The FAHS is developing a new look website to
promote the significant work historical societies make to historical
research, collections and exhibition across Australia.
The contributions you make to the community through talks, outings, and
school's programs are often overlooked and we are keen to promote these
aspects on the website.
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We are continuing to look for
photographs showing the ways that you do history - through
research, events, managing collections, and exhibition - and to
illustrate how you engage with the local community and visitors from
further afield.
We are seeking:
Three or four feature 'hero images' to use in the website
banner and twenty to thirty images for content pages. Images
including people will best represent your contribution to the community.
As a starting point, the areas we're focusing on are below:
* Collections activity - groups & individuals working with the collection; conservation; textiles; volunteer training etc
* Research/publication - e.g oral histories recorded in the field; researcher at work with the community or in-house; publication launch event
* Exhibition - e.g public/curator engagement with the exhibition; special programs; installation processes etc
* Governance - groups/dynamic meetings; engaged and inspired people
* Events - public programs; talks; cultural activities etc
There are a few technology requirements to show the best images. If you
have some compelling images of people engaging with your society and are
unsure about the format - send them in and we can evaluate the
technical side of things. Not every image will be suited to the
content, so we can't promise that every society's image will be
published.
Pixel dimensions:
Banner images - 2000 pixels horizontal
Rectangular or square images at least 800 horizontal
Format: TIF, PNG or Jpeg. With your permission we will crop or scale images if required by the web design.
Please send your image files to: Bernadette Flynn, FAHS
National History and Community Heritage Officer and Curator.
email fahsbflynn@gmail.com
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The FAHS Newsletter - Caring for Heritage, Call for Papers
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Call for Papers for the Jan 2019 issue of the Federation of Australian Historical Societies’ Newsletter
Theme: Caring for Heritage
Submission Date: Friday 16th November 2018
The next issue of the FAHS newsletter, issue #46 is to be published in early 2019. Papers are invited on the topic of Historical Societies and Local Heritage.
Inspired by the article Historical Societies and Local Heritage; A Call to Action written by Chips Sowerwine, Chair, Heritage Committee of RHSV (RHSV History News July 2018) this newsletter investigates how historical societies manage and care for local heritage.
Historical Societies have a special role to play in the preservation and
protection of local heritage. Active members are often at the forefront
of highlighting heritage significance and advocating for the
conservation of buildings, streetscapes and sites precious to the local
community.
Ensuring local heritage protection is in place is one way that
Historical Societies can make a significant contribution. Another is
engaging in telling the stories and interpreting the histories of local
and state significant buildings and sites - placing heritage aspects
within an historical context. In addition, many Historical Societies
have developed invaluable repositories of local heritage documentation
including photographs, maps and other records.
The FAHS is seeking papers on how historical societies advocate for the
protection of local heritage and the forms of interpretation and
promotion that are undertaken by societies in the recognition and
expression of heritage value. Papers may include the following:
- Examples of advocacy for heritage conservation
- Collaboration and partnerships with owners and custodians
- How Societies work with councils, and other interested parties to protect heritage in their area.
- Theme
based collections that respond to and provide contextual information
about the heritage buildings within which they are housed.
- Adaptive reuse of existing heritage buildings
Articles are invited of up to 800 word with illustrations. The FAHS
newsletter is distributed via our contact list, on the FAHS website and
on ISSUU. The last newsletter No. 45 on the theme of Diversity can be
viewed here.
Articles that relate more generally to matters of local history and community heritage are also welcome.
For further information and submission details please contact the editor Dr Bernadette Flynn at fahsbflynn@gmail.com
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Conserving Pre-settlement History Locally
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In southern NSW, a project involving about 40 museums across the
Riverina is aiming to connect collections experts to local museums to
help their committees and volunteers understand what’s in their
collections and how to display them.
It’s part of an international project called The Relational Museum and Its Objects: Engaging Indigenous Australia With Their Distributed Collections.
The idea is to link indigenous people with their material culture and to
link small, local and often volunteer-run community museums with local
indigenous people so their museums also tell the pre-settlement
story.
And next month at the Forbes Show, the Henty Field Days and the Barellan
Good Old Days, stalls run by locals will encourage people to bring
indigenous objects and artefacts that they have at home to open days
during October at Forbes, Narrandera and Wagga Wagga.
......If you do have indigenous artefacts at home that you’d like to
know more about, take them along to the history open days at Forbes
Dreaming Centre on October 14, Narrandera’s Community Centre on October
20, and Wagga’s Museum of the Riverina on October 21.
Extract from Miranda: Pre-settlement Australian history must be preserved locally, The Weekly Times, 29 August 2018, Genevieve Barlow
https://camd.org.au/conserving-pre-settlement-history-locally/
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Evidence of Einstein's theory at Broome's Bowling Club
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Historian Robyn Wells was delighted to
realise her local bowling club had played a fundamental part in such a
significant historical moment.
Einstein's general theory of relativity is one of humankind's greatest
achievements, and the theory passed its first test in what is now part
of Broome's lawn bowls club in far north-west Australia. Read More
Image: the buildings of the Broome Coastal Radio Station (now the
Broome Bowling Club) were used for developing the photographs that
proved general relativity was correct. Supplied: National Archives
of Australia.
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Featured Historical Society - Fremantle History Society
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The Fremantle History Society was
established in 1994 to encourage the study, recording and public
awareness of Fremantle history and cultural heritage in all its
diversity.
The Society promotes the identification and preservation of historical
evidence relating to Fremantle, and disseminates this information
in a variety of ways.
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The Fremantle History Society grew out of a
community of heritage enthusiasts that had developed around
the Fremantle Society (which was established in 1972). From
the start, the Society adopted a broad-based history and heritage
orientated approach rather than a local historical societies model.
There was a determination not to manage a collection, host exhibitions
or run a museum, rather to focus on research and liaison with other
history and heritage groups in the area.
The FHS is dedicated to the belief that a greater knowledge of
Fremantle’s history enriches individual understanding and helps foster a
sense of community identity and awareness. The Society’s
objectives are principally to disseminate information about Fremantle
history in a variety of forms - public lectures, meetings, newsletters
and other publications, walking tours, study days, etc. The
FHS has also worked closely with the Fremantle Society towards
establishing heritage protection in Fremantle, during different stages
of threats to buildings and streetscapes and have worked together on
Heritage events.
Social activity is a strong component of the Society
with membership around 130. About 45 of these members are active on
the committee and in other roles. General meetings are held each
month - often in the form of lectures or tours at a venue related to the
topic. This gives members an opportunity to visit some of the
historic places in Fremantle and learn more about their history.
Pam Harris, secretary of the FHS outlines how the Society encourages the
collection of Fremantle’s History by working closely with the
Fremantle History Centre at the Fremantle City Library. She acknowledges
that since the demise of the Fremantle social history museum
there is a need for a history museum in Fremantle. Currently there
is no dedicated history collections on display other than those
associated with maritime (WA Maritime Museum) and military heritage
(Army Museum of WA). Conversations are in progress around a community
history space within the New Museum for WA (scheduled to reopen in
2020).
In 2012, the Society inherited the archive of the Fremantle based
Deckchair Theatre (an outstanding contemporary Australian theatre group
operating for 30 years). The collection covers a range of formats e.g.
video tapes, scripts and publicity materials. The Society took on the
challenge of organising and the archive obtaining, a community heritage
grant to undertake a significance assessment. The intention once the
resources are fully archived is to pass them on to the State Library.
Image: L; Contributors and editors celebrating the launch of Fremantle Studies:
Michelle McKeough, Steve Errington and Bob Reece (back row); Anne Brake
& Pam Harris (middle row); Dr Lenore Layman
and Alan Pearson (front), Photo: Jon Strachan; R; Front
Cover Fremantle Studies, Vol 9.
The Society is particularly proud of its publishing achievements and outreach. The Fremantle Studies established
in 1999 is a biennial scholarly non-refereed journal, which receives
papers from academic historians as well as writers from the GLAM sector
and members of the community. The journal has been indexed and is available online.
A newsletter published quarterly is distributed to members and
available on the Society website. The newsletter includes articles
about Fremantle history and heritage and reflects an engagement with
other organisations and their affiliation with the Royal Western Australian Historical Society.
In 2005 the Society hosted the annual State Conference of
Affiliated Societies and in 2013 they were recognised with
the Fremantle’s Spirit of Heritage Award for the publication of 70
newsletters to that date.
A Facebook page
and blog (website) are used to spread information about the Society’s
activities from which they regularly receive enquiries about local
history.
The Society also runs an annual Studies Day where research papers are presented and later published in the Fremantle Studies
journal. The 2018 event to be held on October 28th marks the
anniversary of the end of fighting in the First World War and will focus
on the implications of the First World War for the town of Fremantle.
As one of the challenges is getting younger people involved, the Society
offers a Research Scholarship to inspire new researchers to
contribute to knowledge of the history and heritage of Fremantle. The
Biennial Fremantle History Research Scholarship is valued at $2,000 and
has successfully encouraged new, high quality research from local
historians, community members and undergraduate and post-graduate
students.
Another challenge mentioned by Pam is for people to undertake the varied
tasks of the Fremantle History Society. There is a push at the AGM to
co-opt people onto the committee and create sub-committees for the
varied tasks. Society activity is mainly supported through
membership with an occasional grant to help with publishing activities
and local business sponsorship for the research scholarship.
Website: https://fhs.org.au/
Email: secretary.fhs@gmail.com
Phone (03) 6244 4527
Sources: The Fremantle History
Society Website, interview with Secretary of the Fremantle
History Society, Pam Harris and report from Bob Reece, The Fremantle History Society, 1994-2014, Published in Fremantle Studies, 9: 79-87.
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Riot Day at the Parramatta Female Factory
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Riot Day at the Factory
Commemorate the life and times of the Parramatta Female Factory Women.
Celebrate the day the women broke free and fought for their rights 191
years ago.
When: Friday 26th october
Where: Cumberland Hospital, 5 Fleet Street, North Parramatta.
Entry: Gold Coin
Booking for tours (11am-1pm):
https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/its-a-riot-2018-tickets-49466580875
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Restoring Cook’s Legacy 2020 Project
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The Australia on the Map (AOTM) Division of the history and heritage
Division of the Australasian Hydrographic Society has a special focus on
the early maritime contact history of Australasia, including the many
fascinating aspects which are not that well known.
In April/May 2020 Australia will commemorate the 250th anniversary of Lt
James Cook’s arrival in Endeavour off the east coast of Australia.
Restoring Cook’s Legacy 2020 is a
project of Australia on the Map (AOTM), the history and heritage
Division of the Australasian Hydrographic Society. The Society aims to
restore Cook’s legacy by correcting the historical record regarding the
correct locations of the 28 land features Lt James Cook named on the
coasts of Victoria and New South Wales in 1770. Recent published
research by AOTM members shows that six of the land features are in the
wrong place on today’s maps, one is absent, and three are in the correct
places but believed by some to be elsewhere. Now for the first time in
nearly 250 years there is an accurate historical record of what Cook saw
and named on the coasts of Victoria and New South Wales.
Further information: https://www.australiaonthemap.org.au/
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Australia ICOMOS Heritage Symposia, Hobart
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Australia ICOMOS is holding two back-to-back Symposia in Hobart over 10-12 November 2018.
The Cultural Landscape Diversity & the Implications for Management Symposium (10-11 November) and the Under the Microscope – Exploring Science Heritage Symposium
(11-12 November) are timely fora to review and discuss the
identification and management of these two aspects of cultural heritage.
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The symposia are open to all people with an
interest in cultural landscapes and/or science heritage. Each symposium
will be a combination of presented papers with opportunities for
discussion of the issues raised and the implications and needs for
heritage conservation. A joint symposia field excursion on Sunday
11 November will present symposia participants with the opportunity
to visit some outstanding and diverse Tasmanian cultural landscapes and
science heritage sites within southeastern Tasmania.
Further information
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George Town & District Historical Society Conference, Tasmania
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The 11th Biennial Conference of the George Town & District Historical Society
Colony to Colony - The Influence of Tasmanians on the Settlement of Victoria
The George Town & District Historical Society Inc. conferences have
built up a strong reputation since the first one in 1998, which
commemorated the Bicentenary of Bass' & Flinders’ circumnavigation
of Van Dieman Land.
This one promises to keep up the standard and interest with a panel of
reputable speakers, including Judy Walsh travelling from Victoria to
present her paper on The David Collins Settlement at Sullivan Bay,
Sorrento.
Image: Sullivan Bay in 1803, George Gordon McCrae, State Library of Victoria's Pictures Collection.
Date: Saturday, 10th November
Location: York Cove Centre,4 Sorell Street, George Town
Cost: $35
Registration and further information
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Talk at RHSV on Captain Charles Swanston
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Lost Flocks & Distraught Shepherds: Capt Charles Swanston - A talk by Dr Eleanor Robin
When: Tuesday 16 October 2018 at 5:15pm drinks for a 5:45PM lecture
Location: Royal Historical Society of Victoria, Officers' Mess Upstairs, 239 A'Beckett St, Melbourne, VIC 3000
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Melbourne by 1856 was growing in confidence
and grandeur, as Henry Gritten’s fine painting of Swanston Street
depicts. Captain Charles Swanston, the man after whom the bustling
thoroughfare was named, would have been gratified. Swanston—heroic
soldier of the Honourable East India Company, Van Diemen’s Land banker,
legislator, pillar of Hobart Town society, fomenter of the squatting
rush to Victoria—could always recognise a good commercial opportunity.
His business tentacles stretched around the globe. Yet following the
catastrophic collapse of the Derwent Bank, his desperate dash to the
California goldfields and his mysterious death at sea, he was virtually
expunged from the public record.
In reviving Swanston’s remarkable story from a dusty, almost forgotten
treasure trove of bank archives, Dr Eleanor Robin brings to light his
considerable contribution to the economic, political and social life of
Van Diemen’s Land and his leading role in the settlement of
Melbourne.
Cost: Free for RHSV members; $10 for non-members
Bookings
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Talk by Professor Henry Reynolds, Adelaide
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The History Trust of SA and the Don Dunstan Foundation present a talk by Professor Henry Reynolds - This Whispering in Our Hearts - Revisited
When: 18th October, doors open at 5.45pm. lecture commences at 6.00pm.
Location: Napier Theatre G04, University of Adelaide, North Terrace, Adelaide, SA 5000
Bookings: https://history.sa.gov.au/events/this-whispering-in-our-hearts-revisited/
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Professor Henry Reynolds now-classic book This Whispering in Our Hearts constructed
an alternative history of Australia through the eyes of those who felt
disquiet and disgust at the brutality of dispossession. These men and
women fought for justice for Indigenous people even when doing so left
them isolated and criticised by their fellow whites. The unease of these
humanitarians about the morality of white settlement has not dissipated
and their legacy informs current debates about reconciliation between
black and white Australia.
Join the History Trust of South Australia and the Don Dunstan Foundation
for a public lecture to revisit this history. In a new edition of
this book Reynolds brings fresh perspectives to issues we grapple with
still.
* Please note – this lecture is now fully booked. You can still join the waitlist and will be contacted if a place becomes available.
You can also hear Prof Reynolds on Saturday 20 October when he delivers
the Wilks oration at the Effective Living Centre at 7pm.
https://www.trybooking.com/book/event?eid=402439&.
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Dust: Woodford Academy, NSW
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The last artistic event of the Woodford Academy’s 2018 program ‘Dust: An exhibition about insects, collections and heritage buildings.’
Dust brings together artists and museum professionals to explore
the processes of collection care underway at the Blue Mountains oldest
colonial buildings, the Woodford Academy. In an Australian first, the
Academy buildings will be progressively wrapped and left to ‘cook’ over
the coming summer, eradicating the infestation of insects that have
taken up residence in the building and its collections.
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Dust engages with the
idea of collection care while at the same time examining the lives and
activities of insects. Just like we do, insects seek the right
conditions to thrive and grow; that they may nest in our precious
memory-objects and spaces is of no consequence to them. Dust highlights
the materiality of insect bodies, museum objects and heritage
environments and gives expression to the productive and destructive
forces inherent to human-insect relationships.
Visual artists Erica Seccombe, Ingeborg Hansen, Freedom Wilson and
writer, performer and all-round ‘creatrix’ Cat Jones join Sydney
University Museum’s Julie Taylor, Madeleine Snedden, Rachel Lawrence,
Christopher Jones and Stuart Humphreys to present a suite of vibrant and
fascinating audio and visual works that showcase the good, the bad and
the ugly of the insect world. Developed by local Blue Mountains artist
Jacqueline Spedding in conversation with Elizabeth Burgess from the
Woodford Academy, Dust celebrates the work of Spedding’s fellow
artists and museum colleagues who have backgrounds in art and science,
both professionally and creatively.
Open: Saturday 20 October & 17 November, 10am – 4pm
Where: 90-92 Great Western Highway, Woodford, NSW 2778
Cost: Adults $6, Concession/Child (4-16yrs) $4, Family $15 (2 adults, 2 children) Guided Tours – $2/Person (4+years)
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From the archives of the Embroiderers' Guild, QLD
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 Jubilee Bridge stitched into community needlework in 1935
Among the treasures in the archives of the Embroiderers' Guild,
Queensland is this 1935 design for an apron to commemorate the laying of
the foundation for the new ‘Jubilee Bridge’. Does it remind you of the
Story Bridge?
It seems that the day that the Foundation Stone was laid, 24 May 1935,
was the day set apart for jubilee celebrations in Queensland in
connection with the 25th anniversary of the accession of King George to
the throne.
By the time the bridge was opened on 6 July 1940 by the Governor of
Queensland, the decision had been made to name it after John Douglas
Story (1869-1966), a senior and influential public servant who had
advocated strongly for the bridge’s construction.
This particular apron was part of the “AGM Regal & Easystytch
Needlework Competition” which offered £300 in prizes, and closed on 31
May 1935.
Sincere thanks to New Farm resident Emma Golder for drawing these artistic gems to the attention of the Society.
Source: New Farm and Districts Historical Society, Newsletter, September 2018
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Community Histories of the 1918-1919 Influenza Pandemic
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Over 2018–19, the Royal Australian
Historical Society is encouraging local, special interest and family
history organisations to research the historical impact of the ‘Spanish’
influenza pandemic of 1918–19.
If you are working on a project to mark the pandemic’s centenary, or
interested in the process of historical discovery and sharing your
research, contact the RAHS
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City of South Perth Historical Society Exhibition, May Gibbs
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The City of South Perth’s Historical Society is
celebrating 100 years of the iconic children’s books Snugglepot and
Cuddlepie by May Gibbs with a special exhibition of works.
The exhibition runs until 24 February 2019
Location: Heritage House, 111 Mill Point Rd, South Perth
Opening times: Friday 10am-4pm, Saturday and Sunday 1-4pm
Cost: Free entry, donations welcome
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Talk on Historic Wallpaper in Tasmania, THRA, Hobart
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Alan Townsend will give a talk on Historic Wallpaper in Tasmania -Wallpaper and Domestic Life in Colonial Van Diemen’s Land - Colour, Excess and Luxury
Alan Townsend is a historian and heritage consultant who has taught
himself the skills for recreating historic wallpapers. He has produced
wallpapers on commission for Narryna Heritage Museum, Tasmanian Museum
and Art Gallery and the National Trust.
When: Tues, Nov 13
Time: 8:00 pm 9:00 pm
Location: Legacy Function Rooms 159, Macquarie Street, Hobart
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A Territory Story - Exhibition at the Northern Territory Library
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The Northern Territory Library (NTL) has developed A Territory Story in
response to the strong community interest in Northern Territory
history. The exhibition showcases the unique history of the Northern
Territory and its stories to engage schools groups and cultural
tourists.
The interactive exhibition, which runs from July 2018 to July 2025 is a
survey of the people, the places and the events that have shaped the
Territory. Meet Edna Zigenbine (1926-2007) whose story is told as part
of the exhibition.
Born and raised on the stock routes of northern Australia in 1950 she
became Australia’s first woman boss drover when she took over from her
sick father, Harry Zigenbine. On that run, she drove 1500 head of
cattle across the notorious Murranji Track and Barkly Tableland into
western Queensland. Her father said of her, 'Don’t worry about Edna,
mate, she’s the best man I’ve got and what’s more, she’s a drover.'
Images: t; Photo of Edna Zigenbine by Douglas Lockwood, 1950; b; Kath
and Edna Zigenbine during droving trip from the Kimberley, WA to
Queensland, 1942.
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Annual History Colloquium, Northern Territory
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 The Annual
History Colloquium, presented by the Professional Historians
Association (NT) in conjunction with Charles Darwin University, the
Australian National University and the Northern Territory Library, is a
forum for established and emerging historians from the NT and interstate
to present papers on their current research.
This year’s program contains a number of diverse topics: the Ranger
Uranium Agreement and the Northern Land Council; Top End aviation
history and heritage; Indigenous activism in the 1950s-80s; the
evolution of secondary education in the Territory; the mapping of
massacres on the Territory frontier; discourses around missionary
endeavour; and how to write a history thesis and get it published.
When: Saturday, 27th Oct, 8.25am - 5.00pm
Location: Northern Territory Library
Cost: Free. Morning and afternoon tea is provided
For further information please contact Dr Steven Farram on (08) 8946 6865 or steven.farram@cdu.edu.au
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The FAHS e-Bulletin, No. 183,
12th October 2018
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