History and identity - News and events

Events | Featured projects | Call for entries | Announcements

Events

Behind the Lines: The Year's Best Cartoons 2008 - Brisbane

21 November 2009 – 14 February 2010

In this travelling exhibition from National Museum of Australia, the satirical world of political cartoonists is depicted in a journey through the political events of 2008, including Kevin Rudd's first year in office, the Apology, the 2020 summit, global warming and the world financial meltdown. Cartoonists include Bill Leak, Cathy Wilcox, John Spooner and David Pope; and Queensland's Dan Boermans, Paul Zanetti and Peter Broelman. A vote will decide who will win the annual People's Choice Award. State Library of Queensland.

Wildlife of Gondwana - Adelaide

19 December 2009 – 14 February 2010

Wildlife of Gondwana is a travelling exhibition from Monash University, supported by the Visions of Australia program. It details the changes in flora and fauna from the great southern supercontinent, Gondwana, from 3.8 billion years ago to the present. Fossils, rocks and skeletons (both original and casts) are mounted in dynamic poses, following the timeline as the landmass converged and fragmented over time. There are two levels of information panels explaining the exhibits for both adults and children. South Australian Museum.

Shake your family tree open day 2010 - national

23 February 2010

The Shake your family tree open day is an event held in National Archives of Australia offices around the country. Family history seekers are encouraged to unearth personal treasures the National Archives may have in its collection. If members of a family migrated to Australia in the 20th century, served in the defence forces, or worked for, or had any other dealings with, the Australian Government, the Archives are likely to have materials of interest. Each Archives office will offer a range of activities including talks, preservation workshops, demonstrations and introductory research training. A highlight of this year's open day is the launch of the new book Keeping Family Treasures, which gives tips on how to preserve your family's heritage while taking a peek at what other Australians treasure. Various locations.

Strike a Pose ... with Lee Lin Chin - Wollongong

28 November 2009 – 28 February 2010

Strike a Pose ... with Lee Lin Chin features 89 images taken by Australian Government photographers during the 1960s and 70s to promote the burgeoning Australian fashion industry. With fashion icon and broadcaster Lee Lin Chin as guest curator, the exhibition developed by the National Archives of Australia celebrates the emerging local fashion industry of the time, along with its personalities, trends and influences.

2010 History Festival: Writing the Past - Sydney

13 March 2010

In trying to tell a story, a true story, in the right way, immediately problems arise. Which voices to choose? Whose perspective to write from? What research to select, and what to discard? These and many other questions will be asked at the 2010 History Festival. 'History, and historians, can be riveting, entertaining, and richly informative. Even funny. History can explain the world and place us in a better position to deal with the future.' (Ann Curthoys and Ann McGrath). NSW Writers' Centre, former Rozelle Hospital, Rozelle.

30th National Trust (NSW) Heritage Festival - 2010 - New South Wales

9–24 April 2010

The National Trust (NSW) Heritage Festival is one of the largest and longest running community festivals in NSW. 2010 will mark the 200th anniversary of Governor Lachlan Macquarie's 12 year tenure as the 5th Governor of the colony of New South Wales, and so the state-wide celebration of Australia's most 'transforming' Governor is the theme which links events. 2010 will see a variety of over 400 community-hosted events, and, as the host, the National Trust will bring together community groups, schools, the business community and local government.

George Lambert: Gallipoli and Palestine landscapes - Geraldton

5 March – 2 May 2010

This exhibition traces George Lambert's work through his first journey to Palestine and the Sinai in 1918 and includes paintings he completed during the Australian Historical Mission to Gallipoli in 1919. In just over 18 months, Lambert produced 99 small panel paintings and hundreds of drawings and sketches of Gallipoli and Palestine. A blog was developed to discuss the exhibition. Australian War Memorial travelling exhibition. Geraldton Regional Art Gallery.

Of Love and War: love and longing on display - Canberra

4 December 2009 – 5 May 2010

The Australian War Memorial's new special exhibition explores the relationships forged during times of conflict, and emotions evoked by at separation, loss and reunion, from the First World War onwards. It features mementoes of lovers, such as letters, gifts of jewellery, and photographs of weddings, farewells and reunions. There are wedding dresses worn by war brides, posters of pin-up girls that had been stuck on tents or in mess halls to stem the loneliness of war, and works of art by Penleigh Boyd and Peter Churcher on love and war as a theme. Location: Australian War Memorial.

Max Dupain on Assignment - Cairns, Queensland

5 March – 16 May 2010

Max Dupain on Assignment features striking images of rural and urban Australia, architecture, industry and culture from the 1940s to the 1970s. Many have never been on public display. Cairns Regional Gallery.

Stanley Melbourne Bruce: Prime Minister & Statesman - Canberra

11 December 2009 – 30 May 2010

Stanley Melbourne Bruce: Prime Minister & Statesman provides a glimpse into the life of the man who promoted his country's interests on the international stage for more than half a century. A decorated war hero, Bruce served as Australia's eighth prime minister from 1923 to 1929. An online display allows Bruce's personal collection to be explored in 3D. National Archives of Australia.

Featured projects

Ann Curthoys and Ann McGrath, How to Write History that People Want to Read

January 2010

This practical book, drawn from decades of experience, is an indispensable guide to writing history. Aimed at all kinds of people who write history—academic historians, public historians, professional historians, family historians and students of all levels, How to Write History that People Want to Read includes a wide range of examples from many genres and styles. It advises writers on how much research is necessary, how to manage notes and files, when you should start writing, whether to use the first person and whether to structure your work chronologically or thematically. UNSW Press.

Charles Bean: personal diaries online

November 2009

Charles Bean was Australia's official correspondent and official historian of the First World War and one of the founders of the Australian War Memorial. The 286 diaries, notebooks and folders he created during and after the war are the most important records by a single Australian. These are now readily available after a major two-year digitisation project by the Australian War Memorial Research Centre.

National Film and Sound Archive, Australians in the First World War

November 2009

Australians in the First World War provides information and digital content relating to Australia's contribution to the First World War (1914–1918) and the impact that the war had on the country's film and recorded sound industry during this period.

Power for the People - Canberra

October 2009

Power for the People is a permanent and online exhibition that celebrates 60 years of the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme - an engineering wonder of the modern world. The display uses original documents, photographs from the Archives' collection and is accompanied by audio resources and a publication, Power for the People, by author Siobhan McHugh. National Archives of Australia.

Craig Collie and Hajime Marutani, The Path of Infinite Sorrow - the Japanese on the Kokoda Track

October 2009

The story of the bloody Kokoda campaign, told for the first time through the personal experiences of the Japanese soldiers. 'We were all skin and bone, as if our stomachs were stuck to the inside wall of our back.' Two armies, Japanese and Australian, each in turn pushing the other back along a muddy, precipitous track over the mountainous spine of New Guinea. Few prisoners were taken, most were shot. This was the Kokoda campaign of 1942. The Path of Infinite Sorrow tells for the first time the story of the campaign from the Japanese point of view. Craig Collie and Hajime Marutani worked on the production of Beyond Kokoda, the award-winning documentary series screened on The History Channel. Published by Allen and Unwin.

Call for entries

Country Viewpoint - national

Ongoing

Country Viewpoint is a site for anyone who lives outside our capital cities, or perhaps has a connection to rural or regional Australia, who wants to share an experience, place or idea that is close to their hearts. Country Viewpoint has been airing on ABC Radio National's Bush Telegraph program for almost a decade, but has now expanded to the greater community via the internet. Country Viewpoint invites the expressions of views about anything funny, serious, topical or trivial in your backyard.

Announcements

CMC funding of Collections Council of Australia to cease in 2010

12 October 2009

The Cultural Ministers Council (CMC) considered the review of the Collections Council of Australia at its annual meeting in October.  The Collections Council has publicly announced the cessation of its funding by CMC.  The Collections Council of Australia was established by the CMC in 2004, and the Collections Council has worked to bring the collections sector—archives, galleries, libraries and museums—together.

Online edition of Significance 2.0

October 2009

The Collections Council of Australia materials in the publication Significance define the meanings and values of a cultural heritage item or collection through research and analysis, and by assessment against a standard set of criteria. The website allows for contributions of comments, and access to the full version of 'Part 6 – Significance in action – applications'.

Heritage investment helps create jobs

October 2009

Federal Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts, Peter Garrett, announced federal funding for a raft of heritage conservation projects around Australia, including in Victoria, Western Australia, South Australia, Northern Territory and the ACT.

Biologist Elizabeth Blackburn wins Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine

5 October 2009

Biologist Dr Elizabeth Blackburn, 60, a Hobart-born graduate of Melbourne University who has worked in the US for many years, has won the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine. Her discovery of telomeres, caps on the ends of chromosomes which protect genetic information, has opened up new lines of inquiry into growth, ageing and disease. Her work with psychologists on telomeres, stress and meditation seems to prove a mind-body connection.

National memorial for Boer War casualties on 110th anniversary

October 2009

Around 16,000 Australians volunteered to fight for Britain against the Dutch-Afrikaner (Boer) settlers in South Africa from 1899 to 1902. This remains Australia's third-worst conflict in terms of casualties. The Boer War is the only major war not to be commemorated on Anzac Parade. The Government has tasked the Boer War Memorial Project committee to establish a national memorial and is relying mainly on donations to do so.

Breaksea Island Lighthouse Restoration - Albany/Hopetoun/Ravensthorpe, Western Australia

12 October 2009

The Breaksea Island Heritage Restoration project will receive over $1.3 million to restore the 1858 lighthouse and jetty, the 1889 extensions to the lighthouse, and the two lighthouse keeper's cottages. The Breaksea Island lighthouse and associated buildings appear on both the State and National Registers of Heritage Places and are considered 'rare' as a complex of structures.

Key online resources

• Australian History (Project Gutenberg of Australia)
• Australian Literary and Historical Texts Online
• Mitchell Library Online
• Digital Resource Finder - educational videos
• Convict Creations

Collection resources

• Australian War Memorial
• Australian National Maritime Museum
• Documenting a Democracy: Australia's Story
• Collections Australia Network
• Collections Council of Australia
• Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House
• Picture Australia
• Picture Queensland
• George Raper Collection

Institutions and government organisations

• Australia's Heritage
• Australian Cultural History research links
• History Council of NSW
• History Council of Victoria
• History Council of South Australia
• History Council of Western Australia

Peak bodies and associations

• The History Teachers' Association of Australia

People

• Australian Dictionary of Biography Online
• The Dictionary of Australian Biography (Project Gutenberg of Australia)
• South Land to New Holland
• Joie de vivre!
• Ben Hall
• The Macarthurs and the Merino sheep
• Ned Kelly
• Charles 'Moth' Eaton

Featured websites/projects

• eGold: Electronic Encyclopedia of Gold in Australia
• Despatches from Gallipoli - Scenes from a Remote War
• Gallipoli: The First Day (ABC)
• Treasures of the State Library of Victoria
• South Seas: Voyaging and cross-cultural encounters in the Pacific (1760-1800)
• Who'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me?
• Now and Then