RHSV News

Holiday break

2011-12-20T13:28:00.000+11:00

The RHSV will be closed for a short holiday break from midday Wednesday 21 December, and it will re-open on Monday 9 January at 9 am.

We wish everyone the compliments of the season - we'll see you back next year!

RHSV Address Book

2011-11-11T10:08:00.001+11:00

The Address Book is a showcase of the treasures of our collections. Beautifully illustrated the images in the book have been selected for their ability to tell the history of Victoria and the RHSV. With over 30 illustrations – accompanied by extensive captions – the Address Book contains photographs from our map, manuscript, image and rare book collections.

The wrap-around cover of the Address Book shows a detail from an illustration by Albert Charles Cooke of Melbourne in 1882.

The outcome is a jewel – a beautiful 60 page A5 book with plenty of space to write names, addresses, email addresses or other notes. The alphabet is tabbed down the right hand side and it is spiral bound meaning it falls open easily. The Address Book is a beautiful gift. You can order the book directly from the RHSV office or we could post the book as a gift to friend for you. The book is $30.00 plus p&p.

Orders can be made over the phone 9326 9288 or by mailing your cheque to 239 A’Beckett Street, Melbourne.

Our new website now live!

2011-11-09T18:22:00.001+11:00

Our new website has gone live. Content is still being up-loaded, so please be patient. In the meantime, the latest History News is available under the Publications drop-down menu to the right of our logo.

THE FUTURE OF HISTORY

2011-11-07T12:37:00.000+11:00

Victorians are invited to stop and consider what the future holds for our history books, as the Royal Historical Society of Victoria presents their November talk topic: “New ways of telling history – an appraisal”.

To be held on Tuesday 8 November at 5.15pm, historian Alex McDermott will draw on a decade’s experience writing, researching and teaching history for various mediums and offer his appraisal of the future of history.

“In 2003 English historian Simon Schama suggested that ‘the future of history, the survival of history is going to depend at least as much, if not more on the new media and television as on the printed page’,” noted McDermott.

“I’d like to ask is this true and, if it is, should it alarm or excite us?

“I want to look at what connects and what distinguishes the various forms of history-telling in Australia in the early 21st century.

“I’ll also discuss the possibilities that still remain to be exploited.”

Alex McDermott has most recently written Australian History for Dummies and is an expert on Kelly studies. Between 2007 -2009 he was chief historical consultant and history researcher for Screen Australia’s Making History Initiative, which led to the ABC broadcast of ten historical documentaries including Rogue Nation, Constructing Australia, Monash – the Forgotten Anzac and Menzies and Churchill at War.

The event will be held at the Royal Historical Society of Victoria in the former Australian Army Medical Corps Drill Hall - an impressive Art Deco space, listed on the Victorian Heritage Register for its state-wide architectural and historical significance.

Formed in 1909, the Royal Historical Society of Victoria (RHSV) is committed to collecting, researching and sharing an understanding of the history of Victoria. Housing the most extensive single information resource on the history of Melbourne and Victoria, collections are open Monday to Friday, 10am – 4pm.

The RHSV is a community organisation that relies on membership subscriptions. Join today and help promote and preserve the history of Victoria – www.historyvictoria.org.au

Date: Tuesday 8 November

Time: 5.15pm tea/coffee; 5.45pm – 6.45pm lecture

Address: Royal Historical Society of Victoria

239 A’Beckett Street

Melbourne

Cost: $5.50 non members; free for members

Bookings: t: (03) 9326 9288 e: office@historyvictoria.org.au

New in our Bookstore

2011-11-03T18:21:00.000+11:00

Books entered into the Victorian Community History Awards are beginning to make their way onto RHSV 'for sale' bookshelves.

Amongst these are The People of Budj Bim: Engineers of aquaculture, builders of stone house settlements and warriors defending country by the Gunditjmara people with Gib Wettenhall. This book won the Overall Prize in the Awards. It is available for $20 plus p+p.

Welcome to Little Europe: Displaced Persons and the North Camp by Josef Sestokas received a Commendation from the judges in the Best Print Publication (Self or Community) category. It is available at $45 per copy, plus p+p.

A Whole New World: 100 years of education at University High School received the judges Commendation in the Best Print Publication (Commercial). It is available for $60 plus p + p.

The Wealth Beneath Their Feet: a family on the Castlemaine goldfields, by Marjorie Theobold received a Commendation by the judges in the Best Print (Commercial) category. It is available for $39.95 plus p+p.

To order a book and check the cost of postage, please email the RHSV office on office@historyvictoria.org.au or ring Gerardine on 03 9326 9288.

Feeding the Bookworm at Castlemaine

2011-10-27T13:56:00.000+11:00

Over the weekend the RHSV travelled up to Castlemaine for the History Victoria Support Group seminar, "Feeding the Bookworm", hosted by the Castlemaine Historical Society Inc.

The weather was superb, and between presentations we enjoyed a sumptuous barbeque lunch on the back lawn of the Former Castlemaine Courthouse, the home of the CHSI.

Visitors were taken on a tour of the excellent archive storage facility.

Two of our guest speakers were on the left, Larry O'Toole (Graffiti Publications) and Charles Fahey (La Trobe University, Bendigo) on the right.

Thank you to Castlemaine Historical Society for a really enjoyable day.

2011-10-21T14:24:00.000+11:00

OVERALL WINNER 2011

The People of Budj Bim Gunditjmarapeople with Gib Wettenhall em PRESS Publishing, Heywood, 2010

BEST PRINTPUBLICATION: COMMERCIAL Category Winner

The Victorian Bush: its ‘original andnatural’ condition by Ron Hateley PolybracteaPress, Melbourne, 2010

Commendations

1835: theFounding of Melbourne & the Conquest of Australia by James Boyce

‘A Whole NewWorld’: 100 Years of Education at University High School by Carolyn Rasmussen

‘The WealthBeneath Their Feet’: a Family on the Castlemaine Goldfields by Marjorie Theobald

Summer Walk:Sale Botanic Gardens & Lake Guthridge by Ann and Peter Synan

BEST PRINT PUBLICATION: SELF OR COMMUNITYPUBLICATION Category Winner

The Catalysts: Change and Continuity1910-2010 by Anne Longmire Publishedby the Author and The Catalysts, Melbourne, 2011

Commendations

Welcome toLittle Europe: Displaced Persons and the North Camp by Josef Sestokas

Water: theVital Element. 150 Years of Shepparton’s Growth by Martin Summons MarvellousMelbourne and Me: Living in Melbourne in the 20th Century by Bruce McBrien

They Fishedin Wooden Boats: a History of Port Franklin District and the Fishing Families by Neil Everitt

BESTCOLLABORATIVE/COMMUNITY WORK Category Winner

Our Boysat the Front, The Mornington Peninsula at War 1914-18 from the pages of thePeninsula Post,Book & DVD by Michael Collins and others, Mornington & DistrictHistorical Society, 2011

Commendations

Burke andWills Memorial Fountain: Linking Local History to a National Story, Sovereign Hill Museums Association

TheGoldfields Stories – TheGirl from Carisbrook. - Website, Community Museums Program

GreekJourneys Through Bonegilla byBruce Pennay

The ThomasMartin Letter: Memories of Strangways and Newstead by Liz Coady

BESTCOMMUNITY RESEARCH, REGISTER, RECORDS Category Winner

‘ISucceeded Once’: The Aboriginal Protectorate on the Mornington Peninsula,1839-1840 byMarie Hansen Fels ANUE-Press and Aboriginal History with Aboriginal Affairs Victoria, Canberra, 2011

Commendations

VictorianNaval Forces Muster, Friendsof the Cerberus

Hope andHardship: an Account of Soldier and Closer Settlement in the Katandra District1919 to 1933, Katandraand District History Group

The MurderVictims: Fate’s Wicked Child,Friends of Cheltenham and Regional Cemeteries

BEST WALK/TOUR Category Winner

Henry Handel Richardson in Maldon byPeter Cuffley, Helen McBurney, Geoff Palmer & Janey Runci Publishedby the Authors, Maldon, 2010

CommendationsSpa Country:Victoria’s Mineral Springs,Edward and Maura Wishart and others

Discover theOther Side of the Tracks in Flemington,Flemington Association

3 Self-GuidedTour Pamphlets: Best of the Best, Famous Artists, Untimely Ends, Friendsof Boroondara Cemetery

BEST EXHIBIT OR MULTIMEDIA Category Winner

Mameloshn:How Yiddish Made a Home in Melbourne. The Jewish Museumof Australia

Commendations‘DiscoveringMelbourne’s Chinatown: Our History and Heritage’, Museum of Chinese AustralianHistory

RDNSReflections. Book andWebsite, Royal District Nursing Service

Beeac HeritageWindmill Park, Beeac Heritage Windmill Park Committee

JUDGE’S SPECIAL PRIZE FOR EXCELLENCE

Early Navigators of Bass Strait, 1770-1803, byGregory Eccleston and others Map produced by the Office of Surveyor-GeneralVictoria, 2010

SpecialCommendation

John Abraham and His Everlasting Windmills byHugh Sloane.

Victorian Community History Awards 2011

2011-10-21T14:04:00.000+11:00

The Victorian Community History Awards were presented yesterday. Steve Grimwade, Director of the Melbourne Writers Festival, addresses the gathering at Queen's Hall, Parliament House.

The overall winner was The People of Budj Bim by the Gunditjmara people with Gib Wettenhall.

While we are awaiting the official photos, here are some of some happy recipients of a Commendation:

Liz Coady, who is a member of the Newstead Historical Society, was pleased with a Commendation in the category of "Best Collaborative/Community Work" for The Thomas Martin Letter: memories of Strangways and Newstead.

Liz is also a volunteer at the Royal Historical Society of Victoria.

Another couple of happy folk are Garry & JanWallden from the Katandra and District History Group, which entered the book Hope and Hardship: an Account of Soldier and Closer Settlement in the Katandra District 1919 to 1933. This book received a Commendation in the category of "Best Community Research, Register, Records".

HISTORIC IMAGES WORKSHOP - 26 November 2011

2011-10-17T16:51:00.000+11:00

The Royal Historical Society of Victoria Inc

presents an

HISTORIC IMAGES WORKSHOP

Saturday 26 November 12.45 for 1 pm to 4.30 pm

239 a'Beckett Street, Melbourne

DATING FAMILY PHOTOS

Presented by Lenore Frost – Author of Dating Family

Photos (now out ofprint)

The workshop will cover the techniques for dating old photos. Attendees are invited to bring their photos for individual dating. Limit 2 per person (no albums). Originals are best. If they are copies, try to include the whole mount board, not just the image.

YOUR FAMILY HISTORY IN POSTCARDS

Presented by Jenny Coates

Attendees will receive a voucher entitling them to purchase scans of postcards from the RHSV collection for only $10 each. The voucher does not have to be redeemed on the day and is not transferable.

After the sessions, our experts will be available for consultationto date individual photos (remember, only 2 per person), and guidance through ourpostcard collection. Owing to time constraints on the day, the voucher forpostcard scans may be redeemed at a later date.

Flagstaff Station is closed on weekends, but trams will berunning, and we are not far from Melbourne Central Station. All day car parking to 5 pm isavailable nearby for $4. Venue is not wheelchair or walker friendly. Tea andcoffee served.

Please arrive at 12.45 to ensure a timely start.

$20 for RHSV members, $25 for non-members.

Bookings essential by 23 November 2011 on

office@historyvictoria.org.au or 9326 9288

www.historyvictoria.org.au

Ambition and Unrealised Hope

2011-10-13T22:59:00.000+11:00

When Sir John Franklin, polar hero and explorer,succeeded George Arthur as governor of Van Diemen’s Land in January 1837, therewas an expectation among some of the colonists that the old, autocraticbureaucracy would be broken up and replaced by a more liberal regime. Franklinhowever was inexperienced in penal and colonial affairs, and naturally enough,he could not easily evade the advice of Arthur’s close officials, or the“faction” as they were known by their critics. A ‘change of men and measures’however was not forthcoming, and Franklin placed almost unlimited confidence inhis predecessor’s favourites to administer the penal establishment. Craig Joel tells how a civil servant came tousurp the Governor’s authority in his desire to curry favour with Britishministers, and in the process profoundly affected the political development ofthe colony. Australian Scholarly Publishing, 2011.

Available from the RHSV for $44.00 plus P + P.

See our full list of publications for sale here.

BECOMING COMFORTABLE IN OUR LAND

2011-10-08T15:01:00.000+11:00

Associate Professor Don Garden

Victorians are invited to don their hiking boots and unearth the history of bushwalking as the Royal Historical Society of Victoria presents their October talk topic, “Becoming Comfortable in Our Land”.

To be held on Tuesday 11 October at 5.45pm, environmental historian Associate Professor Don Garden will explore Victoria’s environmental history and the role that bushwalking has played in it.

“In the last two decades of the nineteenth century and the early decades of the twentieth century important changes occurred in the relationship between the Australian colonists and the Australian natural environment,” said Associate Professor Garden.

“For a variety of economic, technological, scientific and cultural reasons, the ‘bush’ came to be seen as less alien and threatening than it had been in the early decades of colonisation.

“For many people the bush increasingly became something to enjoy for recreation, exercise and study – a place for leisure and pleasure.

“One manifestation of this changing view was the number of people who took up bushwalking as a recreational hobby.

“Bushwalkers also played a significant role in the early stages of environmental protection campaigns, and notably in efforts to establish national parks.

“Our talk will explore just how bushwalking has evolved to become the popular cultural and social activity it has today.”

Associate Professor Don Garden is President of the Federation of Australian Historical Societies, a Senior Fellow at Melbourne University’s Australian Centre for Science, Innovation and Society, a Principal Fellow in the School of Historical Studies, and a Fellow and Councillor of the Royal Historical Society of Victoria.

Date: Tuesday 11 October

Time: 5.15pm tea/coffee; 5.45pm – 6.45pm lecture.

Address: Royal Historical Society of Victoria

239 A’Beckett Street

Melbourne (entry via William Street)

Cost: $5.50 non members; free for members

Bookings: t: (03) 9326 9288

e: office@historyvictoria.org.au

‘War’s Evil and Good’: The Great War’s Influences on the Careers and Daily Lives of Victoria’s Teacher-Soldiers

2011-09-12T13:57:00.000+10:00


From: *Education Department's Record of War Service*	.

No-one emerges unchanged from any experience of war. The teacher-soldiers of Victoria’s Education Department were no different. Some who may have wished to return to the classroom could not do so due to profound physical and psychological injuries; some chose to depart teaching for new professions; some returned to schools and battled briefly or for decades with their injuries; and, some returned to blend quietly into anonymity. Yet, some managed to salvage something distinctly positive from their experiences and continued to teach, finding what their Director urged them to find: ‘some soul of goodness in things evil’. Some gave significant school-time and personal time to organisations such as the fledgling Victorian Returned Sailors’ and Soldiers’ Imperial League of Australia, Australian Red Cross, Legacy, State Schools’ Relief Fund and other ‘social service’ organisations that benefitted thousands of Victorians in need of support, whether or not for war-related reasons. Whilst none would have chosen for their generation to experience the war, some indicated that the knowledge, skills or values they acquired as a consequence enabled them to be better teachers or community servants than otherwise would have been the case. Most teachers also helped shape and preserve Anzac Day and, in numerous cases, their beliefs in Anzac Day commemoration and pacifism were not mutually exclusive.

Dr Rosalie Triolo is History Education lecturer in the Faculty of Education at Monash University and President as well as a Life Member of the History Teachers’ Association of Victoria. She is active in HTAV, HTAA, Australian History Curriculum and historico-cultural education communities. Her research into History Education, the Great War and the history of Australian education informed her doctorate on Victoria’s Education Department and the Great War, 1914-18. The thesis was judged best in the Faculty of Education in 2008 and was awarded a Monash University Mollie Holman Medal in 2009. The thesis will be available as a book in 2012.

Speaker: Dr Rosalie Triolo (Monash University)
Time: 5.15 Tea/Coffee 5.45 Lecture
Cost: Members Free $5.50 non members

At 239 A'Beckett St, Melbourne.

Giant Booksale reclassified to "Monster"

2011-09-09T17:17:00.000+10:00

Some titles spotted on the tables today:

Is Heathcliffe a Murderer?
Can Jane Eyre be Happy?
Memoirs of an Old Bastard
Check Your Own IQ
The Darwin Awards IV: Intelligent Design
Normal Men. Desperate Women

Don't forget - next Sunday, at 10 am, 239 A'Beckett St, Melbourne, for a Monster second hand booksale.

RHSV Giant Booksale Sunday 11 September

2011-09-09T00:11:00.000+10:00

The RHSV is preparing for its popular annual second hand booksale, which will be held on Sunday 11 September at 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne. The doors will open at 10 am for bargain hunters. You will find novels old and new, prayers, plays, poetry, Australian history, English history, travel books, gardening, crime novels, sports, biographies of the famous and much, much more.

Come along and join other booklovers in this exciting annual event, our biggest fundraiser for the year.

Find us at 239 A'Beckett Street (near the corner of William Street), 10 am to 4 pm, Sunday 11 September.

Award of Merit for Wemyss Struss of Stratford HS

2011-09-04T00:01:00.000+10:00

Today Dr Andrew Lemon, President of the RHSV, attended wonderful afternoon function, at which a RHSV Award of Merit was presented to Stratford Historical Society President, Mrs Wemyss Struss. Wemyss is shown above with Andrew, who is the latest recipient of a jar of marmalade from Wemyss.

New in the RHSV Bookshop - UPDATED

2011-08-05T15:54:00.001+10:00

Pioneer feminist Henrietta Augusta Dugdale holds an important place in Australian history. Her fearless campaigning resulted in breakthroughs in womens' rights in Australia throughout the nineteenth century. This biography of a thrice-married woman, who was born in St Pancras, London and died 91 years later at Point Lonsdale, Victoria, seeks to understand why and how she came to Australia, became a vegetarian, a secularist, initiated the first femal suffrage society in Australasia and, in her late middle age, published a futuristic allegory titled A Few Hours in a Far Off Age.

This meticulously researched book offers an illuminating insight into the formation of the Australian women's movement. The author, Susan Priestley, is a past president of the Royal Historical Society of Victoria.

Launched this week at the Athenaeum Library, the book is now available at the RHSV for $35 plus post and handling.

Update: Now that the invoice has been located, it appears that the RRP is $30, plus p&h - even more of a bargain!

RHSV and Melbourne Open House

2011-07-31T23:30:00.000+10:00

The Melbourne Open House organisation banner outside our front door.

Two cheery MOH Volunteers greeted the visitors in the foyer.

RHSV Councillor Jane Carolan greeted visitors inside our door.

Visitors having a good look at the Everard Studley Miller exhibition.

Visitors at the trading table in the library.

Open House at the Medical Drill Hall

2011-07-27T19:46:00.000+10:00

The Royal Historical Society of Victoria is participating in this spectacular showcasing of Melbourne's best-loved buildings. We will be open for public viewing on Saturday and Sunday, 30-31 July, from 10 am to 4 pm.

This is a wonderful opportunity to have a look at our 1938 art deco building which retains its fine art deco detailing. The evocative, timber-panelled Officers' Mess will be open for viewing on the first floor.

Our new exhibition on Everard Studley Miller will add a great deal of interest to a visit to the Drill Hall. The exhibition concentrates on E Studley Miller's historical and cultural interests, revealing his approach to photography as a tool of historiography and providing some details of his family background and lifestyle. While drawing mainly on resources held by the RHSV the exhibition is also supported by the National Galley of Victoria, the Ian Potter Museum of Art, the University of Melbourne and the Australian Institute of Archaeology.

Because of the stairs and the lack of a lift, it is not a suitable building for people of limited mobility, though if you can manage two or three stairs, you will be able to view the ground floor and exhibition.

If you want to view a list of all the buildings involved in Melbourne Open House, click here.

Everard Studley Miller: member, historian, benefactor

2011-07-14T23:45:00.006+10:00

House occupied between 1806-1814 by

Arthur Phillip at Bath, Somerset,
Eng., 1924 / E. Studley Miller / RHSV
Collection: AL085-0073

The exhibition concentrates on E Studley Miller's historical and cultural interests, revealing his approach to photography as a tool of historiography and providing some details of his family background and lifestyle.

The above photograph from the RHSV collection is an example of E Studley Miller's individual use of photography to record historical buildings. This is one of a series of photographs he commissioned of places associated with the founders of Australia - in this case Governor Arthur Phillip, the first governor of New South Wales. Phillip returned to England in 1792, and retired from the naval service in 1805. He lived quietly in this Bath house with his wife Isabelle until his death in 1814.

Miller was a benefactor of the National Gallery of Victoria and the Royal Historical Society of Victora, as well as other organisations.

The exhibition can be viewed at the Royal Historical Society of Victoria, 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne, Mondays to Fridays between 10 am and 4 pm. Dates: 13 July to 2 September.

New in the bookshop

2011-07-06T22:33:00.003+10:00

Australian cinema has effectively popularised the Anzac legend. Just how this has been so is explored in this lucid, clear-eyed study. Here's a taste: "While European art developed a dominant myth of the horror and meaninglessness of the war," and some Australian writers interrogated the Anzac myth, "Australia's many war films are almost entirely devoid of irony."

Published by Australian Scholarly Publishing. Available for $34.95 plus postage.

See our full list of publications for sale here.

Launch of the Victorian Community History Awards 2011

2011-06-28T18:33:00.005+10:00

Pictured are Justine Heazlewood, Director of Public Record Office Victoria, and Dr Andrew Lemon, President of the Royal Historical Society of Victoria at the official launch of the Victorian Community History Awards for 2011 at the RHSV headquarters today.

Formerly administered by Information Victoria, the 2011 VCHA is a new partnership for PROV and RHSV. Prizes have been increased, in particular that for the Best Community Research, Registers, and Records, which is now $4,000. This complements PROV's commitment to community history through the Community History Grants.

Entry forms can be picked up from the RHSV, at 239 A'Beckett St, Melbourne, or at the Public Record Office, North Melbourne, or downloaded from the RHSV website. Further brochures will be distributed to RHSV members and Affiliated Societies with the July newsletter.

Victorian Community History Awards 2011

2011-06-20T21:44:00.005+10:00

The Victorian Community History Awards 2001 will be delivered as a partnership between the Royal Historical Society of Victoria and the Public Record Office Victoria.

Dr Andrew Lemon, President of the RHSV, said "We are delighted to join with the Public Record Office Victoria in delivering these prestigious awards as both organizations share a commitment to an understanding of the past based on real knowledge and properly safeguarded evidence of our history. Community history is important because this is where the love of history, the understanding of the power of history, begins".

The Victorian Community History Awards recognize excellence in historical method. The various categories acknowledge that history can be told in many and varied formats with the aim of reaching and enriching all Victorians.

Entrants' work must be completed between 1 July 2010 and 30 June 2011. An official entry form must accompany each entry. The Entry form can be downloaded here.

The categories and prizes are listed on our webpage, link above.

RHSV Annual Report

2011-06-11T20:39:00.003+10:00

The 101st Annual Report of the Royal Historical Society of Victoria can be downloaded from the RHSV webpage.

A direct link to the pdf can be found here.

New in the bookshop

2011-06-11T20:09:00.007+10:00

Told through the lives of six families, from the colourful goldfields’ era to the Second World War, The Wealth Beneath Their Feet is a social history of the central goldfields of Victoria. These stories of immigrant families with limited or no financial resources are, at times, heart-rending, and we suffer along with them in their trials and tribulations; from women who suffered the perils of childbearing, raising children in the primitive conditions of the goldfields, to men seduced by the tales of riches beneath their feet, despite the ever-present dangers of mining and unrelenting work. As the mining declined, the town grew; with the construction of roads and railways, and the provision of a reliable water supply to the parched inland, providing employment for those who were still young and strong. Australian Scholarly Publishing, 2011.

Available from the RHSV bookshop for $39.95 plus post and handling, or drop in before the La Trobe lecture on Tuesday. See our full list of publications here.

LA TROBE AND THE VIGNERONS

2011-06-09T09:35:00.009+10:00

Wine lovers and history buffs are invited to join historian and researcher, Dr David Dunstan, as he delivers the 2011 AGL Shaw Lecture - “La Trobe and the Vignerons”.

To be held on Tuesday 14 June at 6pm, Dr Dunstan will explore Charles Joseph La Trobe’s relationship with the pioneering Swiss vignerons and the early development of the Victorian wine industry.

Dr Dunstan will recount the influx from 1839 of Swiss vignerons to the Port Phillip District of New South Wales and their great success in winegrowing.

He will also highlight the link to Superintendent Charles Joseph La Trobe and his Swiss wife, Sophie - their presence at Port Phillip being a factor in early individual decisions to emigrate.

As Dr Dunstan notes, the La Trobes ‘may... be held responsible for kick starting a grape growing and wine making industry in colonial Victoria’.

About the guest speaker: Dr David Dunstan is a Senior Lecturer with the National Centre for Australian Studies at Monash University. He is a historian and researcher with many books and published essays to his credit, including several titles about the wine industry in Australia. Among these are: Better than Pommard! A History of Wine in Victoria (1994), Wine from the Hills (2000), and Morris of Rutherglen (2009). He has taught Australian Studies and Australian History at the University of Melbourne, and at Deakin, RMIT and Monash Universities. David is currently working on a long term project on the history of the Melbourne Herald newspaper and Australian journalists, columnists, correspondents and cartoonists at home and abroad.

Time: 6pm – 8pm lecture

Address: Royal Historical Society of Victoria, 239 A’Beckett Street, Melbourne

Cost: $25 (refreshments included)

Bookings: t: (03) 9326 9288 e: office@historyvictoria.org.au

New in the RHSV Bookshop

2011-05-30T23:33:00.005+10:00

There are quite a few new titles in the RHSV bookshop, and Sport and Racing in Colonial Melbourne, by Gillian Hibbins, is the latest. It was published in 2007, and reviewed by our then future President of the RHSV, Dr Andrew Lemon, in the Victorian Historical Journal Vol 80 (1), June 2009.

Dr Lemon said that, "As a way of understanding the subtleties and complexity of Melbourne life in this period, and the legacy of these years for the city's later character, this multi-layered book deserves to be placed in high company indeed - with, for example, Paul de Serville's Pounds and Pedigrees, and Geoffrey Serle's The Rush to be Rich. It is totally different from these in approach and style, but as astute in its observations, as thoroughly researched, thought-provoking and rewarding."

The book is available for $59.95, plus post and packaging.

For the full list of available titles, see:
http://www.historyvictoria.org.au/pdf/publicationslist.pdf

Awards of Merit presented at farewell

2011-05-12T22:11:00.001+10:00

Photo: John Rose.

Two members of the RHSV were presented with Awards of Merit by RHSV President, Dr Andrew Lemon, at a small luncheon held in their honour at the RHSV headquarters yesterday. On the left is Vicki Court, who was both a staff member and volunteer at the RHSV, and on the right is David Oldfield. Both were recognised for their meritorious service to the RHSV. Vicki is retiring from her position at the RHSV, but will continue working part-time as a librarian, and David and his wife have had a tree-change. We give them our best wishes and thanks for their dedicated work over a long period.

Fellowships and Awards of Merit announced at the AGM

2011-05-11T17:33:00.004+10:00

Last night at the RHSV Annual General Meeting, RHSV President Dr Andrew Lemon, FRHSV announced the appointment of two new Fellows of the RHSV. Dr Lemon (right) is pictured here with one of the new Fellows, Richard Barnden, on the left.

Allan Willingham was the other appointee.

Fellows of the RHSV have given 'conspicuous service to the Association or one or more of its Member Societies, and to history'.

In addition to the two Fellows, seven Awards of Merit were given in recognition of 'meritorious service to a Member Society of the RHSV or the RHSV. The service should be exceptional and go beyond the routine holding of office'.

Congratulations to the following people who were given an Award of Merit:

Vicki Court, RHSV
Wesley Callandar, RHSV
Di Foster, Malvern HS
David Oldfield, RHSV
Michael Moore, RHSV
Diana Phoenix, RHSV
Wemyss Struss, Stratford HS

Lists of previous Fellows of the RHSV, and of persons who received an Award of Merit can be found in a link on the the top of this page of the RHSV website here.

New in the RHSV Bookshop

2011-05-04T21:24:00.004+10:00

New in the RHSV Bookshop this week: The Nelson's Sixty-Fours by Dr Bob Marmion and Marilyn Townsend.

An intriguing tale. How a Bendigo archaeological dig recovered an important part of early Victoria’s naval heritage.

Available for $20 plus $6.00 postage.

Water Dreamers

2011-05-04T20:34:00.006+10:00

When: Tuesday 10 May 5.15pm tea/coffee; 5.45pm – 6.45pm lecture.

Where: Royal Historical Society of Victoria, 239 A’Beckett Street, Melbourne

Cost: $5.50 non members; free for members

Bookings: t: (03) 9326 9288 e: office@historyvictoria.org.au

Victorians are invited to join writer, university lecturer and broadcaster, Dr Michael Cathcart, as he explores water and its role in how we live and think in Australia.

To be held on Tuesday 10 May at 5.45pm, Dr Cathcart’s talk, “The Water Dreamers”, will concentrate of the dreams of the irrigators and engineers who rose to prominence at the end of the nineteenth-century.

“These irrigators and engineers rejected the melancholy cast of Australian nationalism and advocated a vision of Australia which was optimistic, expansionist and placed its faith in the transformative power of hydro engineering,” said Dr Cathcart.

“This vision was conveyed in the extraordinary books known to scholars as ‘The Lemurian novels’.

“Closely modelled on “King Solomon’ Mines” and “She”, these books told stories about lost civilisations which had survived in the deserts of Australia – thanks to brilliant and ancient hydro-engineering.

“By imagining an irrigated past for the continent, the stories demonstrated the possibility for an even more glorious irrigated future.

“Today, the political and environmental crisis in the Murray Darling Basin turns a spotlight on the role of hydro-engineering.

“The heroic dreams of the Victorian engineers still have their champions, but as we try to develop a productive relationship between engineering and environment, we need to find new paradigms.

“One such paradigm is to treat water as a commercial commodity.

“In our discussion I will argue that this market approach is more likely to compound our problems than to rectify them.”

Dr Michael Cathcart is well-known to historians for his abridgement of Manning Clark’s A History of Australia. He is better known in rural Australia as the host of Bush Telegraph on ABC Radio National. In 2010, his book The Water Dreamers won the Colin Roderick Prize for best Australian book and was short-listed for the Prime Minister’s Prize. Michael is currently working on 3-part documentary series for ABC TV called Australia on Trial.

Available in RHSV Bookshop

2011-05-02T17:47:00.004+10:00

The Riddle of Father Hackett is not only an engrossing account of an interesting life, but also a history of the times in which the subject lived, both in Ireland and Australia. It is a book that will grip all those who have Irish connections and, further, all those who are interested in the history of the Australian Catholic. National Library of Australia, 2010

"Brenda Niall, one of Australia's best biographers, has written a highly readable and surprising life of William Hackett (1878–1954), the Jesuit priest who was pressured out of Ireland to Australia in 1922 for his involvement with republican armed forces during the Civil War". (Val Noone, Eureka Street)

See the rest of the review here.

Available for $39.95 plus $7.50 postage.

Exhibition - All at Sea: the Maritime Paintings of the late Jack Koskie

2011-04-29T14:15:00.005+10:00

Dates: 4 May to 17 June, 10 am to 4 pm.

The exhibition features a colourful and diverse collection of large scale paintings featuring many important and interesting ships in Australian history. Dating from the famous Endeavour and Lady Nelson vessels of discovery, through the age of sale and pioneer steamships such as Sophia Jane, Edina and Casino, the exhibition presents a wonderful tapestry of the sea and events up to more recent times.

The late Jack Koskie, a professional artist and well known teacher, completed this series for his fine book Ships that Shaped Australia (1987).

The collection was recently presented to the Maritime Museum of Victoria, a grouping of independent museums from around the state for the preservation and exhibition of our marine heritage.

The exhibition can be viewed at the Royal Historical Society of Victoria, 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne, Mondays to Fridays between 10 am and 4 pm.

Exhibition - Dancing the Skies: Flying through the RHSV collections

2011-03-26T12:33:00.002+11:00

Dates: 28 February – 15 April Monday to Friday - 10 am - 4 pm

This Exhibition aims to show the wealth of aviation-related images and other items contained within the Collections of the RHSV. Although the RHSV might not be considered a prime source of aeronautical history, the Society’s Collections are large and comprehensive and can provide coverage of a range of specialist topics. Historical Societies in general can contain hidden gems of specialist interest within their Collections – they just have to be unearthed.

This Exhibition covers many aspects of aeronautical history, almost all Australian, from the earliest days of ballooning up to the early 1960s.

An online exhibition with the same time shows some of the themes from the exhibition at the RHSV -www.historyvictoria.org.au/exhibitions.htm

RHSV Lecture - Seriously Reminiscing

2011-03-26T12:29:00.004+11:00

Date: 12 April 2011
Time: 5.15 tea/coffee 5.45 conversation
Price:Members free. Non Members $5.50
Address: Royal Historical Society of Victoria, 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne

An historic memoir is a first hand account written at the time or a
reflective piece written many years later. Either way they capture the
atmosphere and images of the time – presenting vivid historic pictures of
Victorian history and insights into the author. Come and join several well
known historians as they discuss their favorite historic memoir and be part of
this fun evening seriously reminiscing.

The evening will be chaired by Dr Andrew Lemon

RHSV lecture - Churchill Fellowship report

2011-02-28T12:26:00.004+11:00

Date: 8 March 2011
Address: Royal Historical Society of Victoria, 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne
Time: Coffee/Tea 5.15pm Lecture 5.45pm
Price: Members free. Non members $5.50

For six weeks last year Kate Prinsley had the privilege of undertaking a Churchill Fellowship in the USA and UK investigating the sustainability of local history within communities. Her journey became an examination of the differences between big and small government leadership in history; of "self funded" programs to those supported by National Heritage Lottery Fund money and Renaissance programmes; to observations about what makes small voluntary historical societies tick. Side interests included looking at programs such as those at the City of New York Museum that brings to the forefront engagement with local history, the county historian program, and looking at local history walks from community activism to partnerships with tour operators.

The whirlwind trip was both inspiring and thought provoking with the greatest pleasure coming from the many museum professionals that she met who would begin their greeting with "we look to Australia – you do things well".

Kate Prinsley has been the Executive Officer of the RHSV for the past six years. She was the first director of the Florence Nightingale Museum in London where she won the London Tourist Board's top award for marketing; and an English Tourism Award. Kate enjoys working with historical societies and volunteers as we all share a passion for history, working with collections and working within our communities.

RHSV Lecture - A biographer rediscovers her early life in suburban Melbourne

2011-01-12T15:09:00.002+11:00

Date: 08 February 2011
Time: 5.15 pm Tea / Coffee 5.45 pm Lecture
Address: Royal Historical Society of Victoria, 239 A'Beckett Street Melbourne
Price: Members free - Non-members $5.50

Brenda Niall grew up in Kew, graduated in Arts from the University of Melbourne and completed a distinguished academic career as Reader in English at Monash University. During and since that time she has written some acclaimed biographies, the most recent covering the lives of artist Judy Cassab and the Jesuit priest and former headmaster of Xavier College, Father Hackett. ‘Life Class’ is a reflection on her own life. She was an outstanding member of a panel on a century of biography at the 2010 Melbourne Writers Festival.

RHSV Floor Talk & Lunch - A Singular Record

2010-11-21T17:09:00.002+11:00

Liz Coady is a volunteer with the RHSV with more than 20 years of experience in historical societies and academia. She is one of the team of volunteers who developed the
exhibition A Singular Record.

Liz will present a Floor Talk about the exhibition on Thursday 25 November at 12.30.
Lunch will be provided.

To assist with catering please RSVP to
Phone: 9326 9288 or
Email office@historyvictoria.org.au by Tuesday 23 November

Time: 12.30 pm
Date: 25 November 2010
Cost: $10.00 Members $15.00 non members (includes lunch)
Address: Royal Historical Society of Victoria, 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne

URL: http://www.historyvictoria.org.au

RHSV Lecture - Vera Deakin's War Effort

2010-11-04T22:07:00.004+11:00

Speaker: Carole Woods
Date: 9 November 2010
Time: Coffee/Tea 5.15pm Lecture 5.45pm
Address: Royal Historical Society of Victoria, 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne
Price: Members free - Non-members $5.50

Vera was the youngest of the three daughters of Pattie and Alfred Deakin, and she studied cello and singing in Budapest prior to the outbreak of the Great War. Rebelling against the Australian government's restrictions on women's participation in the war effort, Vera sailed to Cairo in 1915 and became the founding secretary of the Australian Red Cross Wounded and Missing Enquiry Bureau, the forerunner of Australian Red Cross tracing services. Vera moved the Enquiry Bureau to London in 1916 and two years later received the OBE for outstanding humanitarian work.

The Australian Red Cross Enquiry Bureau's endeavours to trace missing soldiers and report on wounded soldiers in hospitals brought relief to thousands of anxious relatives. When Bureau staff found that a missing soldier had died, they tried to provide details of death and burial to relatives desperate for information. The greatest joy for a Red Cross searcher was to hear a man indignantly declare from a hospital bed: 'I am not missing. Who says I am?'

Vera led a close-knit team of mostly Australian women, and the Enquiry Bureau became widely known in the AIF as the fount of knowledge on missing and wounded soldiers and also as a home away from home.

Today the records of the Australian Wounded and Missing Enquiry Bureau stand at the heart of the Australian War Memorial archive on the Great War.

Carole Woods worked as a librarian at the State Library of Victoria and La Trobe University Library. She later became a freelance historian and her work includes Local History in Victoria: an annotated bibliography (1980), Beechworth: a Titan's Field and Vision Fugitive: the Story of David Allen. She plans to publish her biography of Vera Deakin White in 2011. Carole is a Fellow and secretary of the RHSV and has served on the Publications Committee for 21 years. She was a judge of the Victorian Community History Awards for 10 years, and has completed several projects for the Fitzroy History Society.

RHSV Lecture - Italians ans Swiss-Italians on the Walhalla Goldfield

2010-09-25T15:38:00.003+10:00

Speaker: Annamaria Davine
Date: Tuesday 12 October
Place: Royal Historical Society of Victoria, 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne
Time: 5.15 tea/coffee 5.45 lecture
Cost: members free - non members $5.50

In the decades following the discovery of gold in Walhalla in late 1863, thousands of men and women went to the district eager to make their fortune. Among them were hundreds of Italian and Swiss-Italians (Italians), mostly males. These were usually sojourners, temporary residents who, although assumed to be ‘migrants’ when entering Victoria, did not necessarily have a commitment to permanent settlement. They were woodcutters, timber contractors, tramway builders and charcoal makers and it was not unusual for them to travel from Europe to the Walhalla goldfield 2-3 times during their working lives. Nor were they always desperately poor. Pietro Bombardieri, for example, ‘migrated’ to Australia at least seven times over a forty year period and lived in Walhalla for part of this time working as a timber contractor.

Who were they and what were their aspirations? I will provide some background into my research and, using two case studies, discuss what ‘migration’ may have meant to Walhalla’s Italians. Has its meaning changed over time, or has its use oversimplified and formularized a complex and diverse process in time, place and belonging?

Annamaria (Anna) Davine is an honorary research fellow in the University of Melbourne’s School of Historical Studies and a member of the Professional Historians` Association.

Two new exhibitions at the RHSV

2010-09-25T15:29:00.002+10:00

A Singular Record
A selection of manuscripts from the RHSV collection including documents relating to prominent Melbourne identities such as John Batman as well as the newcomer hoping to make a fortune on the goldfields.The exhibition highlights the value of the manuscript collection for a variety of research purposes including family history research.

Victorian Community History Awards 2010
The winners and commended entries in the Victorian Community History awards, along with a number of the other entries, are now on display in the RHSV foyer.

Both exhibitions can be viewed at the Royal Historical Society of Victoria, 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne, Mondays to Fridays between 10 am and 4 pm.

Workshop - Designing and maintaining a website

2010-09-14T20:41:00.002+10:00

This session is designed for groups planning to have a website or planning to redevelop their website. Topics include basics of website design, methods for creating websites, technical aspects including use of images on the web including copyright and access rights, pdf files, hosting of websites, maintaining websites and publicising the website.

Date: Wednesday 13 October, 2010
Time: 10.30 am - 12.30 pm
Price: Free
Where: Royal Historical Society of Victoria,239 A'Beckett Street Melbourne
Bookings essential
Email: office@historyvictoria.org.au or
Phone: 9326 9288

Website: www.historyvictoria.org.au

Workshop - Pocasting for historical societies

2010-09-14T20:36:00.002+10:00

Digitally recording audio files and putting them online is increasingly being undertaken by groups to make the talks from meetings, oral history excerpts and self guided audio tours available to a wider audience. Topics will include recording and editing audio files and putting the audio files online. Examples from RHSV audio projects and projects from other groups will be provided. Ethical issues in recording will also be discussed.

Date: Wednesday 20 October, 2010
Time: 10.30 am - 12.30 pm
Price: Free
Where: Royal Historical Society of Victoria, 239 A'Beckett Street Melbourne

Bookings essential
Email: office@historyvictoria.org.au or
Phone: 9326 9288

Website www.historyvictoria.org.au

Workshop - Indexing for historical societies

2010-09-14T20:25:00.001+10:00

Presenter: John Adams
Place: RHSV 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne
When: Friday 29 October 2009
Time: 10 am - 3.00 pm
Cost: $40 Members - $45 Non-members (Fee includes a book and morning tea)
Bookings essential 9326 9288 or office@historyvictoria.org.au

John Adams, a member of the Australian Society of Indexers and a Fellow and honorary indexer of the Victorian Historical Journal, will outline the processes of indexing uncluding the selection of key words and formatting index entries. Particular issues relevant to the peculiarities of indexing non-book items ( periodicals, manuscripts, newspapers, photographs and other non-book materials) will also be discussed. A copy of Indexing for Historical Societies will be provided to each participant.

Oral History Workshop

2010-09-14T20:15:00.003+10:00

Oral History Association of Australia (Victorian Branch) is holding an oral history workshop focussing on the following aspects of recording oral history:
- Ethical guidelines
- Interviewing for oral history projects
- Recording equipment
- Listening to, transcribing and logging interviews

Date: Saturday 20 November, 2010
Time: 9.30 am - 5.00 pm
Where: William Angliss Institute, 555 La Trobe Street Melbourne VIC
Cost: $75 non-members; $55 members and unwaged
Lunch, morning and afternoon tea provided
Bring a digital recorder if you have one.

These workshops are very popular so it is advisable to book early.

Book by sending payment with details of your name, address, telephone number, email , amount enclosed, (student / Pension No. if applicable) to
Treasurer OHAA Victorian Branch 14 Lower Road, Wattle Glen 3096

Website: home.vicnet.net.au/~oralhist/

Lecture - The Great Melbourne Telescope: Restoring our astronomical heritage

2010-09-14T20:08:00.002+10:00

JOINT ANNUAL LECTURE: The Royal Society of Victoria and the Royal Historical Society of Victoria
Speaker: Dr Richard Gillespie
Date: Thursday 23 September, 2010
Time: Pre-lecture refreshments 6.15pm Lecture 7.00 pm
Where: Royal Society Hall, entrance now at 8 La Trobe Street Melbourne
Price: $20 on the night

RSVP for catering essential: 12 noon 21 Sept, telephone 9663 5259 or email rsv@sciencevictoria.org.au

RSV Website: www.sciencevictoria.org.au/

Don't forget the RHSV Annual Giant Book Sale

2010-09-09T19:54:00.002+10:00

Book sale update

Sunday 12 September from 10 am to 4 pm
at 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne

The exhibition area at the RHSV is now full of tables laden with boxes of books on a wide variety of subjects including - history, geography and travel, biographies, education, sociology, religion, science, psychology, health and well-being, music, art, gardening, cooking ... There is also a great variety of fiction available plus reading for children.

So come along to the RHSV at 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne on Sunday 12 September between 10 am and 4 pm to purchase some bargains for your bookshelf and also also assist the RHSV in this fundraising event.

RHSV Lecture - The Many Lives of Kenneth Meyer

2010-09-01T09:57:00.003+10:00

Date: Tuesday 14 September
Time: 5.15 tea/coffee. Lecture 5.45
Place: Royal Historical Society of Victoria, 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne
Cost: Members Free - Non-members $5.50
Speaker: Sue Ebury

When Kenneth Baillieu Myer’s father fell dead on the footpath in 1934, Ken’s life changed in an instant. As the eldest son of the Jewish immigrant retailing genius, Sidney Baevski Myer, who went from pedlar to philanthropist millionaire in fifteen years, 13-year-old Ken was immediately acknowledged as head of the family.

Despite a conventional education at Geelong Grammar and a year at Princeton University, Ken was an unconventional man. He had hit headlines when he was born and continued to make news throughout his life-as the powerful Executive Chairman of Myer; in his refusal to be Governor-General of Australia; with his separation and divorce from his wife Prue and remarriage to a Japanese woman half his age, Yasuko Hiraoka; as Chairman of the Victorian Arts Centre and the National Library of Australia; and during his disastrous years as Chairman of the ABC-a reward for signing the 'Myer It’s time' letter, acknowledged by Whitlam as influential in bringing the Labor Party to power in 1972.

Ken Myer introduced Australia to the first regional shopping centres, with Chadstone changing the face of the Australian landscape. Parking meters, state of the art information systems at the National Library of Australia, ground-breaking medical research at The Howard Florey Institute and genetic engineering at CSIRO were all facilitated by him.

With unprecedented access to family documents, Sue Ebury paints a vivid portrait of the many aspects of Ken Myer’s life, and the man himself.

RHSV Lecture: Victoria in focus

2010-08-08T09:01:00.002+10:00

Date: Tuesday 10 August
Time: 5.15 tea / coffee 5.45 Lecture
Place: Royal Historical Society of Victoria, 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne
Cost: members free; non-members $5.50

Michele Summerton will discuss the The RHSV's Photography Collection in her lecture, Victoria in Focus. Michele will explore the many themes in Victoria’s history represented throughout the collection and will overview the many photographic processes used to capture the images. The talk will provide a taste of this valuable collection and also an insight into the role of photography in history.

RHSV Book Sale for 2010

2010-07-15T13:17:00.004+10:00

The annual RHSV book sale will this year be held from 10 am to 4 pm on Sunday 12 September at 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne.

Donations of books are now being received for the sale. If you are able to donate books either bring items to the RHSV (10 am - 4 pm Monday to Friday) or contact the RHSV - phone: 9326 9288 or email: office@historyvictoria.org.au - to make arrangements for delivery / collection of the books.

New Historians / Professional Historians Association joint lecture

2010-07-07T13:21:00.003+10:00

Date: Tuesday 13 July
Time: 5.15 tea / coffee 5.45 Lecture
Place: Royal Historical Society of Victoria, 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne
Cost: members free; non-members $5.50

Speakers:
Lucy Bracey will discuss the production of a radio program she is producing for the history show on Radio National, Hindsight. The program tentatively titled Sex, power and panic looks at the lives of three women who were thought to threaten the moral wellbeing of Nineteenth century Victorian society - Lola Montez, Madame Brussels and Emma Williams. Lucy will discuss the processes involved in the production of the radio program, plus the ways in which public historians can engage with history using different mediums, like radio.

Kirstie Close will talk about her research for her PhD thesis at Deakin University looking at the Fijian Methodist Church between 1930 and the year of the church's independence in 1964. Her research involves both archival sources, including church archives in Suva, Melbourne and Canberra plus oral history interviews.

RHSV Lecture - How I became a local historian

2010-05-09T20:17:00.002+10:00

Where: Royal Historical Society of Victoria, 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne
When: Tuesday 11 May
Time: 5.45pm following the RHSV AGM at 5.00pm
Cost: Free - members; $5.50 Non-members

Weston Bate talks about how he came to write local history and his passion for researching the experiences of ordinary people and projects involving and supporting local communities in historical research, discussion and conservation.

Temporary closure of Manuscript Collection

2010-04-21T15:46:00.002+10:00

Due to renovations in the Manuscript Room, the manuscript collection will be unavailable until Monday 10 May.

Anzac Day holiday

2010-04-21T15:44:00.001+10:00

The RHSV will be closed for the Anzac Day holiday on Monday 26 April.

RHSV Centenary Garden Party images

2010-04-02T13:10:00.002+11:00

View a slideshow of the RHSV Centenary Garden Party held in November 2009.

RHSV Lunchtime Lecture - Beyond the facade - Flinders Street, more than just a railway station

2010-04-02T12:46:00.002+11:00

Speaker: Jenny Davies
Where: Royal Historical Society of Victoria, 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne
When: Thursday 22 April
Time: 12.30 pm tea/coffee - 1.00 pm Lecture
Cost: Members free - Non-members $5.50

2010 is the centenary of the opening of Flinders Street Railway Station. Jenny Davies will tell the station's story including some of the thousands of memories of those who worked, played or visited the station during the past 100 years. A series of photographs and the projection of digital images will accompany her talk.

The exhibition, Beyond the Facade, will open at the RHSV in May.

RHSV Lunchtime Lecture - Robert Law - the man, the collection, the exhibition

2010-04-02T12:32:00.004+11:00

Speaker: Tony Aplin
Where: Royal Historical Society of Victoria, 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne
When: Tuesday 20 April
Time: 12.30 tea/coffee - 1.00 pm Lecture
Cost: Members free - Non-members $5.50

Tony Aplin will speak about the Robert Law exhibition, Minted Melbourne, currently at the RHSV. The talk will include information about Law's military service as well as an insight ito his public and private life.

Prior to a guided tour of the exhibition, members and visitors will be treated to a ' behind the scenes' story of the manner in which the exhibition was staged as well as the possibility of viewing further images from the collection.

RHSV Lecture - A black apron view of history?

2010-04-02T12:17:00.002+11:00

The Annual CJ La Trobe / Royal Historical Society of Victoria Lecture
Speaker: Bev Roberts
When: Tuesday 13 April
Place: Royal Historical Society of Victoria, 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne
Time: 6.00 pm refreshments - 6.45 Lecture
Cost: $20.00
Bookings essential: 9326 9288

Bev Roberts discusses the lives of two remarkable pioneers - Anne Drysdale and Caroline Newcombe - in the context of what might be called the 'black apron' view of history. These independent single women worked on Anne's successful squatting run and played active parts in the early life of the Geelong region.

Exhibitions - Minted Melbourne

2010-02-20T11:19:00.003+11:00

Date: until 16 April 2010
Time: Monday to Friday 10 am - 4.00 pm
Place: Royal Historical Society of Victoria, 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne

Images from the Robert Law Collection at the RHSV

Born in Scotland in 1870, Law arrived in Melbourne to take up his posting at the Royal Victorian Mint in 1890. His talent an an amateur photographer has left a rich visual history of his times.

The images in the holdings range widely from formal and informal pictures of his family to scenic landmarks, cityscapes and street scenes from Australia and around the world.

HVSG Seminar Day - Moe

2010-02-20T10:38:00.002+11:00

Date: Saturday 13 March
Time: 10.00 am - 4.00 pm
Place: Old Gipps Town, 211 Lloyd Street, Moe
Cost: $15 (includes lunch) - paid on the day

Program includes the following sessions:
Linda Barraclough - publishing on blogs and Flickr
Vicki Court - footnoting, references, bibliographies and indexes
Lenore Frost - researching, interpreting and using photographs

There will be plenty of time to explore Old Gipps Town

Bookings essential by Wednesday 10 March
Email: office@historyvictoria.org.au
Phone: 9326 9288

RHSV Lecture - George Higinbotham and the Family

2010-02-19T18:10:00.003+11:00

Speaker: Susan Priestley
Date: Tuesday 9 March
Time: 5.15 tea/coffee 5.45 Lecture
Place: Royal Historical Society of Victoria, 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne
Cost: Members Free Non members $5.50

George Higinbotham succeeded Sir William Stawell in 1886 as Victoria's third Chief Justice. In 1937, forty-five years after his death, the then Chief Justice, Sir Richard Mann, unveiled a life size bronze statue north to the Old Treasury entrance steps. Mann's speech revealed that Higginbotham's high repute was undiminished by time. Recent biographies have suggested that his public repute was at odds with his private behaviour. This paper seeks to counter that charge.

Lecture - The governor general, the entertainer and a tale of two vexatious litigants

2010-02-09T11:11:00.003+11:00

Speaker: Dr Simon Smith
Date: Tuesday 9 February
Place: RHSV 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne
Time: 5.15 pm tea / coffee 5.45 lecture
Cost: Members free. Non-members $5.50

Australia cherishes its excentrics, dissenters, rascals, ratbags, cranks and agitators. However in the legal sphere, the environment is more restrained. Those individuals who persist in self litigating and try the patience of those administering the system are eventually decalred by the court to be 'vexatious litigants'. Somon Smith's book, Maverick Litigants, traces the evolution of this harsh sanction since its introduction in Australia in 1930 and brings to life previously untold stories of six Australian vexatious litigants.

Centenary Garden Party in Edwardian Style

2009-11-01T15:47:00.004+11:00

Date: Sunday 29 November 2009
Location: Imaretta, Merricks (directions available when booking)
Cost: $35 members or $45 non-members [charabanc party]
$20 members or $30 non-members [private motor]

Weston and Janice Bate are hosts for a stylish garden party and luncheon at Imaretta, Merricks, to round off the centenary year of the Royal Historical Society of Victoria. Friends are most welcome. A touch of 1909 dress in hats, parasols, floral buttonholes, light colours, etc is recommended for the occasion.

A motor charabanc will leave Frankston Railway Station carpark at 10.30 am with an experienced guide to alert passengers to the pioneers of the spectacular peninsula. It will return to Frankston in time for the 3.52 train to Melbourne. Best morning train departs Flinders Street at 8.58 arriving at Frankston an hour later. Parking for private motors is available at Frankston for those not wishing to take the train.

For those unable to to join the charabanc party, parking is available in Imaretta's spacious cow paddock. Directions will be available on booking. Please ask the chauffeur to arrange arrival from 11 am, and to pack folding chairs.

Bookings essential by Thursday 26 November. Please indicate any special dietary requirements.
Phone: 9326 9288
Email: office@historyvictoria.org.au

History Council of Victoria - Annual Lecture

2009-10-28T13:17:00.003+11:00

Date: Thursday 5 November 2009
Where: State Library of Victoria, Village Roadshow Theatrette, La Trobe Street, Melbourne
Time: 6pm
Cost: $15 ($10 concession)

Martin Flanagan: A Tasmanian in Victoria
Martin Flanagan and Paul Bateman in conversation

Tasmania and Victoria: two different states; two different histories; two very different psyches.

For more information go to the History Council of Victoria website.

RSVP: Dimity Mapstone: mavic@mavic.asn.au or 8341 7344

Restoring history to the school curriculum - A History Week Event

2009-10-07T10:24:00.003+11:00

Speaker: Professor Stuart Macintyre
Place: RHSV, 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne
Date: Tuesday 27 October
Time: 5.15 pm tea / coffee Lecture 5.45 pm
Cost: Members free - Nonmembers $5.50

History is one of the first four subjects to be developed in the national curriculum being established by the Commonwealth and State governments. This exercise will establish history as a distinct subject from the earliest years of schooling to Year 12.

In the lecture Professor Macintyre will report on the extensive consultations, outline the likely curriculum and discuss its implications.

At present history is not taight systematically in Australian schools. Probably less than half of all students learn history in the compulsory years of schooling and far fewer in Years 11 & 12. The curriculum being developed uses a world approach and how Australian history can be taught through such an approach will be discussed.

RHSV Lecture - Les Chandler of Cardross

2009-09-05T17:43:00.003+10:00

Speaker: Mary Chandler
Where: RHSV 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne
Date: Tuesday 8 September 2009
Time: 5.15 tea/coffe 5.45 Lecture
Cost: Members free Non-members $5.50

Les Chandler was born in 1888 and spent his early life at at The Basin. Later he trained as a jeweller in Melbourne and joined the Bird Observers' Club around 1907/8, the Royal Ornothologists' Union in 1910, the Victorian Field Naturalists' Club shortly after this and co-founded the Sunraysia Field Naturalists' Club in 1949 and was an original member and part founder of the Mildura Historical Society.

He was one of Australia's first bird photographers and made the rings as well as carrying out the first bird banding in this country.

After the First World War, Les spent several weeks exploring the Kulkyne area and became a friend of the last surviving member of the Kulkyne tribe, Mary Woorlong. In 1921 he returned to Red Cliffs and joined the Nursery Camp before taking up Block 406. He worked there until his retirement to Red Cliffs township 35 years later. He was a prolific writer and photographer of nature and had his work exhibited throughout the world. He won many prizes including the Kodak medallion for achievement in photography.

As early as the 1930s he was trying to have the Hattah Lakes declared a national park and he worked tirelessly with others to that end until part of the area was declared a park in 1960. Just prior to his death in 1979, he was to see another long-life ambition realised - the rest of the lakes system and the Kulkyne Forest proclaimed the Huttah Kulkyne National Park.

The talk will conclude with a DVD about the early Chandlers, World War I and early Red Cliffs to today.

Melbourne Day Lecture - Reconstructing the natural history of Melbourne

2009-08-04T15:24:00.003+10:00

Speaker: Dr Gary Presland
Where: Royal Historical Society of Victoria, 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne
When: Monday 31 August
Time: Tea / coffee 12.30 - Lecture 1.00pm
Cost: Members Free - Non members $5.50

Melbourne is built upon a variety of geological formations ranging in age from more than 400 million years to as little as 5,000 years. It is difficult now to appreciate this diversity of urban setting, which is unusual in itself, but it is even more difficult to recognise that these features have had enduring impacts on the history of this city. The natural landscapes of the Melbourne area have in fact played a dominant role in the siting and subsequent development of this city. In the process of turning John Batman's place for a village into the vastly different place we see today, much about the original environment has been lost.

However it is still possible to see how the city we have built owes something to local natural features. Gary Presland will explain how he went about reconstructing the physical environments encountered by the original white settlers in this area. He will demonstrate how Melbourne was shaped by its natural setting.

Lecture - 100 years of the Bureau of Meteorology

2009-08-04T14:51:00.004+10:00

Speaker: Dr David Day
Where: Royal Society of Victoria, 9 Victoria Street, Melbourne
When: Thursday 27 August
Time: 7.00pm
Cost: Members $20 - Non members $25

Bookings essential - 9326 9288

A joint Royal Historical Society of Victoria / Royal Society of Victoria Lecture

For decades meteorologists were derided by cartoonists for getting their forecasts wrong. It was not just the comfort of Australians at stake, it was also their livelihoods and sometimes even their lives. Floods, bushfires and cyclones all took their toll, while pilots and their passengers regularly risked their lives in absence of timely storm warnings.

For most of the twentieth century meteorologists did not dare to make seasonal predictions. That has now changed. Meteorologists now make confident predictions about the weather for the coming week whle climatologists now make hesitant predictions for the coming seasons. The climate records collected over the past century have become a vital tool in assessing the pace and direction of climate change. David Day discusses these and other issues in his talk.

RHSV Lectures - New Historians Evening

2009-08-04T14:32:00.002+10:00

Speakers: Dr Marina Larsson and Dr Adrian Threlfall
Where: RHSV 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne
When: Tuesday 11 August
Time: Tea / coffee 5.15 Lecture 5.45
Cost: Members & students Free - Non members $5.50

Shattered Anzacs: Living with the scars of war is the title of the talk, based on her book of the same title, by Marina Larsson. The book documents the story of thousands of Australian families who welcomed home soldiers disabled by the First World War. Her talk will provide a poignant account of the lasting impact of the physical injury and shell shock upon returned soldiers, and explores the profound consequences of disablement for their kin.

WWII troops response the shift from desert to jungle training is the topic of Adrian Threfall's talk. A complete transformation of Australian Army's doctrine and training was necessary if a successful transition from combat in the vast featureless wastes of the Western Desert to the oppressive and claustrophobic tropical jungle of the South West Pacific Islands was to occur. How did this transition occur? How did the Australian Army transform itself into one of the most professional, experienced and highly trained forces in jungle warfare?

RHSV Lecture - Professor David Danks

2009-07-01T12:08:00.003+10:00

Speaker: Dr Carolyn Rasmussen
Date: Tuesday 14 July 2009
Place: RHSV, 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne
Time: 5.15 (tea & Coffee) 5.45 (lecture)
Cost: Members free $5.50 Non Members

Professor David Danks - 'the father of clinical genetics in Australia' and founder of the Murdoch Children's Research Institute

Professor David Danks was the well loved and highly respected pediatrician who was a pioneer in human genetic research in Australia.

He was one of the team who in 1993 discovered the cause of Menkes Syndrome - a disease that affects one in 50,000 children; but he is principally remembered for having established Victoria's first genetics health service, known today as the Murdoch Childrens' Research Institute.

RHSV Lecture - Well Rowed University

2009-06-16T08:24:00.003+10:00

Speaker: Dr Judith Buckrich
Where: RHSV
When: Thursday 25 June
Time: tea/coffee 12.30 pm lecture 1.00 pm
Cost: Members free - Non members $5.50

Judith Buckrich will speak about her latest book, Well Rowed University: Melbourne University Boat Club - the First 150 Years. Her book is the story of Melbourne and its society, of the University of Melbourne and of the Yarra River. Since the early 1900s MUBC has given Australia many world and Olympic champions.

AGL Shaw Lecture - Crime in Port Phillip 1835-1851

2009-05-27T18:10:00.004+10:00

This is a combined lecture with the C J La Trobe Society

Speaker: His Honour Paul Mullaly
Date: Tuesday 9 June
Time: 6.00 pm - 8.00 pm (Lecture at 6.45 pm)
Place: Royal Historical Society of Victoria, 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne
Cost: $20.00
Bookings essential 9326 9288

In his talk His Honour will use some of the crimes committed in the Port Phillip District between 1835 and 1851 to illustrate what was happening in the developing community of that time and how the authorities and legal system coped with those crimes. This will involve some discussion of the reaction of those involved either as victims, criminals or witnesses. The background of those convicted, the sentences imposed and the level of remission of such sentences will also be discussed.

His Honour will talk about the relations between the Aborigines and the white community, particularly where it was alleged that the actions of one group or the other amounted to criminal activity and how the relevant authorities dealt with the criminal activity.

RHSV Annual report

2009-05-15T10:16:00.003+10:00

The 99th Annual Report of the Royal Historical Society of Victoria can be downloaded from the RHSV website - www.historyvictoria.org.au

The direct link to the online copy of the report is
http://www.historyvictoria.org.au/pdf/RHSVannualreport.pdf

RHSV Lunchtime Lecture - William Josiah Hammersley

2009-05-15T09:51:00.005+10:00

William Josiah Hammersley: Australia's best known sportsman of the mid nineteenth century

Speaker: Gillian Hibbins
When: Thursday 21 May
Where: Royal Historical Society, 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne
Time: 12.30 pm Tea/coffee 1.00 pm Lecture
Cost: Members - free; Non-members - $5.50

William Hammersley, sporting journalist and 1857 Victorian cricket eleven captain, was a colonial mover and shaker in the 1850s to the 1880s. Generally supporting all the 'manly' sports, Hammersley helped to codify Australian Rules Football, pushed the Albert Park Lagoon as a site for rowing and yachting, first used the term 'test match', advocated the introduction of the totalisator, started the athletics races with his pistol, encouraged the introduction of the Maribyrnong Plate, moved to get the first fence erected around the MCG, and used much ink trying to make horse racing honest and to prevent the professionalism of Australian cricket.

Gillian has published Sport and Racing in Colonial Melbourne which covers the start of many of our sports.

RHSV Annual General Meeting

2009-04-29T16:16:00.003+10:00

The Annual General Meeting of the Royal Historical Society of Victoria will be held on Tuesday 12 May at the RHSV at 5.00pm. For further information see the April issue of History News.

The AGM will be followed by a lecture on A remarkable woman: Jessie Stobo Webb (1880 - 1944) presented by Professor Ron Ridley.

RHSV Lecture - A remarkable woman: Jessie Stobo Watson Webb (1880-1944)

2009-04-29T15:52:00.003+10:00

Speaker: Professor Ron Ridley
When: Tuesday 12 May
Where: RHSV, 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne
Time: 5.45 pm following the AGM
Cost: Members free - Non-members $5.50

Jessie Webb was one of the leading women of the second generation at the University of Melbourne. She lectured in Ancient History from 1908. She travelled widely, first to Africa and Greece in 1923 and then to the Middle East in the 1930s. Jessie Webb also played a leading role in public life as a member of the Women's Graduate Association, the Lyceum Club, the Women's College, RHSV as well as being an Australian delegate to the League of Nations in 1923.

History Week

2009-04-15T10:10:00.002+10:00

History Week 2009 will be held from Sunday 25th October until Sunday 1st November. More details as they become available.

RHSV Lecture - A Fiesty View of the Twentieth Century

2009-03-31T11:00:00.004+11:00

Speaker: Marion Poynter
Place: Royal Historical Society of Victoria, 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne
When: Tuesday 14 April
Time: 5.15pm (tea or coffee) for 5.45 pm lecture
Cost: Members free - Non-members $5.50

The extensive collection of letters and other writings that were left when Melbourne born Valentine Leeper died in 2001, at the age of 101, are of particular interest in providing a unique perspective on the world, national and local events that shaped the twentieth century, through the eyes of an acute and articulate observer. They form the basis of a recently published book on her life and times written by Marion Poynter - Nobody's Valentine: letters in the life of Valentine Leeper, 1900 to 2001.

RHSV Lunchtime Lecture - First plantings in the Garden State

2009-03-17T12:09:00.004+11:00

Speaker: Valda Cole
Date: Thursday 26 March 2009
Place: Royal Historical Society of Victoria, 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne
Time: Coffee / tea 12.30; Lecture 1.00pm
Cost: members free; non-members $5.50

This year marks the arrival of Edward Henty in Victoria in 1834 and the continuity of 175 years of agricultural pursuits with his plantings of fruit trees and vegetable seeds for sustenance. By following the paths of exploration this talk will look at the simple work of tilling and planting by early explorers and settlers. When gazing over Melbourne's skyline today we are reminded that botanists, horticulturalists and nurserymen shaped much of its beauty. Many of those people, known simply as gardeners brought accomplishments to the new settlement that had been gained in their homelands.

Lecture - Introduction of the Modern style into Melbourne

2009-02-16T12:00:00.002+11:00

Date - 10 March 2009

Place - Royal Historical Society of Victoria, 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne

Time - 5.15 (tea/coffee) Lecture 5.45

Cost - Members free Non-members $5.50

As Melbourne celebrated its Centenary and began to emerge from the Depression, the city was transformed into a major centre of Art Deco (or Moderne) styling. Robin Grow, President of the Art Deco & Modernism Society will talk about how the transformation of Melbourne came about in a decade that began with a Depression and ended with a World War.

Event Name: RHSV Lecture - History can be hidden, forgotten, resisted. It is a site of both remembrance & forgetfulness.

2009-01-29T09:19:00.006+11:00

 Price: Free (members) $5.50 (non members)
Time:  5.15 (tea & coffee) 5.45 Lecture
Date:  10 February 2009


Address: Royal Historical Society of Victoria,
239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne
Phone: 93269288
Email: office@historyvictoria.org.au
URL: http://www.historyvictoria.org.au


Institutional archives are the storehouses for salvaged
fragments of the colonial past and provide the material
from which history is written. The document, the text
and more recently the image - particularly the photographic
image - enable new perspectives to be given as well as the
retrieval of pasts that may have been forgotten or omitted
from dominant narratives. While traditionally the preserve of
the historian or the researcher, in recent years a growing
number of artists have been lured to the archive attracted by
its potential to trouble the knowledges and understandings
that continue to circulate in wider Australia today.

The experience of colonialism and government assimilation
policies for many Aboriginal Australians was underpinned by
intrusive, sometimes punitive measures, aimed at eradicating
Indigenous cultural traditions understood by many Europeans as
primitive and out of place in the burgeoning modernity of the
new nation. This severed an ongoing relationship with culture
for many Aboriginal Australians, indelibly altering the nature
of that connection for others. Remnants of the past,preserved
in the form of photographs, documents and material culture,
locked away in archives and museum collections, are now being
used to facilitate a reengagement with culture by artists and
other community members. Thus collecting institutions,
can be both a site of loss and a 'treasure box' to be mined
- inherently ambivalentspaces for many First Australians today.

In this lecture Wendy will discuss the photographic work of a
number of artists who re-use archival photographs to bring to
light new perspectives and little known
histories about Victoria's Indigenous pasts.

Wendy Garden is a doctoral candidate at the University of
Melbourne in the School of Historical Studies. In 2004 she
completed a Masters of Arts which focused on photographs of
Indian elites and British colonials during the high imperialist
period of the British Raj. Her current project entitled
Re-membering the archive:nineteenth century photography and
contemporary practice analyses recent work by a number of
Australian artists who engage with the photographic archive
to interrogate settler representations of Aboriginality.

In addition to research in Australian archives Wendy has
carried out research in a variety of photographic archives
in India and the United Kingdom including the Maharaja Sawai
Man Singh 11 Museum in Jaipur and more recently the Pitts Rivers
Museum, University of Oxford and the Museum of Archaeology
and Anthropology, University of Cambridge.

Wendy Garden was Curator at the Royal Historical Society
of Victoria, 1999-2003 and has been the Art Curator for
Banyule City Council since 2002

Lecture - Hard Jacka

2008-11-05T15:44:00.002+11:00

Date: 11 November 2008
Time: 5.15 pm (tea/coffee) Lecture 5.45 pm
Where: Royal Historical Society of Victoria, 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne
Price: Free (members) $5.50 (non-members)

Michael Lawrinwsky will provide a powerpoint presentation about his book, Hard Jacka, a novelised account of the exploits of Albert Jacka, Australia's first VC winner of the Great War. The novel is based on extensive historical research.

The presentation will include a number of aerial photographs of battlefields such as Courtney's Post and Hill 60 at Gallipoli, Bullecourt in France and Polygon Wood in Belgium, with overlays of the Australian positions, as well as contemporary photographs of memorable 14th Battalion members.

The themes explored in the book and in Michael's presentation include Australian identity and values, mateship, the fair go, leadership, sportsmanship, larrikin humour, ambition, class conflict, bravery, life and death and the future lost.

RHSV Lecture - Why is Victoria different?

2008-10-08T17:50:00.007+11:00

Speaker: Weston Bate
When: Tuesday 14 October
Where: RHSV 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne
Time: 5.15 Tea / coffee 5.45 Lecture
Cost: Members free - Non-members $5.50

History Week Talk

This talk emphasises Victoria's fortuitous beginnings, with firstly a pastoral and then a mining boom. Contrasting groups of people and interests had an epic struggle for the power to control development. There was almost a civil war in the 1870s as the predominant goldrush generations tried to break the constitutional stranglehold of conservatives in the Legislative Council.

Radical liberalism, protectionism, emergence of trade unions, development of Marvellous Melbourne in the 1880s, Sydney-Melbourne rivalry, cultural depths, trends in religion are some of the topics to be covered, concluding with why Melbourne is so often cited as Australia's most livable city.

RHSV Lecture - Medicine on the March - Supporting our Services

2008-10-08T12:38:00.002+11:00

A shared event with the Shrine of Rememberance.

Weston Bate, Flying Officer during WWII, will facilitate a "making history in the round" session where we invite former Services medical personnel to talk about their experiences during war and peace.

"Making history in the round" becomes a wonderful informal way of gathering the stories of the quieter makers of history - come and participate in this intimate and enjoyable history making experience. The memories will be recorded and stored at the RHSV.

The event will take place at the RHSV in the Officers' Mess of the former Army Medical Drill Hall, an army site from 1866-1988.

Bookings essential - 9326 9288

Gold coin donation. Proceeds to go to the Sir Weary Dunlop Medical Research Foundation Price: Time: 5.15 Refreshments 5.45 Lecture
Date: 16 October 2008
Address: Royal Historical Society of Victoria, 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne

Phone: 9326 9288
Email: office@historyvictoria.org.au

RHSV / RSV Lecture - The Adventures of a historian in the International Arms Trade

2008-09-19T10:30:00.006+10:00

 Speaker:    Dr Peter Yule
Price:      $15 RHSV or RSV members - $20 non-members
Time:       6.00 pm refreshments 6.30 Lecture
Start Date: 25 September 2008
End Date:   25 September 2008

Address: Royal Society of Victoria, 9 Victoria Street
City:    Melbourne

Bookings essential
Contact:

Phone: 9326 9288
Email: office@historyvictoria.org.au
URL: http://www.historyvictoria.org.au

Writing the history of the Collins Class Submarine project

The Australian navy has six Collins Class submarines, designed by the Swedish company
Kockums, and built at Port Adelaide between 1989 and 2003.

The construction of the Collins class submarines was Australia's largest and most
controversial military purchase. The submarine project was subjected to
an unprecedented level of media scrutiny and criticism, became highly politicised and
on several occasions faced the prospect of being abandoned.

Writing the history of the submarine project proved to be an interesting cultural
clash as I wandered through arms fairs, interviewed fanatical weapons experts and
waded through the container loads of documents generated by the project.

I was surprised by the conclusions I came to. The general public perception of the
submarine project is that it was a hugely expensive failure and that the submarines
are noisy 'dud subs'. The reality is very different. The submarines are not 'noisy as
a rock concert' but they do have a major defect which the media and the public have
never understood.

To reveal this defect will lay me open to massive retribution from international arms
dealers, but I promise to tell all at the RHSV/Royal Society lecture on 25
September.

Peter Yule is a Research Fellow of the History Department of the University of
Melbourne. He has written widely on medical, business and local history, with his
recent books including a biography of Sir Ian Potter and Steel, Spies and Spin: the
Collins Class Submarine Story. He is currently writing a biography of W.L. Baillieu.

RHSV Lecture - Summer in the Hills

2008-09-05T12:01:00.003+10:00

Speaker: Andrea Inglis
When: Tuesday 9 September
Where: RHSV - 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne
Time: 5.15 pm coffee/tea 5.45 pm
LectureCost: Members Free Non Members $5.50

Australia’s colonial gentry found it fashionable to summer in the hills. Mountain resorts at Mount Macedon in Victoria, at Toowoomba in Queensland and in the Blue Mountains and Southern Highlands of New South Wales and the Adelaide Hills of South Australia, offered a cooler climate, curative mountain air, exotic gardens and a place for high society to gather.

Andrea Inglis takes a close look at these antipodean hill stations, which had their Imperial or Anglo-Indian antecedents and yet a character of their own. She opens a window on a style of life that was distinctive in its aesthetics and its ideas about health and the Australian bush.

Andrea Inglis is an historian with an interest in Australian social history, in particular the recreation and leisure pursuits of colonists in the nineteenth century. She has a Doctorate in history from the University of Melbourne and is the author of Beside the Seaside, a history of the early seaside resorts of Victoria, published in 1999 and Summer in the Hills: The Nineteenth-Century Mountain Resort in Australia published in 2008. Andrea has been a teacher and currently works in educational research.

RHSV Melbourne Day Lunchtime Lecture - Grave stories of Queen Victoria Market

2008-08-02T09:13:00.004+10:00

When: Friday 29 August - Melbourne Day
Where: RHSV, 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne
Cost: Free (members) $5.50 (non-members)
Time: 12 noon Tea/coffee Lecture: 12.30pm

Join Dr Celestina Sagazio, Senior Historian of the National Trust, for an illustrated presentation exploring the history of the fascinating and unique Queen Victoria Market.
The Queen Victoria Market is a vibrant, cosmopolitan place that has won a place in our hearts and is a leading tourist attraction in Melbourne. Yet we almost lost the market many years ago. Threats of possible closure or demolition of parts of the site were averted in the 1970s, largely through the efforts of the National Trust and other community groups and individuals. There are no other markets of this scale, occupying the original buildings, anywhere in Australia.
The ‘Vic Market’ is the only one of the major nineteenth century markets in Australia to survive intact and still operate.

The site also has considerable significance for Melbournians as the location of the Old Melbourne Cemetery, Melbourne’s first official cemetery, which opened in 1837. Thousands of people are believed to be still buried underneath the market. Like the market, the Old Melbourne Cemetery is the source of many interesting tales.

Dr Celestina Sagazio, who has worked as an historian with the National Trust for 23 years, has published widely in the heritage field. Her publications include Cemeteries: Our Heritage, Conserving Our Cemeteries and The National Trust Research Manual. Celestina has conducted
extensive research into historic places in Victoria and is involved with the classifications and conservation lobbying work of the Trust. She is the organiser of the successful Full Moon and Halloween tours of the Melbourne General Cemetery.

RHSV Lecture – New Historians Lecture

2008-08-02T08:52:00.003+10:00

When: Tuesday12 August
Speakers: Dr Nick Dyrenfurth and Peter Burke
Where: RHSV, 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne
Time: 5.15 pm (tea and coffee) Lecture 5.45 pm
Cost: Members Free: Non Members $5.50

Two new historians share what promises to be an informative and entertaining evening. Not to be missed!

“All the world over”: the transnational world of Australian radical and labour cartoonists, 1880s to 1920
Speaker: Dr Nick Dyrenfurth
This talk considers the transnational world of early Australian radical and labour cartoonists, focussing upon the work of well-known artists Phil May, Livingstone Hopkins, Montague Scott, Claude Marquet, Jim Case and, most prominently, the Victorian Will Dyson. Political cartooning
constituted a vitally important element of the cultural politics of the early Australian labour movement. However, most historians have assumed that the visual evidence of this period was merely confirmation of an existing or latent working-class consciousness, rather than understanding the role of iconic representation in the making and re-making of class.

This talk has two main concerns. Firstly it will show how Australian cartoonists drew on their Anglo-American backgrounds and the parallel overseas activities of the day. Secondly, in this context, it will explore the nature and purpose of their collective project, which created a
populist narrative of ‘heroes and villains’ for political Labor: villainous capitalistic ‘Fat Men’ battled it out against heroic male ‘workers’ and a more collective vision of ‘the People’.
Nick Dyrenfurth is a political historian who lectures in the School of Historical Studies at Monash University.

The social history of workplace Australian football 1860-1939
Speaker: Peter Burke
This presentation is based upon doctorate research into the social history of workplace football. The doctorate examines the social context and development of workplace Australian football from the period in the early 1860s, when the game emerged as a distinct code, to the outbreak of the Second World War. The presentation will explain the main findings of the research. Although discussion is restricted mainly to the state of Victoria and, in particular, the metropolitan area of Melbourne, developments in other states and regions of Australia are considered where they are
important in tracing the evolution of workplace football.

Peter Burke is enrolled in doctorate program at RMIT University and works also at the research office in RMIT. In recent years he has published a number of articles on the social history of Australian football and is currently editing a book based on papers presented to the 2007
Footy Fever conference. He is also the convenor for the Victorian chapter of the Australian Society for Sports History.

Victorian Folklife Fund suspended for 2008

2008-07-24T15:19:00.000+10:00

Due to unforeseen circumstances the Victorian Folk life Fund for 2008 has had to be suspended. Please do not send an application for this year. It is hoped the programme will recommence in 2009. For further information please contact the Royal Historical Society of Victoria on 9326 9288.

RHSV & RHS lecture - A land specially dedicated to the unforseen

2008-07-04T13:45:00.007+10:00

The El Nino droughts of 1864-1869.
This is a joint event held with the Royal Societyof Victoria
Speaker: Assoc. Prof. Don Garden
Where:Royal Historical Society of Victoria, 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne
When: Thursday 7 August
Time: 6.00 pm Delicious savoury refreshments - 6.30 pm Lecture
Cost: $15.00 members of RHSV & RSV - $20.00 non members

Bookings essential: 9326 9288 or office@historyvictoria.org.au

The 1864-1869 drought was one of the most damaging and severe in colonial history. The talk focuses on the effects of the droughts on the eastern colonies, particularly on the pastoral industry.

This was a critical time in the expansion of the pastoral industry as it moved increasingly into arid and semi-arid regions. Unfamiliarity with the environmental conditions in the regions combined with a couple of good seasons in the early 1860s had encouraged overconfidence and misjudgements in stocking the land.

The unpredictable and punishing nature of the climate caused considerable pain and promoted reflection on the nature of the colonial experience. It also resulted in the first significant but vain attempts to 'drought proof' the colonies.

RHSV Lecture - The secret RAAF radar station at Wilsons Promontory during WWII

2008-07-02T13:02:00.002+10:00

Date: Tuesday 8 July, 2008
Time: 5.15pm tea/coffee 5.45pm lecture
Price; Free (members) $5.50 (non-members)
Where: Royal Historical Society of Victoria, 239 A'Beckett Street Melbourne VIC

At the outbreak of the 1939-45 War the Australian Government believed that Australia was not open to the threat of invasion but that we did need to prepare for sporadic raids. In November 1940 the latter became reality with German vessels laying minefields at strategic points around the Australian coast.

When the German mines claimed their first victims and Japan brought the conflict into our hemisphere Australian thinking changed radically. Plans for a chain of coastal radar stations were speedily authorised. The Wilsons Promontory station was one of the first of 130 or so to be put into operation around the Australian coast.

This RHSV lecture will be given by Ian McKellar who has researched and published its story in a book, much of it told by the men who actually served there. He describes the equipment that they used and the method of handling the intelligence that the radar stations provided.

Victorian Community History Awards Winners 2008

2008-06-18T16:14:00.004+10:00

The winners of the Victorian Community History Awards 2008 were announced on Saturday 28 may at Queens Hall Parliament House.

The overall winner was volume 6 of the Eaglehawk & District Pioneer Register prepared by Annette O'Donohue & Bev Hanson.

Collingwood Historical Society won an award for the Collingwood Plaques Project.

For a complete list of prizewinners in different categories and those awarded commendations go the Victoria Online - Victorian Local History Awards page.

Information about the Community History Awards plus previous winners can be located on the RHSV website - Victorian Community History Awards

RHSV Lecture - Explaining Alan Moorehead

2008-06-06T11:57:00.005+10:00

RHSV Fellows Invitation Lecture - Explaining Alan Moorhead

Date: Tuesday 10 June 2008
Time: 5.15 pm (tea / coffee); 5.45 Lecture
Address: Royal Historical Society of Victoria, 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne
Price: RHSV members - Free; non members $5.50

Alan Moorehead was arguably the first Australian writer to command a truly international audience. From the early 1940s until his death in 1983, his series of best-selling histories of the war in North Africa, his biographies of General Montgomery and of the atomic spies, and his books on Gallipoli, the Russian Revolution, and the European penetration of Africa (notably The White Nile) and of the Pacific (The Fatal Impact) won him an immense readership.
Many readers will recall also his books Cooper’s Creek and Darwin and the Beagle.

How was it that a run-of-the-mill Melbourne journalist became the doyen of British war correspondents 1941-1945?

How did a self-confessed failed novelist reinvent himself as a writer of popular history? And how did Moorehead himself account for these transformations?

Introducing a discussion of Alan Moorehead’s career and writings, John Lack will attempt an explanation of Moorehead’s phenomenal success, and assess his overall significance to Australian cultural development.

John Lack, who is a Senior Fellow in the School of Historical Studies at the University of Melbourne, is Victorian Section Editor of the Australian Dictionary of Biography, to which he has contributed the entry on Alan Moorehead.

Contact:
Phone: (03) 9326 9288
Email: office@historyvictoria.org.au
URL: http://www.historyvictoria.org.au/

RHSV Annual Report 2007

2008-05-15T16:41:00.004+10:00

A copy of the RHSV annual report for 2007 can now be downloaded from the About Us section of the Royal Historical Society of Victoria website - http://www.history.victoria.org.au/.

RHSV Annual General Meeting

2008-05-03T18:46:00.002+10:00

Date	Tuesday 13 May, 2008
Time	5.00 pm
Where	Royal Historical Society of Victoria, 239 A'Beckett Street Melbourne VIC

The RHSV Annual General Meeting will be held:
1. to confirm the minutes of the 97th AGM
2. to receive the annual report for the year ending 31st December 2007
3. to receive and consider the financial statement for the year ending 31st December 2007
4. to appoint the Hon. Auditor for 2008
5. to adopt revisions to the constitution
6. to elect office bearers and members of Council
7. to receive expressions of interest for the History Victoria Support Group
8. to elect any member or members who have been nominated for election as Fellows
9. to announce Awards of Merit recipients
10 to transact any special business of which notice has been given in accordance with the Rules of the Society

The AGM will be followed (at 5.45) by a lecture on George Langley - a notable educator and headmaster by Dr Alan Gregory

The Annual C J La Trobe Society/ Royal Historical Society of Victoria

2008-04-29T21:28:00.008+10:00

From Charles La Trobe to Charles Gavan Duffy: selectors, squatters and Aborigines

Speaker: Dr. Val Noone
Date: Tuesday 3 June
Time: 6 pm refreshments
Lecture: 6.30 pm
Where: Royal Historical Society of Victoria
239 A’Beckett Street Melbourne
Cost: $20.00 per head

Bookings Essential 9326 9288

Drawing on primary and secondary sources, this lecture investigates the land policies of Charles Gavan Duffy in the perspective of the legacy of Charles La Trobe. In particular, the lecture focuses on policy changes and confl icts regarding squatters, selectors and the Indigenous people during the years 1858-9 and 1861-3 when Duffy was minister for lands.

Dr Val Noone, Fellow, School of Historical Studies, University of Melbourne, author and historian, is learning the Irish language and writing about the Irish in Victoria. He has recently completed seven years as founding editor of Táin, the magazine of the Australian Irish Network.

RHSV Lunchtime Lecture - Onions in Gippsland 1900-2007

2008-04-29T21:22:00.002+10:00

Speaker: John Murphy OAM
When: Thursday 22 May
Lunch: 12.30 (Delicious onion soup!!)
Lecture: 1.00pm
Cost: $5.00 members $10.00 non members

Bookings Essential 9326 9288

Onions were first grown in Australia in NSW soon after the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788 but it was not until 1855-60 that commercial production began in the Western districts of Victoria, around Geelong, Colac and Warrnambool. Production in Gippsland began in 1900 where the growing of the long keeping Brown Spanish variety on the naturally fertile soils around Leongatha enabled many landowners to use this crop to improve their pastures. A similar pattern of land development took place in the Koo-wee-rup Swamp area.

Returns to growers however were variable, and in 1936 an Onion Marketing Board was formed to ensure that growers obtained a reasonable return for their labour. This Board operated until 1975 and succeded in stabilizing market returns, but it indirectly led to its own demise because the consequent price stability resulted in increased production in neighbouring States. This lecture also looks at the changing techniques; mechanization and herbicides and their
impact on land use.

For over forty years between 1925-1965 onion growing was an integral part of farming on the Murphy family farm which fronts on to the Ruby Creek at Leongatha North. With the formation of the Leongatha and District Historical Society in 1964 John Murphy’s interest in history led to the writing of several books on the area with major works being No Parallel - The Woorayl Shire 1888-1988 and On the Ridge -the Shire of Mirboo 1894-1994. From 1988 till 2000 he served as Gippsland representative on the Council of the RHSV as a result of which he was awarded a Fellowship to the Society in May 2000. In January 2004 he was awarded the Order of
Australia Medal in recognition of his contribution to the history of South Gippsland.

RHSV Lecture - George Langley – A notable educator and headmaster

2008-04-29T21:05:00.004+10:00

When: Tuesday 13 May
Where: RHSV - 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne - entry via William Street
Time: Lecture 5.45 pm following the AGM which commences at 5.00pm
Cost: Members free; non-members $5.50

George Langley was born in Port Melbourne in1891. He went from his local state school to the new state secondary school, Melbourne Continuation School, then to the Teachers College and University. Teaching in Mansfield when he enlisted in the AIF in 1914. He quickly became an officer and was torpedoed on board the Southland on arrival at Gallipoli in 1915 but he remained there until the evacuation. From Cairo he joined the newly formed Imperial Camel Corps which played a key role in the desert campaigns. After the cameliers he joined the Light Horse and played an important role in the fall of Damascus. He was wounded, four times mentioned in dispatches, awarded the Serbian Order of the White Eagle and the DSO.

He returned to Mansfield High School as headmaster, then in 1924 was headmaster of Warrnambool High School. He served again in World War II but classified medically unfit, he was given the demanding post of Australian Red Cross Commissioner to Europe and the Middle East based in London. He returned to teaching after the war, becoming principal of his old school, Melbourne High School in 1949. A notable educator and headmaster, he had a major influence on generations of young people with his values and ideals.

Dr Alan Gregory AM an old boy of Melbourne High School he was a teacher in Victorian high schools, on the staff of the Education Faculty, Monash University for 25 years, and Master of Ormond College. He was made a Member of the Order of Australia 1989 for services to education and the community. He has been published widely in the field of economics, education and history, and his recent books include: and The Ever Open Door: A history of the Royal Melbourne Hospital (1998), and in2005 the centenary history of Melbourne High School; Strong Like Its Pillars.

Holsworth Local Heritage Trust - a grant for regional societies

2008-03-07T15:32:00.001+11:00

The purpose of the Holsworth Local Heritage Trust, a charitable fund within the Victorian Community Foundation, is to invite applications for grants from not-for-profit organisations such as historical societies, clubs, schools and museums in regional Victoria.

The Trust is interested in supporting enthusiastic community groups and organisations with a true interest in heritage preservation and the enhancement of community life.

Grants of up to $1,500 are available for projects that will enable the preservation and appreciation, through publication, of any specific or general local history in regional Victoria.

The grant is not intended to benefit benefit individual authors or large organisations. Small organisations with little or no experience of self publishing work are encouraged to apply. Joint projects encompasing several groups or annual / special edited journals incorporating submitted historical articles from a wide community are encouraged.

Applications close in October each year.

Further information about this grant opportunity -
www.anz.com/Documents/AU/Aboutanz/VCF_Holsworth_Local_Heritage_Guidelines_2008.pdf

RHSV lecture - Blackboard to battlefield: The Victorian Education Department's teacher-soldiers, Great War, 1914-1918

2008-02-09T18:49:00.000+11:00

Tuesday 8 April

RHSV - 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne - entry via William Street

5.15 pm tea / coffee
Lecture 5.45 pm

Cost: Members free; non-members $5.50

Compared with Australian national averages, Victoria's state school teachers enlisted earlier and in greater numbers, were more rapidly promotes, more highly decorated - and more likely to die. Based on recent doctoral research, Rosalie Triolo, explains the teachers' responses and experiences. The presentation includes stories from the battle front and home front that convey the tragedy of the Great War but have not since been told.

Rosalie Triolo is History Education lecturer in the Faculty of Education at Monash University and Vice-President of the History Teachers' Association of Victoria.

Launch of Victorian Women Vote

2008-02-08T13:00:00.000+11:00

Join the celebrations to mark 100 years of Victorian women's right to vote. Hosted by the Minister for Women's Affairs, Maxine Morand, MP and the Deputy Premier, Hon. Rob Hulls.

Hosted by Angela Pippos
See the Women's Circus in action
Enjoy the performances by the Australian Girls Choir
Jump on board the Museum Tram for information on the history of Victorian Women Vote.

Date: Tuesday 19 February
Time: 12.00 pm
Location: Federation Square, Melbourne

Victorian Women Vote