Wangaratta Family History Society has wound down its operations in the rural city after 40 years.

The group was forced to fold due to low membership and volunteer numbers, which meant it could not afford to continue beyond its 2025 end-of-year break.

Membership had fallen to about 16 in recent months, and membership fees did not meet the cost of the group's insurance and utility bills.

Remaining members of the society marked the end of the group with a lunch last Thursday at the Wangaratta Library, inviting library staff and council representatives to join them.

The society has been based at the Docker Street library since 2021, after it was required to move from the upper floor of 100-104 Murphy Street (the former visitor information centre) due to safety concerns with that building.

"Our working relationship with the library staff has been fantastic, and we've really appreciated it," society president Rosslyn Makin said.

Beyond its closure, the group's resources will be available on the websites of the Wodonga and Yarrawonga family history groups, ensuring decades of hard work by Wangaratta members will live on for future genealogists.

The society has also donated books to the library, which are currently being processed, while other assets will be distributed within the local community.

Amid this distribution, Ms Makin said she would love to see a place created in the rural city where the contribution of discontinued community groups could be recognised - particularly as volunteers became more difficult to find and more groups were forced to disband.

"Whether it's Rotary, Probus or basketball clubs which are no longer around, it would be wonderful to acknowledge the efforts of the people who have been part of them," she said.

"It's sad not being able to acknowledge the people who were instrumental in starting the group and keeping it going for 40 years, gathering all that research - it's hard to comprehend all that went into it over that time.

"It's amazing when you look at all that we have to pass on to these other groups.

Longtime member Val McPherson said she had enjoyed her time with the family history society, and would miss regularly travelling from Myrtleford to share her skills with the Wangaratta group - including helping with queries from people who believed they were related to Ned Kelly.

Wangaratta Library coordinator Loueen Twyford said the knowledge and skills which existed in the society would be missed at the library, which regularly fielded queries from researchers.

She said while genealogical websites often made family history research seem easy, nothing compared to local knowledge such as that the society had been able to offer.

"That knowledge of the region, and the collective knowledge that has existed through the group is so important," she said.

"We will try and help people in future to the best of our knowledge, but we won't be able to go in-depth as the society has."