WHO ARE WE?

Born & Bred Historical Research was born out of a love of historical research and a passion for unlocking hidden mysteries. Born & Bred is made up of Lee Hooper and Phoebe Wilkens who have a combined fifteen years’ experience working in the history field. We are your resident family history researchers, super sleuths or ‘History Detectives’ and specialise in family history research and building family trees, but love to delve into all historical avenues.

The team services the Melbourne metropolitan area, Geelong, Bellarine and the Surf Coast, and regional Victoria, as well as taking Australia-wide and world-wide requests.

No job is too big or too small - from finding a missing branch to researching celebrities for SBS Australia's 'Who Do You Think You Are?' such as Shane Jacobson, Delta Goodram, Patti Newton, Bert Newton and Roger Corser. We conduct all of our research and record requests quickly and confidentially and will provide you with honest and professional advice on all of your research queries.

Who Are We?

Lee Hooper has a love of old creepy houses, unlocking mysteries found within Victorian public records and writing fiction and non-fiction that expresses her love for a good spun yarn and the articulate telling of true tales.

Lee has loads of historical research and archival access experience thanks to her time working at the Public Record Office Victoria and State Trustees Victoria. Combining her research skills and her passion for writing, Lee has contributed to articles published in the Herald Sun and has had a grisly true crime story published in Provenance, the Public Record Office Victoria’s annual journal. She was a tour guide through Unlocked Melbourne at Melbourne Central and the Coops Shot tour. Lee was the Co-creator, Co-host, researcher and writer for the Melbourne History Podcast - Dead & Buried Podcast.

Lee has a Diploma of Library and Information Services and is currently completing a Bachelor of Historical Inquiry and Practice through University of New England.

Phoebe Wilkens’ passion is genealogy, discovering a love for researching families, their origins and finding skeletons in the closet. Phoebe loves to solve historical mysteries, delving into the history of homes and properties and loves to write about historical events and delights in discovering treasures in the archives.

Phoebe has a wide and varied range of research experience, having worked alongside Lee at the Public Record Office Victoria for several years, as well as working at the Geelong Library and Heritage Centre and volunteering at the Royal Historical Society of Victoria.

Phoebe has an Advanced Diploma in Local, Family and Applied History and a Bachelor of Historical Inquiry and Practice. Phoebe is a member of the Professional Historians Association (Victoria & Tasmania), a registered and recognised Record Agent and Genealogist with the Australasian Association of Record Agents & Genealogists (AAGRA) and is a professional researcher for AncestryProGenealogist.

Whether you would like a starter family tree, a copy of a record held at the Public Record Office Victoria or if you would like your family’s story uniquely captured and presented for future posterity, Phoebe and Lee at Born & Bred Historical Research are here to help.

Contact us now to discuss and get started on your own historical journey!