Rechners Researchers
 Mrs Judy Gale Rechner

Qualifications
    Dip. Ed., TTLC, ALAA, Grad. Dip. Loc. & App. Hist., M. Qual., MA(History), MPHA (Qld), M.ICOMOS

Biographical details
I am a historian who specialises in researching house history, land tenure, cultural heritage and local history. With my computer skills I have created databases for bibliographies,  one that replaces the keeping of cards when doing research, and designed and implemented a database for the chronology of Brisbane.

In 1998 I was awarded my MA (History) for a thesis which looked at changes in Brisbane house styles 1910 to 1940.

I am a member of the Professional Historians Association (Qld) with over 30 years experience as an historical researcher.

I started my professional life as a high school teacher of mathematics and history. After teaching for seven years I became a qualified librarian and worked in various Queensland school libraries as a teacher librarian.

During the early 1980s wanting a change in direction I started playing with computers and studied for a Diploma in Computing with DDIAE.

In the late 1980s I started re-training as a historian and gained a Post Graduate Diploma in Local and Applied History from the University of New England. Subsequently I worked for the government as a historical research officer. In the mid-1990s I decided to free lance as Rechners Researchers and obtain my MA by research.

My business has researched a variety of historical topics including the use of kerosene in homes during the interwar period, house histories, Queensland hotel legislation, local histories, land tenure, school histories, bibliography of southeast Queensland, writing and producing heritage tours, creating historical databases and compiling a chronology of Brisbane.

I have written several books including Brisbane house styles 1880 to 1940: A guide to the affordable house, Where have all the creeks gone? Camp Hill heritage dive tour and Grand old lady of lace the social history of Queen Alexandra Home, Old Cleveland Road, Coorparoo.

As a historical researcher I am involved with several historical and heritage groups. I was the Newsletter editor for the Brisbane History Group and responsible for their web pages for a few years. I was the Hon Librarian for the Royal Historical Society of Queensland, and managed their web pages RHSQ and the web pages of PHA(Q) and the Australian Mining History Association (AMHA).