestor in Thomas Bates who was transported to Australia in 1795.

Some of the information on this site has been lifted from other family trees on Tribal pages. I have tried to give credit to the source as much as possible. This is particularly true of information on the convict Thomas Bates.  If I have not mentioned your name and you come across information that you know to be from your site please contact me and I will ensure a credit is given.

Most of the rest of the tree goes back to people who I migrated from England and/or Ireland (based on the surnames).

My father's side is more challenging as his parents split while he was very young so he does not know a lot about the family history.  Also, his father immigrated to Australia from New Zealand with foster parents and adopted their surname on his arrival in Australia.

This is obviously a living document and I will continue to update with more information as i continue the research.