Royal Historical Society of Victoria

2021-12-07 17:00 - 19:00 (Australia/Melbourne) | Stella Maris Seafarers Centre, 600 Little Collins Street, Melbourne, VIC, 3000, Australia
Dr Jackie Watts OAM Chair, Melbourne Maritime Heritage Network invites you to …
MMHN’s 2021 Pre-Christmas Gathering & Conversation
At Stella Maris Seafarers Centre
600 Little Collins Street, Melbourne
(between Spencer & King Streets)
On Tuesday, 7 December, 5-7 pm
With Guest Speaker
Angela Skandarajah
Chief Executive Officer, Development Victoria
Appointed CEO of Development Victoria in February 2019, Angela will share with us Development Victoria’s interest in all matters maritime. Angela joined Development Victoria in 2017 with over 25 years’ experience in the real estate sector and broad-based expertise in property development, urban renewal and infrastructure projects.
We are delighted to be supporting Stella Maris this year and their excellent work globally to assist seafarers. Come along – join the fun and meet fellow maritime stakeholders and enthusiasts.
Due to Covid-19, numbers are limited. Bookings are essential
RSVP by 1 December admin@mmhn.org.au
IN LINE WITH COVID-19 GUIDELINES, YOU WILL NEED TO BE DOUBLE VACCINATED.
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This will be a COVID-19 safe event in line with health and government authority guidelines. Please observe the following:

Complete a symptom self-assessment prior to leaving home. Do not come to the event if you are unwell, even with very mild symptoms
Maintain a 1.5 metre distance from others during the event, where possible
Do not come to the launch if you are required to isolate or quarantine for any reason and/or you are waiting for results of a COVID-19 test
Follow directions for face coverings and hygiene during the launch
Let the organiser know immediately if you become unwell during the launch
Link to the Australian Government’s COVID Safe App.

Discover Your Military Ancestors
2021-12-08 11:00 - 12:00 | Online
Discover the huge range of military records you can search online, and find out what your ancestors did during the wars of the 20th century.
Recommended for beginners.

Freak Out How a Musical Revolution Rocked the World in the Sixties
2021-12-08 18:30 - 19:30 | ZOOM, Join from anywhere in the world
Freak Out How a Musical Revolution Rocked the World in the Sixties
Freak Out is Australia’s coming-of-age story, of how we as a nation were dragged into global culture by the unstoppable momentum of rock and pop music. The sixties was an era of extraordinary change and earth-shattering events. The music scene responded with popular anthems that reverberated across the planet. What’s more, the gun was fired on a period of unprecedented musical innovation and creativity, the likes of which have never been repeated.
Music spoke to young people in their own shared language, urging them to view themselves as decidedly separate from mainstream society – even suggesting they might ‘drop out’ altogether. For a brief time, millions of young people across western culture actually believed they could successfully reinvent society. Liberation for pacifists, women, people of colour, homosexuals, students and the oppressed seemed to be just a short revolution away.
There was no room for complacency or apathy in the face of the Cold War, Vietnam War, and the constant threat of nuclear annihilation. Australians may have been spared the fear of bomb blasts, assassinations and kidnappings; however, the ructions abroad invaded our national psyche, and the music that was generated in that milieu infiltrated Australian culture and transformed society forever.
In this event the author, Tony Wellington, will be interviewed by Sean Sennett, music-writer and musician.
Tony Wellington has worked in a broad range of creative arts fields and even dabbled in politics as the Mayor of Noosa Shire.
Tony is the author of Happy?: Exposing the Cultural Myths about Happiness, plus a history book, Noosa and Cooloola, and is co-author (with John Shand) of Don’t Shoot the Best Boy! The Film Crew at Work. He has also produced several photographic books, the most recent being Wild About Noosa. Over the years, Tony has provided articles, op eds and photographs for many newspapers, magazines and books.
Tony graduated from Macquarie University in 1976 majoring in Media and Communications, receiving a university prize for his media studies. For many years he worked on a freelance basis in the feature film and television industry as a scriptwriter, first assistant director, editor and director. He also lectured in media studies and film craft.
Sean Sennett is a Brisbane based music writer and musician. As the owner of Time Off magazine for two decades, Sean interviewed over a thousand artists – from local and unsigned bands to the likes of David Bowie, Iggy Pop and Bruce Springsteen. He has written about music for The Age, Rolling Stone (here and overseas), the Australian, the SMH and Word. Sean now hosts the podcast Sony Music Presents Time To Talk. Sean has written and recorded music with Rob Hirst, Kate Ceberano, Steve Kilbey, Ross Wilson, Kasey Chambers and more.
Please note that this event originates in Brisbane which is on AEST (Australian Eastern Standard Time) wheras Melbourne is on AEDT (Australian Eastern Daylight time) so, for Melbourne audiences it starts at 7:30pm.
If you are an RHSV member attending this event and you want to buy a copy of Freak Out please contact Avid Reader, the bookshop hosting the event. However you can also buy Freak Out from the RHSV bookshop here: https://www.historyvictoria.org.au/product/freak-out-how-a-musical-revolution-rocked-the-world-in-the-sixties-by-tony-wellington/

The Melbourne Socialite & The Turkish Diplomat
2021-12-09 10:30 - 12:00 | ZOOM, Join from anywhere in the world
The Melbourne Socialite & The Turkish Diplomat
Presented in partnership with the National Archives of Australia and the Genealogical Society of Victoria
Presented by Patrick Ferry and Janan Greer
London, 1913: A wealthy young woman from a stately country home falls in love with and secretly marries a handsome young diplomat from the Turkish Embassy. It sounds like a plot line from the hit British period drama Downton Abbey … but it is the real-life story of Melbourne socialite Florence Winter-Irving. Florence’s story is told through records held by the National Archives of Australia, contemporary newspapers and treasured family memorabilia and traditions. Her story is set against the backdrop of patriarchal nationality laws which stripped women of their own nationality when they married ‘aliens’ – i.e., foreign men who were not British subjects.
Florence came from one of Victoria’s wealthiest squatter families. Their country seat, Noorilim, near Murchison, is regarded as one of the finest mansions ever built in Victoria.
When Florence met and married Turkish aristocrat and diplomat Chefik Bey Muftyzade it created a sensation in the Australian press, which even speculated that Florence was about to enter a ‘harem’.
Patrick Ferry is the State Manager, Victoria for the National Archives of Australia. He is a professional archivist, local historian and author. Patrick’s most recent book Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat: Remembering the Pakenham District’s WW2 service personnel, 1939 – 1945, won the 2020 Victorian Community History Award for Best Local History Project.
Janan Greer is the great-granddaughter of Florence Winter-Irving. Janan works in marketing and communications and has a passion for family history and storytelling. She is the custodian of many family photographs, letters and documents relating to her paternal family lineage.

Photo courtesy of the National Archives of Australia

Uncovering the Past with Sands Directories
2022-02-16 11:00 - 12:00 | Online
Before the internet, postal directories provided information on Melbourne’s properties, residents, businesses and streets.
Sands & McDougall online directories have changed recently. Learn how to use the new interface to discover everything from where your ancestors lived to when your house was built.
We’ll give you the tips and skills to easily navigate and search the updated directories.
Some computer skills recommended.

The Power of the Wind: Past, Present and Future
2022-02-16 17:30 - 19:30 | Magnet Gallery, SC G19 Wharf Street, The District,, Docklands, VICTORIA, 3008, Australia
Organised by Melbourne Maritime Heritage Network
Maritime winds have been harvested since history was first written. This event, with four outstanding presenters, outlines the past, present and future use of wind for commerce and recreation.
The Past: Bruce M. Gooley, researcher and writer
The Present: Dr Christiaan De Beukelaer,
Snr Lecturer in Cultural Policy, Melbourne University and George Shaw – Melbourne-Osaka Cup
The Future: Erin Coldham, Chief Development Officer, Star of the South Off-Shore Wind Farm
When: 16 February, 2022 Time: 5.30pm – 7.30pm
Face-to-face:
Magnet Gallery, SC G19 Wharf Street, The District, Docklands
Free Tram Zone, Stop D11 (last stop). Tram Nos 86, 70 and 35 and
City Circle tram. Car parking available in Waterfront Way and Pearl River Road
Due to Covid-19, numbers are limited. Bookings are essential
RSVP by 11 February info@mmhn.org.au
This will be a COVID-19 safe event in line with health and government authority guidelines.
Via Zoom: Email MMHN if you wish to receive a Zoom invitation, info@mmhn.org.au

Cataloguing Clinics 2022
2022-02-24 11:00 - 12:00 | ZOOM, Join from anywhere in the world
Jillian Hiscock, the RHSV Collections Manager, started these free cataloguing clinics during the early days of COVID and they suit Zoom very well. The clinics run for an hour from 11am – 12noon on the 4th Thursday of each month. It is a relaxed gathering of people who are finding their way through the intricacies of cataloguing material in historical collections which, as we all know, fall between a library and a museum with sometimes a bit of art gallery thrown in. With our membership scattered across Australia please remember that this is Melbourne time – AEDT in summer and AEST in winter.
Jillian always prepares some material on some specific queries but questions are encouraged and, remember, a problem shared is a problem halved. The clinics are conversational in format rather than a seminar. If you are new to cataloguing, or an old hand, you will find plenty to interest you in these sessions. Jillian often has material which is emailed out to attendees after the clinic.
The clinics in 2022 will be held (via Zoom) on:

Feb 24, 2022 11:00 AM (topic: cataloguing multi-media)
Mar 24, 2022 11:00 AM
Apr 28, 2022 11:00 AM
May 26, 2022 11:00 AM
Jun 23, 2022 11:00 AM
Jul 28, 2022 11:00 AM
Aug 25, 2022 11:00 AM
Sep 22, 2022 11:00 AM
Oct 27, 2022 11:00 AM
Nov 24, 2022 11:00 AM

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85662066892?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 856 6206 6892
Passcode: [REDACTED]
Although, we provide the Zoom details above, please do remember to register otherwise we cannot email you material after the event.

The history of voting in Victoria by Professor Marilyn Lake AO
2022-03-03 16:30 - 18:00 | RHSV Gallery Downstairs, 239 A'Beckett St, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia
Professor Marilyn Lake AO, has graciously agreed to speak about the history of voting in Victoria, when women were able to vote, when voting became compulsory and the part League of Women Voters Victoria (LWVV) played.
The National Council of Women Victoria (NCWV) will also celebrate the 100th + 1 Anniversary of the Australian Federation of Women Voters (AFWV) and the 75th+2 anniversary of the League of Women Voters Victoria (LWVV).
The AFWV’s first president in 1921 was Bessie Rischbieth, a national and international leader in women’s rights activities during the last century. Her financial legacy is administered by the League of Women Voters Victoria today and it assists with the funding of the NCWV’s annual event, My Vote My Voice.
This is a COVID safe event, with distancing and sanitising included. Please notify NCWV of your attendance on info@ncwvic.org.au or interest in receiving the ZOOM LINK
This is a Women’s History Month event

Heritage Excursion - Eltham Cemetery
2022-03-05 14:00 - 15:30 | Eltham Cemetery, Metery Road, Eltham, VIC, 3095, Australia
Stories connect us to our local heritage. March is Women’s History Month. During our first excursion of the year, we will recognise the contributions of some local women to our community. Nestled on high ground, once overlooking the village of Eltham we will tour the Eltham Cemetery and share stories of women now interred in these grounds. From pioneer women to the first woman in Eltham to attend University. From the silent film actress to the community spirited politician. From the post mistress to the World War One nurse.
This free excursion is open to the general public as well as members and friends of the Society. Dogs are not permitted. Enter the car park from Metery Road, Eltham, follow signs for parking
and note this walk is on uneven ground in places. Please meet at the rotunda near the lake, for 2.00 pm start on Saturday 5 March 2022, 2.00pm – 3.30pm. Bookings are not necessary and
any COVID requirements will be in place.
The Eltham District Historical Society appreciates the support we receive from the Eltham Cemetery Trust, including being able to undertake our heritage excursions within the well
maintained, attractive grounds of their cemetery.

Launch of Andrew Lemon's historical novel, The Pebbled Beach at Pentecost
2022-03-06 14:00 - 15:30 | Edendale Farm, 30 Gastons Road, Eltham, VIC, 3095, Australia
Andrew Lemon AM has published widely in Australian history, winning literary and historical awards and commendations. He is best known known for his epic three volume ‘The History of Australian Thoroughbred Racing’. His co-authored ‘Poor Souls, They Perished’ won the Fellowship of Australian Writers’ Wilke Award, and ‘The Master Gardener’ was long-listed for the 2018 Mark and Evette Moran Nib Literary Award. In 2012 he was a John Daniels Research Fellow at the National Sporting Library and Museum at Middleburg, Virginia USA. A past president of the Royal Historical Society of Victoria, Andrew holds the degrees of Master of Arts and Doctor of Letters from the University of Melbourne. This is his first novel.
Vernon Lee Walker, a young Englishman from industrial Wolverhampton, meets his death on a beach on Pentecost Island in the South Pacific on the eve of Christmas 1887.
Why did Vernon die, in what circumstances, and who was responsible? Was he, as once branded, simply a ‘bad colonist’? Or was he a candide, an innocent abroad, mixing invisibly with the rich and famous, manipulated by a calculating brother, unable to change the world around him?
An historian finds Vernon’s letters home to England, spanning a dozen years. With decreasing frequency, these follow his trajectory, first in Melbourne and Sydney, then as he yields to the spell of the Pacific. But what happens between the lines? Does he fall in love with his brother’s wife? What does a boy not tell his mother?
The novelist steps in. This is a unique fusion of authentic history and informed invention – a tragic story of colonialism in Australia and the Pacific, told with compassion, humour and a deep understanding of time and place.
‘Original, authentic, beautifully written, a page turner. One of the best books we’ve read in ages. A prize winner – quite different, a standout performance.’ – Vicki Steggall, writer, historian, author of The Goannas of No.1 Martin Place
‘A rich, generous book and its scholarly underpinning is impressive.’ – Dr Brenda Niall AO, FAHA, Australian biographer, literary critic and journalist

Venue: Edendale Farm, 30 Gastons Road, Eltham (There is ample free car parking).
Proof of double vaccination for everyone over 18 is required before entry to Edendale Farm.
Time: SUNDAY 6 MARCH 2.00pm until 3.30pm
Entry: $35 PER PERSON (or $40 for couples)
Price includes one signed copy of the book or a $30 book voucher for Eltham Bookshop redeemable any time (stall available at the event) and light refreshments.
If you are not attending this event and would like to buy a copy of Andrew’s book, the RHSV bookshop have stock
The Pebbled Beach at Pentecost: A novel by Andrew Lemon

PREPAID BOOKINGS ARE ESSENTIAL: ELTHAM bookshop 970 Main Road Eltham.
Book here: https://elthambookshop.com.au/p/kalynn-bayron-event?barcode=CIR1644019360&selected_category=98463
Tel: (03) 9439 8700. Email books@elthambookshop.com.au

The Plight of St Kilda’s 19th Century Servants
2022-03-06 16:00 - 18:00 | St Kilda Army & Navy Club, 88 Acland Street, St Kilda, Victoria, 3182, Australia
In this fascinating and insightful presentation – St Kilda Historical Society’s first public event of 2022 – Carmel McKenzie will examine the living conditions and power dynamics of servants in nineteenth century St Kilda, drawing on numerous case studies gleaned from primary sources. The research forms part of her soon to be published book: St Kilda 1841-1900: Movers and Shakers and Money-makers.
Reflecting its wealth, St Kilda boasted the highest number of resident servants of any Melbourne suburb for much of the nineteenth century. Most were indentured under contracts that bound them to their employer for several years and those who left before completing their term committed a crime and risked forfeiting their wages. Female servants were expected to remain childless, a stricture that led to the highest rate of infanticide in St Kilda outside of central Melbourne.
Kindly note: We will be maintaining the mask requirement for this event.
Cost $10 – Booking Essential. Limited places.
Bookings: Plights of St Kilda’s 19th Century servants – public Tickets, St Kilda Army and Navy Club, St Kilda | TryBooking Australia

ADRIFT IN AN ARMCHAIR WITH ROBYN ANNEAR
2022-03-09 17:30 - 19:00 | RHSV, Gallery Downstairs, 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne, VIC, 3000, Australia
Melbourne’s streets have always been marvellous—but the proud facades of the nineteenth-century boom aren’t the half of it.
What about the stories behind them?
The great corset scandal of Melbourne’s belle epoque;
The heritage-listed toilets out the back of the Rialto;
The exploits of the women who ran the brothels in Little Lonsdale Street;
The reason George Mallaby starred in Homicide wearing a hat two sizes too small.
Robyn Annear has devised 7 historic walks around Melbourne and, in this event, she will be taking us on one of those 7 walks, albeit whilst we are seated comfortably at the RHSV with a glass of wine in hand. The walks showcase the hidden histories we might scurry past every day, the buildings now gone and the extraordinary characters who inhabited them. Robyn, as always, will be charming, erudite and frankly gossipy.

All seven walks appear in Robyn’s latest book, Adrift in Melbourne, her highly entertaining guide to Melbourne past and present. Whether you enjoy it on the hoof or from an armchair, Adrift in Melbourne will inspire you to unleash your inner flâneur to uncover the historical surprises of this great city.

If you want to buy Adrift in Melbourne (great present for any Melburnian) click here.
As with all RHSV events held on-site, we will serve drinks from 5:30pm until 6pm when Robyn’s talk will begin.
In 2022 we will be attempting to offer both on-site events and Zoom access too. The talk will be available as a download after the event for the same $10 cost as a ticket.
This is an RHSV Women’s History Month event

Kew Historical Society annual McIntyre Lecture
2022-03-09 19:30 - 22:00 | Just Theatre, Kew Court House, 188 High Street, Kew, VIC, 3101, Australia
The Society’s annual McIntyre Lecture is planned for the 9th March and will be held in the Just Theatre at the Kew Courthouse, 188 High Street, Kew. We will be serving refreshments from 7.30pm with the Lecture commencing at 8pm. The Lecture will also be available via Zoom meetings.
Katherine Sheedy from Way Back When Consulting Historians will be speaking about the 70 year history of the Kew Elder Citizens Association.
Please see the below for booking details for both the in-person Lecture and on Zoom.
Both links are safe to click on, the ‘tinyurl’ link will take you directly to the Boroondara Arts ticket booking page.
It is advisable to book tickets in advance, but there may be some available at the box office on the night. If booking a Zoom link, payment must be received into the Society’s Bendigo Bank account 633-000 171300288 by 8th March. Following receipt of payment, the Zoom link will be forwarded.
We look forward to welcoming you to this Lecture which will focus on the history of the community organization set up to support Kew’s senior citizens and its subsequent activities.
TICKETS
In person lecture, with refreshments $20
Boroondara Arts – 9278 4770 or
tinyurl.com/2p964dub
Virtual lecture via Zoom Meetings $10
Contact KHS Secretary –
secretary@kewhistoricalsociety.org.au

Unprotected: Aboriginal, Convict and Poor women in Colonial Victoria: or how everything bad was made worse by being female
2022-03-10 17:30 - 19:00 | RHSV, Gallery Downstairs, 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne, VIC, 3000, Australia
Protection of body and soul in colonial Victoria came in many forms. At the most fundamental level it meant an entitlement, usually by birth or marriage, to an income that sustained you and your children; to a moral status as a woman of virtue that made sexual assault or abuse an egregious version of a crime; to the presence in your household of a capable male to embody that protection. The law provided some protection, but in fact remarkably little against assault, battery and rape if those offences were perpetrated by your husband and did not protect your rights of access to your children after divorce or access to your own wealth after marriage. A woman without a reliable, effective and respectable male protector as breadwinner—a father, a husband or a blood relative—would die younger; lose more of her children; have smaller babies at birth; suffer more infertility; risk or suffer destitution; be afflicted by addiction; commit suicide or be murdered than women who enjoyed respectable male protection. There was a hierarchy of entitlement to safety, with convicted women on the second bottom rung along with non-British women such as Chinese, while at the bottom, utterly vulnerable were Aboriginal women and girls. These were the penalties of gender rather than the wages of sin.
We are honoured that Professor Janet McCalman has accepted our invitation to deliver the third RHSV Women’s History Month Lecture in 2022.

Emeritus Redmond Barry Professor Janet McCalman AC has made a significant contribution to Australian history, especially medical history, historical population health, social health and demography.
She commenced teaching at the University of Melbourne in 1998, in the cross-faculty Centre for the Study of Health & Society. She has taught in both the Arts Faculty and the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, specialising since 2008 in the teaching of interdisciplinary breadth subjects.
Since that time she has also pioneered the building of historical life course datasets for demographic and health analysis. She is the author of three multi-award winning books: Struggletown (1984, 1998 and 2021), Journeying (1993), Sex and Suffering (1998). In 2020 she co-edited with Emma Dawson What Happens Next? Reconstructing Australia after COVID 19 and in 2021 Vandemonians: the repressed history of colonial Victoria. All her books have been published by Melbourne University Press. She retired at the end of 2020.
In 1993 McCalman was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities and a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia in 2005. She is a former member of the Australian Historical Association Advisory Committee to the National Archives of Australia and the Editorial Board of the Australian Dictionary of Biography.

As at most RHSV events, drinks will be served from 5:30pm and the lecture will run from 6pm to 7pm including Q&A. The Zoom lecture will commence at 6pm.
The RHSV offers ticket buyers to this event a $10 discount on buying Janet McCalman’s Vandemonians or Struggletown both of which can be found in our bookshop. A voucher code will be sent to you on booking and you apply this voucher code when checking out of the bookshop on line.
Dr Judith Smart will chair this lecture.
This is a Women’s History Month Lecture

MILESTONES IN ABORIGINAL WOMEN’S ACTIVISM, MELBOURNE 1930-1970
2022-03-16 17:30 - 19:00 | RHSV Gallery Downstairs, 239 A'Beckett St, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia
This, our inaugural Indigenous History lecture, is a stellar addition to our annual program of Distinguished Lecturers. The lecture has been generously sponsored so we can make it free-of-charge and as accessible as possible. Welcome to Country will be performed by respected Elder, Aunty Zeta Thomson. Our President, Richard Broome, will chair this event.
We are thrilled that Dr Julie Andrews has agreed to be deliver the inaugural Indigenous History lecture. Julie is descended from the Woiwurrung people of Melbourne and the Yorta Yorta tribe near the borders of Victoria and NSW along the Murray River. She is a member of the Dhulanyagan family clan of the Ulupna people.
Julie is committed to empowering young Aboriginal people through education and mentoring. She is involved in community development and is an anthropologist with a long connection as a scholar in Aboriginal Studies at Latrobe University. She is Co-Chair of the Aboriginal Studies and Indigenous Strategy Committee for the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at La Trobe University.

​For over thirty years Julie has been instrumental in developing Aboriginal higher education at La Trobe University’s Bundoora and regional campuses across Victoria. Among her many roles, Julie lectures and researches on Aboriginal community, cultural knowledge, families, identity and self- determination. She is a working party member for the Indigenous Australian Dictionary of Biography project and is a Melbourne Museum Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Advisory Council Member, and is involved in the Aurora Education Foundation Internship Program, and has been involved in the North Balwyn Rotary Indigenous higher education scholarships as a mentor.

Julie is also a trustee of the Opening the Doors Foundation which supports the extra costs associated with schooling for Aboriginal students around Victoria. These costs not otherwise funded from government or other educational funding sources, such as school uniforms, books, school camps and other school associated costs. The Foundation is Aboriginal led and listens to the diverse needs of Victorian Aboriginal families. To learn more or donate click here.

You can choose to attend this lecture in person or via Zoom. If you join us at the RHSV, drinks are served from 5:30pm and the lecture will commence at 6pm. For those joining us via Zoom, the event will commence at 6pm.
As soon as you book, whether to attend in person or via Zoom, you will be sent an e-ticket confirming your booking. Please check your Junk Mail in-box as sometimes these emails fall foul of your ISP’s spam filters. Zoom log-in details will be sent to Zoom participants 24 hours before the event. Once again, please check your Junk Mail in-box.
This is a Women’s History Month event

The Party: Book Launch
2022-03-16 17:30 - 19:30 | Victorian Trades Hall, 54 Victoria Street, Carlton, Victoria, 3053, Australia
The long awaited launch of Stuart Macintyre’s second volume of the history of the Communist Party of Australia is happening on Wednesday 16th March in the Solidarity Hall of Victorian Trades Hall. Hosted by SEARCH Foundation and the Melbourne Labour History Society, the event will feature a formal launch and a panel discussion.
Starting time is 5:30pm for 6pm, followed by drinks and light refreshments. For catering purposes, please RSVP to: admin@search.org.au
See the attached flyer for further details, and to forward on to your networks.
About the launch
Frank Bongiorno, Professor of History at the Australian National University and a close colleague of Stuart, will launch the book. The launch will be followed by a panel discussion on Stuart Macintyre’s contributions to Australian labour history in general and the history of communism in Australia in particular, moderated by Carmel Shute, former historian and CPA member.
The panel members will be:
– Joy Damousi, Historian, Australian Catholic University
– Julie Kimber, Historian and federal secretary of the Australian Society for the Study of Labour History (ASSLH)
– Julius Roe, Former national president of the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) and former CPA member
Get your copy of The Party today!

Putting Them Up and Pulling ‘em Down
2022-03-17 14:00 - 15:00 | Port Melbourne Library, 333 Bay Street, Port Melbourne, Victoria, 3207, Australia
Putting Them Up and Pulling ‘em Down is the title of the 2021 RHSV Weston Bate Oration by Jim Davidson, published in the Victorian Historical Journal, Volume 92, Number 2, page 233.
Statues have become controversial. The Port Melbourne Historical and Preservation Society invite you to register for a discussion group based on this lecture on Thursday March 17th at 2:00pm in the Port Melbourne Library.
It is assumed you will have read the lecture.
If you would like to take part in this discussion, please email Emma Ozols,
secretary@pmhps.org.au, and she will forward you a digital file of the Journal that contains the article.
Please let me know if you are attending to make sure we have enough room in the Library.
Margaret Bride
glmbride@netspace.net.au, 0439 361 883

‘Wings of Peace’ Centenary of Australia’s First Official Air Race, Serpentine Victoria
2022-03-20 | Serpentine, Victoria, Loddon Valley Highway, Serpentine, Victoria, 3517, Australia
After the Great European War of 1914 to 1918 and amount of £25,000,000 (pounds) was being sought by the Australian Commonwealth Government through a bond subscription from the people of Australia – ‘The Second Peace Loan’. The Acting Treasurer, Sir Joseph Cook announced this on 7th July 1920 with the funds to be expended on the repatriation of the uniformed soldier to industrial and civilian pursuits in the community. Each State was given a target. Victoria was expected to contribute £8,200,000 (pounds). The introduction of Australian Flying Corp aeroplanes utilising World War I aviators was a novel way to generate interest in the Peace Loan and help the one-month intense promotion of the bonds. To promote the 1920 event pilots travelled by train on the Tandarra, Dingee, Prairie, Mitiamo rail line and addressed local residents on the importance of supporting the Second Peace Loan. Bank officials and ex-servicemen accompanied these trains or followed in a car to promote the Peace Loan and sign new subscribers. East Loddon Shire residents and businesses had a target of £19,000 (pounds) to raise which they achieved in August 1920.
After winning the race on 27th August 1920, pilot, Lieut. William Harold Treloar, flew back to Serpentine on the 2nd October 1920 to be presented with a silver trophy by Cr. Nicholas Tonkin, President of the East Loddon Shire. The Serpentine district community residents subscribed £40 (pounds) to purchase the trophy. The historic trophy has been housed at Point Cook Air Museum and is being especially flown in for the day by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), No. 100 Squadron newly re-formed as the Air Force Heritage Squadron and reestablished at the Centenary of the RAAF, which was formed on March 31, 1921. The day will be jam packed full of aviation history with tiger moths, iconic Australian Warbirds, CAC WIRRAWAY, the Grumman Avenger the heaviest single engine aircraft of WWII, the T-28 Trojan a piston-engined military trainer used by United States Air Force and Navy, beginning in the 1950s.
This will be a 70-mile air race launching from (temporary) ‘Serpentine Airfield’ Loddon Valley Highway. Tiger Moth pilots/owners from around the country will converge on Serpentine Airfield and as part of the celebrations, the skies over the Serpentine will roar into life with heart-stopping Aerobatic & historical warbirds presented by Paul Bennet Airshows and the Royal Australian Air Force’s aerobatic display team, the ROULETTES who are famous worldwide for their high-octane displays of formation flying, aerobatics, and low-level flying that show just what incredible feats Air Force fighter pilots are capable of. The Roulettes now perform their display in the state-of-the-art Pilatus PC-21, one of the most advanced training aircraft in the world. Flying as low as 80m and at speeds of up to 685km/h and with forces up to 6G’s, the Roulettes can perform as close as 3m to each other.
Serpentine Airfield is located 6kms south of Serpentine, Loddon Valley Highway between Bendigo and Kerang. You won’t find it on any maps as it’s not a full-time airfield. It’s a beautiful grass field perfectly suited to host a historical air race. Feature attractions – Vintage Bi-Plane Air Race, Paul Bennet Air Shows Vintage Aircraft and Vintage Displays. A shuttle bus from Bendigo and Swan Hill (bookings essential *Option to purchase bus ticket will pop up after you add your ticket to your cart).
Adult $35
Child $15 (6 to 16yrs)
Family $80 (2 adults, 2 children)
Concession $35
Children 5 years old and younger do not require a ticket.
Buy online and SAVE!
Tickets will be $40 at the gate on the day.

FROM RESTRICTED TO ASSISTED: MALTESE MIGRATION TO AUSTRALIA
2022-03-21 10:30 - 12:00 | ZOOM, Join from anywhere in the world
Explore the history of Maltese migration to Australia during the twentieth century.
Did you know that migration from Malta was once heavily restricted because the Maltese were seen as a threat to ‘white Australia’? Yet, after WWII, Malta was one of the first countries with which Australia signed an assisted migration agreement. This webinar will explore the intriguing history of Maltese migration to Australia during the twentieth century, using case studies from the National Archives’ collection to highlight how perceptions and policies changed over time.
Presented by Patrick Ferry (National Archives of Australia) and Luis Calleja (Monash University), in collaboration with the RHSV and the Genealogical Society of Victoria.
This event is one in a series of free Zoom seminars presented by the National Archives of Australia to members of both the RHSV and the GSV.
This event, held on Harmony Day, is a celebration of Australia’s Multiculturalism.

Photo captions for two images above from the National Archives of Australia’s collection
Carmela Abela and her children, who migrated from Malta in 1954. NAA MP210/3, 1954/38/423/ABELA A/C/J/C/C/A/A/L
Annetta Pirotta and her children who migrated from Malta. NAA MP210/3 1954/38/1472/PIROTTA S/A/C/G/A/A/E/P

The Women of Little Lon
2022-03-22 18:30 - 19:30 | Online
Sex workers in nineteenth-century Melbourne were judged morally corrupt by the respectable world around them. But theirs was a thriving trade, with links to the police and political leaders of the day, and the leading brothels were usually managed by women.
Who were they? What did their daily lives look like? What became of them? Drawing on the findings of recent archaeological excavations, rare archival material and family records, historian Barbara Minchinton brings the fascinating world of Little Lon to life.
Barbara Minchinton is a historian and independent researcher. For several years she collaborated with a team of archaeologists on the interpretation of artefacts from Melbourne’s Little Lon district.

VINTAGE HOTELWARE with DI SANDILANDS
2022-03-23 17:30 - 19:00 | RHSV Gallery Downstairs, 239 A'Beckett St, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia
When table manners were fashionable, eating houses proudly served meals on crockery emblazoned with their establishment name – each mouthful reminding customers of exactly where they were.
Di Sandilands is a curious girl, and has been fossicking for these cups, plates, jugs and alike for years. Some even have their own “pubcrock” Instagram and Facebook page.
Along the way she’s discovered the research value of a box of matches, learnt a bit of Italian and become pretty good at deciphering initials – although there’s an 1895 teapot with “S.Y.P.S.S.” idling in her mystery box.
She’s also developed an abiding affection for Coles Cafeteria, which introduced dining out to the people of Melbourne in 1930, and was at the beginning of our cherished ‘Cafe Culture’.
Join Di for a fun night when she’ll be displaying many Victorian pieces from her vintage hotelware collection, telling their stories and hers. She’ll also be selling her pure linen Coles Cafeteria art tea towels which are printed with each cafeteria location throughout Australia.
Drinks are served from 5:30pm and the Di’s talk will start at 6pm, finishing at 7pm.

This is a Women’s History Month event

Dorothy Baker, singing star of the 1960s
2022-03-23 19:30 - 21:00 | Caulfield Cup Room, Glen Eira Town Hall, Cnr Glen Eira and Hawthorn Roads, Caulfield, VIC, 3162, Australia
Glen Eira Historical Society invites you to a talk on Dorothy Baker by Golden Days Radio Presenter, Barry Gomm.
Within 18 months of the introduction of television in Melbourne a new singing star appeared in ‘live to air’ programs. Winning several radio talent quests led Dorothy Baker to become a favourite singer at Melbourne dance venues and on TV, within a short time becoming a household name.
Her legacy continues with this talk on her music and career with rare clips of her TV performance.
Bookings – https://www.trybooking.com/BYAON

Cataloguing Clinics 2022
2022-03-24 11:00 - 12:00 | ZOOM, Join from anywhere in the world
Jillian Hiscock, the RHSV Collections Manager, started these free cataloguing clinics during the early days of COVID and they suit Zoom very well. The clinics run for an hour from 11am – 12noon on the 4th Thursday of each month. It is a relaxed gathering of people who are finding their way through the intricacies of cataloguing material in historical collections which, as we all know, fall between a library and a museum with sometimes a bit of art gallery thrown in. With our membership scattered across Australia please remember that this is Melbourne time – AEDT in summer and AEST in winter.
Jillian always prepares some material on some specific queries but questions are encouraged and, remember, a problem shared is a problem halved. The clinics are conversational in format rather than a seminar. If you are new to cataloguing, or an old hand, you will find plenty to interest you in these sessions. Jillian often has material which is emailed out to attendees after the clinic.
The clinics in 2022 will be held (via Zoom) on:

Mar 24, 2022 11:00 AM For this seminar Jillian has been asked to speak about “how to
say no to donations”! So she’ll be talking about how you can
develop a Collections Policy or a Collection Development
Strategy and other tools for defining what you collect and what
you don’t collect.
Apr 28, 2022 11:00 AM
May 26, 2022 11:00 AM
Jun 23, 2022 11:00 AM
Jul 28, 2022 11:00 AM
Aug 25, 2022 11:00 AM
Sep 22, 2022 11:00 AM
Oct 27, 2022 11:00 AM
Nov 24, 2022 11:00 AM

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85662066892?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 856 6206 6892
Passcode: [REDACTED]
Although, we provide the Zoom details above, please do remember to register otherwise we cannot email you material after the event.

CRANK UP 2022
2022-03-26 - 2022-03-27 | Old Yarra Junction Railway Station, Warburton Highway, Yarra Junction, VIC, 3797, Australia

61st Annual Pioneer Women’s Ceremony
2022-03-26 10:00 - 12:00 | Pioneer Women’s Memorial Garden, Kings Domain, Melbourne, Victoria, 3004, Australia
As 2022 is the 120th Anniversary of National Council of Women Victoria (NCWV), we will focus on pioneering women who established Victorian women organisations and those who have continued these organisations up until today.
Dr Judith Smart AM, co-author of the history of the NCW Australia, Stirrers with Style will give an overview of the history of women’s organisations, then a panel of speakers from some of the founding groups of NCWV will talk about their beginnings and where they are today.
The Pioneer Women’s Memorial Garden is a garden of remembrance created in Kings Domain as part of the 1934 celebration of the Centenary of Melbourne. A variety of fundraising ventures occurred, including producing and selling a commemorative book, and receiving public subscriptions to have a particular woman’s name inscribed on a “sheet of remembrance”, buried beneath the sundial in the garden. The garden was designed by Hugh Linaker and is a formal, symmetrical garden traversed by a watercourse. This flows into a grotto which contains a bronze statue of a woman by the sculptor Charles Web Gilbert.
This is a COVID safe event, with distancing and sanitising. Please notify NCWV of your attendance on info@ncwvic.org.au
This is a Women’s History Month event

Where the River Runs – walk in Richmond
2022-03-27 13:00 - 15:00 | Studio 1, Former Channel 9 Building, 15 Barnett Way, Richmond, Victoria, 3121, Australia
The Richmond & Burnley Historical Society is holding a walk (flat and gentle!) which starts at Studio One, Kennedy Place, Richmond (the old GTV9 site). The walk meanders along the Yarra River, Burnley Park, the Horticultural Gardens and returns for afternoon tea.
Bookings essential: 9427 1800 or richmondhs@optusnet.com.au

Burnley Gardens: and the people who loved them
2022-03-28 18:00 - 20:00 | ZOOM, Join from anywhere in the world
To replace the cancelled Symposium “Women in Horticulture” which was to be held in conjunction with Friends of Burnley Gardens and the Herb Society of Victoria, Australian Garden History Society (AGHS) is offering the two planned lectures online instead. FOBG will be organising a launch of the book “Burnley Gardens: their design and the people who loved them” by Michèle Adler, at a later date.
Monday 28 March – The first lecture, “Burnley Gardens and the people who loved them” by former Burnley lecturer Michèle Adler, will be about Hilda Kirkhope, who was a staff member at Burnley in the 1930s and one of the few women who designed a section of the Burnley Gardens.
Thursday 19 May – The second lecture, “Ina Higgins and her contribution to women’s horticultural education” from well-known horticulturist, Sandi Pullman, is about Ina Higgins, a significant Burnley trailblazer in the early 1900s who promoted women in horticulture and was an important landscape gardener.

Dates: Monday 28 March, Thursday 19 May
Time: 6pm, connect from 5.45pm
Location: Online via ZOOM
A Zoom link will be provided by email 24 hr before each session.
Cost per session: $10 members, $15 non-members

Bookings: https://www.trybooking.com/BXAVC

Launch of Kaleidoscope exhibition
2022-03-30 17:00 - 19:00 | RHSV, Gallery Downstairs, 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne, VIC, 3000, Australia
EMERITUS PROFESSOR RICHARD BROOME AM FRHSV
President of the Royal Historical Society of Victoria
and the RHSV Council
invite you to attend the launch of
KALEIDOSCOPE
the RHSV’s major exhibition in 2022 which celebrates the women
who were crucial in building the RHSV from its 1909 beginning
To be launched by
JUDY MADDIGAN

This exhibition is biography imagined through the lens of a Kaleidoscope. The viewer is offered fragments of the lives represented here. There is no linear narrative. Each time the kaleidoscope turns, a different story emerges. There are repeating patterns but different emphases and new ways of seeing, new reflections, new refractions. No one story dominates and one story does not fit all.
in 2021, during Women’s History Month we launched the RHSV Women’s Biographical Dictionary, an online resource which builds profiles of women who have been involved in the RHSV over its 113 year history. This project is masterminded by Dr Cheryl Griffin and from the online resource, Cheryl has curated this exhibition, to launch in 2022, which looks at the lives of 50 of those women.
Curator: Dr Cheryl Griffin
Exhibition Designer: Katrin Strohl
Exhibition Production: Dr David Thompson & Helen Stitt
As at most RHSV events, refreshments will be served during the launch.
Please note – this launch was originally planned for 31 March and it has been brought forward by a day to the 30 March
This is an RHSV Women’s History Month event

KALEIDOSCOPE
2022-03-31 - 2022-12-23 | RHSV Gallery Downstairs, 239 A'Beckett St, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia
This exhibition is biography imagined through the lens of a Kaleidoscope. The viewer is offered fragments of the lives represented here. There is no linear narrative. Each time the kaleidoscope turns, a different story emerges. There are repeating patterns but different emphases and new ways of seeing, new reflections, new refractions. No one story dominates and one story does not fit all.
in 2021, during Women’s History Month we launched the RHSV Women’s Biographical Dictionary, an online resource which builds profiles of women who have been involved in the RHSV over its 113 year history. This project is the work of Dr Cheryl Griffin and from this online resource, Cheryl has curated Kaleidoscope, launched in March 2022 by Judi Maddigan, which looks at the lives of 50 of those important women.
CURATOR: DR CHERYL GRIFFIN
EXHIBITION DESIGNER: KATRIN STROHL
EXHIBITION PRODUCTION: DR DAVID THOMPSON & HELEN STITT
The exhibition is opened Monday – Friday (excluding public holidays) from 9am-5pm and entry is free-of-charge.

CONNECTING HISTORICAL SOCIETIES AND PRIMARY SCHOOLS
2022-04-04 12:00 - 13:00 | ZOOM, Join from anywhere in the world
In 2022 the RHSV, along with many other organisations, will be pulling out all stops to celebrate the sesquicentenary of the Education Act 1872. This ground-breaking legislation mandated that primary education in Victoria would be free, secular and compulsory.
The Dept of Education is encouraging primary schools to partner with their local historical societies – so we are encouraging historical societies to contact their local primary school and plan some activities. Which is easy to say but what activities are age appropriate? How do we make them fit the curriculum? Who do we contact? What is an appropriate length of time for an event? Do we go to the primary school or do they come to us? Do we let small children handle objects from our collection? How do we make an event interesting?
In this forum we will be talking about all aspects of creating and holding events that engage primary school aged children. We intend to have several case studies from historical societies who are already successfully working with their local students.
This will be a structured discussion and we want everyone to come away with good ideas that their historical society can use to connect with their local primary school. Whilst this is aimed at 2022 and the celebration of education across Victoria the ideas should be adaptable for every year and every situation.
If you’d like to present a case-study or you have ideas you’d like to share please contact Rosemary Cameron
