Some insights into the work we need to undertake to bring our untold historical stories to the notice of the general public. Join us to discover the world of historical archives and how to preserve them, present our stories in an engaging and practical way, and how to carefully preserve those records whatever their form.

The speakers have been chosen to help our societies better understand our archival material and tell the stories contained within. We have allowed for time to ask questions of each speaker. However, there will be an extra half hour at the end of the day to allow for general discussion.

Program for Saturday 18 October

For those intending to be in Port Fairy on the Saturday afternoon, a walk around our town will begin from the Visitor Information Centre at 2.30 pm being guided by Glen Foster and will include the Main Street and the wharf before ending at the Museum which will be open from 2 pm until 5 pm.

At 6.00 pm a dinner has been arranged at Charlie’s on East, Hughes Avenue.

The meal is at your own cost to cater for everyone’s needs and tastes.

The guest speaker will be Mr Richard Patterson who will be taking a light-hearted look at local history and at ways in which it might be improved.

Program for Sunday 19 October

9.00 – 9.30 am: Registration

10.00 am: Welcome and Introduction
Margaret Whitehead, President of the Port Fairy Historical Society
Lynda Tieman, Collection Manager of the Port Fairy Historical Society

10.30 am: Mr John Miller, ‘Wyperfeld National Park – Curation of the park plant collection’
John’s presentation is about his work in the curation and augmentation of the historic Wyperfeld National Park herbarium housed in the Visitor Information Centre in the Wonga Campground.
The park herbarium is near to his heart as it gave him the opportunity in the 1970s to become a botanist and set the course for the rest of his working life.

11.30 am: Morning Tea

11.50 am: Margaret Anderson, ‘Exhibiting history’
Outside the classroom, how do most people learn about their past? You might be surprised to find that it is rarely by reading history books. Ironically, as school enrolments in history languish, the popular consumption of history is booming. Impressively large audiences listen to what is now a huge variety of historical podcasts, but many also encounter history through exhibitions. In this presentation Margaret Anderson reflects on some of the challenges of creating historical exhibitions, especially where resources are limited. But she also suggests that exhibitions give us an opportunity to engage our communities to connect with their past, and to construct a more nuanced, inclusive view of their history.

12.50 pm: Lunch

1.30 pm: Mark Moore, ‘Archiving in the Digital Age’
Archiving in the digital age has transformed from the physical storage of documents to the dynamic preservation of digital content, requiring new strategies to ensure long-term accessibility, authenticity and security. With the proliferation of digital formats—from emails and websites to multimedia and social media—archivists must navigate challenges like data degradation, software obsolescence and metadata management. Cloud storage, blockchain verification, and AI-assisted indexing have become essential tools, enabling more efficient organisation and retrieval while safeguarding against loss and tampering. Ultimately, digital archiving is not just about preserving information but about maintaining its context and integrity for future generations.

2.30 pm: Craige Proctor, ‘Lindsay Russell: Notorious Novelist’
In 1883 Ethel Stonehouse was born at Nhill. In the 1900s Ethel was working as a journalist in Melbourne but by 1912 she had reinvented herself as ‘Lindsay Russell’, novelist. Her first novel propelled her into a celebrity and she was off to London. Meanwhile, in a small town in south-western Victoria, copies of her book were publicly burned and she was denounced as a villain. In 1920 Lindsay Russell arrived in that small town in which she had been denounced – Mortlake – where she would spend the next 44 years and is still remembered by some locals.

3.30 pm: Forum and general Discussion and a cup of tea.

4.00 pm: Close

About the Presenters

Richard Patterson was born in England and educated in Worcester and Hull, Yorkshire. He has a degree in Classics. He spent almost forty years working in Human Resource Management. He has published three books about Beechworth’s history and a series of six booklets about Beechworth’s buildings and related topics. He moved to Port Fairy in 2015 and has written two books about the town: The Lighthouse Keeper and the One-Armed Cricketer and Port Fairy’s Wars. He has also edited a book by the late Stan Evans – The Casino Story. For almost five years he edited the Port Fairy Historical Society’s newsletter.

John Miller, ‘Wyperfeld National Park – Curation of the park plant collection’
John is a retired botanist who now lives very happily with his wife Maggie in Port Fairy.
All of John’s working life has been related to studying and managing the natural resources of western Victoria.
He has been the Ranger-in-charge of Wyperfeld and Brisbane Ranges national parks and was the first manager of the Grampians when it became a National Park in 1984.
Following his time in national parks, John worked for 10 years in the School of Science at Ballarat University (now Federation University) and finally for 15 years as a botanist and Manager of the Ballarat office of a private consulting firm.
He is now an active volunteer course presenter with U3A Port Fairy and is a committee member of the Friends of Wyperfeld National Park. John, along with colleague Peter Ryan, has recently published the Wyperfeld App which is now available for both Android and Apple mobile devices.
He has Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Natural Resource Management and is an Honorary Associate of the National Herbarium Melbourne.

Margaret Anderson FFAHS, ‘Exhibiting history’
Margaret is a public historian who is the Director of the Old Treasury Building. She has held senior museum positions in South Australia and Western Australia and between museum posts taught history and museum studies at Monash University. She is a council member of the Royal Historical Society of Victoria and of the Federation of Australian Historical Societies and is Deputy Chair of the History Council of Victoria. Her historical research has focused on women and the family in Australian history.

Mark Moore, ‘Archiving in the Digital Age’
Mark, originally from England and in Australia since 1979, has established a noteworthy career in theatre production, technical supervision and event coordination. He has managed large student productions at Pascoe Vale Girls Secondary College and overseen events for organisations such as the National Theatre, Darebin City Council and Durham Audio Visual, covering logistics, risk assessment, contractor management, and venue maintenance. His experience includes supporting student programs at La Trobe University and driving improvements to exhibitions and operations at Broadmeadows Museum, boosting both visitor experience and collection management.

Craige Proctor, ‘Lindsay Russell: notorious novelist’
Craige is a fifth generation Mortlakeite and local historian who first heard of Lindsay Russell from his mother and grandmother; it was simply too enticing a story not to pursue when he was older. Craige is a long-standing member of the Mortlake & District Historical Society, has produced or co-produced six books on the district’s history, loves storytelling and now that he has retired from teaching he is enjoying telling more stories whenever he can. He is also President of the W.V.A.H.S. and Chair of the RHSV’s Historical Societies Support Committee.