Royal Historical Society of Victoria

Tales from the MacRobertson International Air Races
2021-03-12 - 2022-03-17 | RHSV, Gallery Downstairs, 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne, VIC, 3000, Australia
To celebrate Victoria’s centenary in 1934, Macpherson Robertson sponsored a great air race from England to Melbourne. There were originally 20 entrants of which only 12 arrived in Melbourne. The British winning entrants took a whisker under 3 days, the last plane to arrive took some 4 months.
The Royal Historical Society of Victoria is mounting an exhibition which takes a close look at the entrants in the races (there were two races run concurrently – a speed race and a handicap race) including the Dutch entrant, the Uiver. The Uiver (stork) is the most famous of the entries even though it came second. It was forced by bad weather to make an emergency landing in Albury where the locals used the town’s lights to spell A L B U R Y in morse code and then created a make-shift aerodrome on the racetrack using car headlights to con the plane down. Macpherson Robertson always maintained that the Uiver, a commercial KLM flight that went to Batavia in the Dutch East Indies with a little extra hop to Australia, came closest to his ideal as Robertson sponsored the race to encourage commercial flight not speed.
The first aircraft to finish was the De Havilland DH-88 Comet Grosvenor House, a specially- designed racing aircraft flown by Charles W. A. Scott and Tom Campbell Black. Both pilots were much feted in Melbourne. Photos show a handsome pair being mobbed by thousands. The adulation didn’t last, Campbell Black was killed by a plane propeller just 2 years later and Scott suicided.
Harold Brook was the pilot with the least experience – barely the minimum 100 hours. He had a paying passenger, the 28-year old Miss Ella Lay, who knitted her way to Australia. She was a pilot herself and the only woman to travel the full race distance from Mildenhall in England to Melbourne. Ella stayed on in Melbourne, took up nursing, and in 1941 enlisted in the Australian Army Nursing Service in the very building where the exhibition is being held (the former Army Medical Corps Drill Hall). Ella died in 2005, aged 99. The Times printed her obituary.
The race generated many more fabulous stories including C. J. “Jimmy” Melrose who at 21 was the youngest pilot and one of the few Australians. Jimmy was funded by his mother and his De Havilland Puss Moth was christened My Hildergarde in her honour. He too died, too young, just two years later in a plane crash.
The last plane to arrive was piloted by Ray Parer and Godfrey Hemsworth and funded by New Guinea miners. Another entry was owned by well-known Australian pioneer aviator Horrie Miller who at the time was managing director of MacRobertson-Miller Aviation. He engaged James Wood and Don Bennett to fly the race however they came unstuck in Aleppo. As Bennett wrote in his autobiography, they “… hit the ground with a fair wallop and the undercarriage collapsed; down she went and the nose went in as we whipped over on our back. I was in the tail of the machine and my velocity from one end of the cabin to the other was remarkable. Even more astounding was the degree of “concertina-ing” of my body which took place at the far end.” That was the end of their race.

The history of the Box Hill/Burwood Rotary Club
2021-05-16 14:15 - 16:00 (Australia/Melbourne) | Bert Lewis Room, first floor, Box Hill Library, 1040 Whitehorse Road, Box Hill, Select one, 3128, Australia
As 2021 is the centenary of the formation of Rotary in Australia, it is fitting to hear about the history of the organisation, both nationally and in our local area. Our guest speaker, Robert Leach, is currently the treasurer of the Club and has had a long involvement with it, having formerly served as both President and
Secretary.

Researching Aboriginal Family History
2021-05-17 09:30 - 12:30 | Online
Tracing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander family histories poses a unique set of challenges.
YPRL is proud to be a partner in the presentation of a half-day webinar to assist people wanting to research their Aboriginal Family History. Join Jenny Bates (Koorie Heritage Trust), Maxine Briggs (Koorie Heritage Unit at State Library Victoria) and Tsari Anderson (Koorie Records Unit at Public Records Office Victoria and National Archives of Australia) to discover their tips and tricks.
Topics will include: how to get started, staying organised, an overview of useful records available, ideas for researching names and places, and how to access conditions of records.
The session will be hosted by Peter Webster from Kirrip Aboriginal Corporation, Melton.
The online session will be held Monday 17 May 2021, 9.30am – 12.30pm
Bookings are essential. A meeting link will be emailed to you prior to the session.
Co-presented by Darebin Library Service, Eastern Regional Libraries, Goldfields Libraries Corporation, Melton City Libraries, Mildura Library Service, Moonee Valley Libraries, Wyndham City Library Service, Yarra Libraries and Yarra Plenty Regional Library.
Register at yprl.vic.gov.au

STATUES: PUTTING THEM UP, AND PULLING 'EM DOWN
2021-05-18 17:00 - 19:30 | RHSV, Gallery Downstairs, 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne, VIC, 3000, Australia
STATUES: PUTTING THEM UP, AND PULLING ‘EM DOWN
5pm – 6pm RHSV AGM (to see the full agenda and financial reports please click here)
6pm – 6:30pm REFRESHMENTS
6:30pm – 7:30pm 2021 WESTON BATE ORATION DELIVERED BY JIM DAVIDSON
There may be a lull in the statue wars now, but that is because the front has broadened – certainly overseas. This oration shows how statues rose with the nineteenth century, and spread with the growth of empires, not least to Australia. The nature of traditional Australian statuary is considered, along with the questions it implicitly raises. (Comparisons are made with America.) Statues, it seems, have become lightning conductors for unresolved tensions, the public culture which once sustained them being increasingly subject to segmentation and fracture.
In our Distinguished Lecturer series, the 2021 Weston Bate Oration will be delivered by the estimable Jim Davidson, following our AGM. The AGM will be from 5pm to 6pm at which time we’ll pause for some refreshments followed by Jim’s oration.
Jim Davidson is an historian and biographer, and a former editor of Meanjin. He is the author of A Three-Cornered Life: The Historian WK Hancock, the memoir A Führer for a Father: The domestic face of colonialism, and Lyrebird Rising, a life of the musical patron Louise Hanson-Dyer. Together they have won half a dozen prizes, including the Prime Minister’s History Prize, the Victorian premier’s non-fiction prize, and The Age Non-fiction Book of the Year (twice). His double biography of Clem Christesen of Meanjin and Stephen Murray-Smith of Overland – Emperors in Lilliput – will appear from Melbourne University Press next year. He is currently working on his next book, on statues.

Waltzing Matilda: Australia's Accidental Anthem
2021-05-18 18:30 | Altona Library, 123 Queen St, Altona, VIC, 3018, Australia
The song that started as an accidental collaboration in outback Queensland in 1895 caused the death of a seven-year relationship and went on to inspire a nation during WWII.
Author and criminal barrister Benjamin Lindner presents a forensic history of the events, the people and the places that led to the writing of Australia’s most famous song.
Bookings are essential and spaces are limited.

Talk: The history of Kodak in Coburg 1961-2004
2021-05-19 20:00 - 21:00 | Coburg Library, Corner Waterfield and Louisa Streets, Coburg, Victoria, 3058, Australia
At Coburg Historical Society May monthly meeting, Fiona Kinsey, Senior curator of the images and Image history including the Kodak Collection at Museums Victoria will talk on the subject of :”The History of Kodak Australasia in Coburg 1961-2004 and show staff recollection videos via Zoom. The talk can be viewed via your computer
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89706637372?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 897 0663 7372
Passcode: [REDACTED]
or on a big screen at Coburg Library. Please book with Coburg Historical Society via e-mail (coburghistory@gmail.com) or telephone (0406572321) for Coburg Library viewing as there is a 30 seat library room limit.

Photo caption:

Map – Kodak (Australasia) Pty Ltd,
Source: Museums Victoria
Credit: Courtesy of Kodak (Australasia) Pty Ltd
Copyright Kodak (Australasia) Pty Ltd / All Rights Reserved (Licensed as All Rights Reserved)

Open Day at La Trobe’s Cottge
2021-05-23 13:00 - 16:00 | La Trobe’s Cottage, cnr Birdwood Avenue and Dallas Brooks Drive, Melbourne, Victoria, 3004, Australia
Spend your afternoon in the beautiful Domain, with a guided tour of the home of our first governor Charles Joseph La Trobe and his family. You will be able to see their elegant yet simple prefabricated house from Melbourne’s early days, surrounded by garden plants from the era.
Last guided tour 3.30pm

Early Melbourne Suburbs joint GSV & RHSV seminar by Zoom
2021-05-25 18:30 - 21:30 | ZOOM, Join from anywhere in the world
Essendon and Malvern and the Development of Melbourne’s Tram System: A Zoom Seminar
The GSV and RHSV are jointly conducting a seminar exploring the development of the suburbs of Essendon and Malvern together with the history of Melbourne’s extensive tram system.
Warren Doubleday, the Manager of the Melbourne Tram Museum collection, will speak on the establishment of Melbourne’s tram system including the Malvern and Essendon lines. He will also provide information on researching tramway records at PROV and on the Tram Museum website.
Steve Stefanopoulos, local historian with the Malvern Historical Society and archivist, and Hayden Williams from the Essendon Historical Society, will talk about the development of their suburbs from approximately 1850 to the early 20th century. Their presentations will highlight the experience, skills and records available at their societies that will assist you to research local and family history in the areas.
There will be time for questions following each presentation.
The seminar is open to members of the GSV and RHSV only up to a maximum of 45 members from each Society. Bookings are required.

Pre-European Aboriginal Culture in the Camberwell Area
2021-05-25 18:45 - 20:30 | ZOOM, Join from anywhere in the world
Pre-European Aboriginal culture in the Camberwell area a presentation via zoom by Dr Gary Presland
Dr Gary Presland studied history at LaTrobe University and archaeology at the University of London. For the past forty years his major research interests have been in the Aboriginal history and natural history of the Melbourne area.
At the time Europeans settled in the area of Camberwell, it was part of the estate of the Wurundjeri willam clan of the Kulin Nation. Dr Presland will detail who these people were, the many ways in which they were connected and related to other clans within the Kulin, and how they made a living.
Tuesday 25 May 2021
6.45pm for 7pm
Please book – the zoom link will be sent after booking
Phone George Fernando 9885 9927 or enquires@chs.org.au

FRIENDS OF LA TROBE’S COTTAGE ANNUAL LECTURE
2021-05-26 17:30 - 19:30 | RHSV, Gallery Downstairs, 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne, VIC, 3000, Australia
C J La Trobe: Jolimont plantsman
Guest Speaker: Helen Botham
Garden history researcher, author of La Trobe’s Jolimont: a walk round my garden, and coordinator La Trobe’s Cottage management team
This presentation will explore how Charles La Trobe’s school days and his travel experiences as a young adult fostered his interest in the natural world which led him to seek out the plants of Port Phillip and to create a beautiful garden at Jolimont. The talk includes a pictorial tour around La Trobe’s Jolimont garden, noting his plant choices.
Admission: $25.00 including refreshments
Bookings Essential by Wednesday 19 May
————————————————————————————————————————————
Bookings and payment:

Electronic

Online – https://www.latrobesociety.org.au/friends-of-la-trobes-cottage-annual-lecture-2
Email – treasurer@latrobesociety.org.au – (add name of those attending)

EFT to BSB 033-018, Account No.149584 (Please put your name on the EFT)
✂ ——————————————————————————————————————————–

Post – to The Treasurer, La Trobe Society, PO Box 65, Port Melbourne, Victoria 3207

Names of those attending: ___________________________________________________

Remit a cheque payable to ‘The C J La Trobe Society Inc.’

From sanatoria to urban bushland: An environmental history of Melbourne’s former sites of tuberculosis treatment.
2021-05-26 19:30 - 21:00 | Join via Zoom
A talk by Environmental Historian, Rebecca Le Get.
Rebecca Le Get is an independent scholar and environmental historian. She is
interested in how tuberculosis and its treatment has influenced the
development of green spaces and bushland reserves in suburban Melbourne.
Were it not for these forests being selected for healthcare, it is uncertain if
these areas of bushland would have persisted into the present.

Cataloguing Clinic via Zoom with Jillian Hiscock
2021-05-27 11:00 - 12:00 | ZOOM, Join from anywhere in the world
At the 27 May Clinic, Jillian will revisit the process of book cataloguing, both published and unpublished material. What is the information that should be captured and what is the nice-to-add extras that can be useful.
Jillian Hiscock, the RHSV Collections Manager, started these 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 remaining clinics for 2021 will be held (all via Zoom) on these dates:

May 27, 2021 11AM
Jun 24, 2021 11AM
Jul 22, 2021 11AM
Aug 26, 2021 11AM
Sep 23, 2021 11AM
Oct 28, 2021 11AM
Nov 25, 2021 11AM

Please download and import the following iCalendar (.ics) files to your calendar system.
Monthly: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/tZItd-yhqz8oHtJgxpBNwW8ieSnpwIWjKaLP/ics?icsToken=[REDACTED]
Join Zoom Meeting (this is applicable to all 10 clinics during 2021)
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86005954246?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 860 0595 4246
Passcode: [REDACTED]

Impressionists in their Gardens – living light and colour
2021-06-09 18:00 - 20:30 | ZOOM, Join from anywhere in the world
This lecture explores gardens through the senses of the Impressionists from three continents – Europe, North America and Australia – enjoying the essentially similar pleasures of the garden but engaging with the light from their skies in order to create very different sensations. French Impressionists such as Monet, Renoir, Berthe Morisot and Caillebotte, and the Americans who came to Giverny staying at the Hotel Baudy but not invited into Monet’s garden. Australian John Peter Russell who made his home in France. American gardens include those of the poet Celia Thaxter painted by Childe Hassam and John Henry Twachtman as well as Mary Cassatt. In Australia Fred and Annie McCubbin’s welcoming gardens at Fontainebleau take centre place as well as the canvases of Tom Roberts, Arthur Streeton and Charles Conder. The enclosure of the garden acts like a picture frame showcasing a living canvas that exudes the individuality, vision and taste of its tenants, their family, friends and lifestyles. We will briefly explore their favourite flowers which, in the simple words of the greatest Impressionist and gardener Monet, provided motifs to paint.
Wednesday June 9th
Time: 6pm
Venue: Online
Price: $12 members and Friends RBG, Non-members $15
Trybooking link – https://www.trybooking.com/BQWPH
Booking note: If you choose to attend online a Zoom link will be sent to you separately after bookings close
Caroline Holmes is a Garden Historian, author of 12 books including ‘Monet at Giverny’ and ‘Impressionists in their Gardens’. She was keynote speaker at the International Water Gardens Conference held at Giverny in 2019. Course Director for University of Cambridge ICE, accredited lecturer for The Arts Society and has spoken on every continent except Antarctica. Her design consultancies range from Human Renaissance gardens surrounding Notre Dame-de-Calais to devising the planting for The Poison Garden within The Alnwick Garden in Northumberland. Academic but not dry, she likes to sift the humour from the humus. www.horti-history.com

Ern Latchford: his WWI adventures in western Europe, Persia and Russia.
2021-06-11 12:30 - 13:30 | ZOOM, Join from anywhere in the world
Ern Latchford: his WWI adventures in western Europe, Persia and Russia.
This event will now be delivered by Zoom. The invitation details are below.
In late 1918, thousands of Australian soldiers, exhausted and scarred by war in Europe, began to head home. However, one ANZAC headed the wrong way, toward more conflict and risk in vast and frozen Siberia, thousands of miles from his fiancée waiting on the family farm in Western Victoria. This is the story of Ernest Latchford MBE MC, told through his articulate, observant letters home from three very distinct theatres of war.
Ern Latchford was one of the early recruits to newly federated Australia’s embryonic militia and when war did break out in 1914, he was reluctantly held back to train the battalions that were soon to land in Gallipoli. He finally reached the Western Front in 1916, and served with distinction through the bloody battles of Messines and then Passchendaele, where he earned a Military Cross. In early 1918, he (among a handful of other Australians) was personally selected by General Sir John Monash to serve in the ‘hush-hush’ Dunsterville campaign in Persia (Dunsterville* led his ‘Dunsterforce’ of elite troops across present-day Iran in an attempt to prevent an invasion of India by a combined Germano-Turkish force). His particular responsibility was to train Armenian refugees against the Ottoman Army (and to protect the oil wealth of the Persian Gulf). At the end of the war, instead of returning to Australia, he became the only Australian to be deployed in central Siberia to train White Russian forces against the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War.
Every week, irrespective of location, intensity of battle or injury he wrote to his fiancée, Linda Dehnert in Western Victoria. These previously unseen letters, often many pages in length, were always passionate and vivid as he describes the politics of the conflicts and the horrors of the battles, especially the loss of much-loved colleagues. He eloquently described the cities and towns he passed through and the variety of nationalities he came across, including French farmers and villages; the Arab, Armenians and Persians of the Middle East and finally the Russians, caught in the bloody conflict that would have ramifications for decades. In between, he wrote romantically of his courtship of Linda and the joy of life at home on the farm.
Mark Latchford is a Sydney-based businessman with a passion for history. As the son and grandson of professional army officers, he had a nomadic upbringing, which also instilled a particular interest in military history. He graduated from the University of Sydney with a degree in Political Science and Economic Geography and then undertook a 35-year corporate career with the IBM corporation which included postings to Adelaide, Tokyo, Paris and Hong Kong. He is the father of 3 grown children and in semi-retirement continues his passion for history, biography and travel. Letters to Lily Vale is his first published book.
* Lionel Charles Dunsterville (1865-1946) was a contemporary and close friend of Rudyard Kipling who based his character Stalky on Dunsterville.

The Zoom details are
Friday 11 June, 12:30pm – 1:30pm AEST
Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83143108812?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 831 4310 8812
Passcode: [REDACTED]

Up the (Gardiners) Creek: a brief history of Kooyong Koot
2021-06-20 14:15 - 16:00 | Bert Lewis Room, first floor, Box Hill Library, 1040 Whitehorse Road, Box Hill, Select one, 3128, Australia
Dr Gary Presland, FRHSV, and President of the Society, has done a particular study of the natural history of the Melbourne area. He will speak about one of the prime examples in Melbourne of the way in which natural streams have been amended by European settlement.

Ferries of Melbourne: Past, Present, Future – Good, Better, Best?
2021-06-23 17:00 - 19:30 | Library at the Dock, 107 Victoria Harbour Promenade, Docklands, Victoria, 3005, Australia
Ferries of Melbourne:
Past, Present, Future – Good, Better, Best?
Explore the heritage and the potential of Melbourne’s ferries with Melbourne Maritime Heritage Network.
Melbourne’s ferries have delivered significant social and economic benefit to our community in the past. Today ferries remain a woefully under-developed transport and tourism option. The opportunity to expand ferry services around this state and in this city is great. This potential needs to be unlocked – by government (local and state), by responsible authorities and by relevant private sector and non-profit stakeholders.
Our Speaker on Maritime Heritage:

Bruce M. Gooley, researcher, writer and lively presenter

Our Expert Panel looking to the Future:

Matt McDonald, CEO, Port Phillip Ferries
Murray Rance, CEO. Port Phillip Ferries (Little Group)
Brad Roberts, Liaison Officer – Vessels Operations Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA)
Gareth Johnson, Acting Director Maritime Safety, Transport Safety Victoria
Jamie Gillingham Senior Manager, Development Victoria

Library at the Dock is located at 107 Victoria Harbour Promenade, Docklands, easily accessible via Tram routes 11, 35, 48, 70 and 75. The theatrette is located on the 1st. Floor
Due to COVID-19, numbers are limited. RSVP essential by
19 June: info@mmhn.org.au

LA TROBE’S UNIFORM
2021-06-23 17:30 - 19:30 | RHSV, Gallery Downstairs, 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne, VIC, 3000, Australia
LA TROBE’S UNIFORM
‘Extravagance, Tradition and Power’ : Charles La Trobe’s Uniform
Guest Speaker: Megan Anderson (2019 La Trobe Society Fellow at State Library Victoria)
Megan Anderson is Costume Production Assistant at Sovereign Hill, a position which involves researching and producing historically accurate reproduction clothing subsequently used as interpretive and educational tools within the living history museum.
This presentation will outline the history of La Trobe’s official uniform, and the actual tailoring of this splendid attire which Megan is in the process of constructing.
Megan has meticulously researched the design of La Trobe’s uniform and is hand making a replica. She will bring a tailor’s dummy with the part-finished uniform and talk about her research, then show us the intricate construction of the replica uniform. It promises to be a very illuminating presentation and describe tailoring uniforms in the 19th century.
La Trobe Society Talk for Members and Friends – all welcome.
Includes refreshments. Bookings essential by Friday 18 June.

Cataloguing Clinic via Zoom with Jillian Hiscock
2021-06-24 11:00 - 12:00 | ZOOM, Join from anywhere in the world
June’s cataloguing topic will be dealing with donations to a collection – donation forms, the process, what to do, what not to do etc
Jillian Hiscock, the RHSV Collections Manager, started these 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 remaining clinics for 2021 will be held (all via Zoom) on these dates:

Jun 24, 2021 11AM
Jul 22, 2021 11AM
Aug 26, 2021 11AM
Sep 23, 2021 11AM
Oct 28, 2021 11AM
Nov 25, 2021 11AM

Please download and import the following iCalendar (.ics) files to your calendar system.
Monthly: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/tZItd-yhqz8oHtJgxpBNwW8ieSnpwIWjKaLP/ics?icsToken=[REDACTED]
Join Zoom Meeting (this is applicable to all 10 clinics during 2021)
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86005954246?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 860 0595 4246
Passcode: [REDACTED]

Twentieth Century Science, Technology and Engineering
2021-06-24 17:30 - 19:00 | RHSV, Gallery Downstairs, 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne, VIC, 3000, Australia
Twentieth Century Science, Technology and Engineering
Presented by Laureate Professor R. J. EVANS
Engineering Heritage Victoria and the RHSV are, once again, partnering to present some fascinating events which are of interest to anyone interested in history and the history of engineering in its broadest scope.
This talk explores the development of key scientific and technological advances over the past 100 years. Building upon the great achievements of the Victorian Era which saw huge advances in fundamental sciences coupled with breathtaking engineering achievements, the twentieth century progressed electronics to astonishing complexity, conquered air transport and space travel through advances in materials and propulsion, revealed the structure of DNA, and uncovered the fundamental structure on matter and the universe. This talk will briefly describe these advances and the impact they are having on our lives in the areas of communications, automation, health etc.
Rob Evans was born in Melbourne, Australia, in 1947. After completing a BE degree in Electrical Engineering at the University of Melbourne in 1969, he worked as a radar systems engineering officer with the Royal Australian Airforce. He completed a PhD in 1975 at the University of Newcastle followed by postdoctoral studies at the Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems, MIT, USA and the Control and Management Department, Cambridge University, UK. In 1977 he took up an academic position at the University of Newcastle, where he served as Head of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering from 1986 until 1991 and Chief Investigator and Co-Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence on Industrial Control Systems between 1988 – 1991.
In 1992 he moved to the University of Melbourne, where he has served in many roles including Head of the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering for the periods 1993-1996 and 2013-2017, Research Leader for the Cooperative Research Centre for Sensor Signal and Information Processing 1992-2000, Director of the DSTO Centre for Networked Decision and Sensor Systems 2001-2004, Director of the Victoria Research Laboratory of National ICT Australia 2004-2012, Executive Dean of Engineering during 2007 and Director of the Defence Sciences Institute 2014-2017. He has served on several Boards and Government and Academy committees including the Council of the International Federation of Automatic Control from 2002-2008.
He is currently a Melbourne University Laureate Professor and a Chief Investigator in the ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery.
His research and industry engagement has ranged across many areas including theory and applications in control systems, industrial electronics, radar systems, signal processing and telecommunications. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, a Life Fellow of the Institution of Electrical and Electronic Engineers USA, and a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers Australia.
Refreshments from 5:30pm – 6pm
Lecture 6pm – 7pm

Transport History of Carlton
2021-06-29 19:30 - 21:00 | ZOOM, Join from anywhere in the world
On Tuesday 29 June 2021 @ 7.30 pm, you can enjoy two illustrated presentations on aspects of the transport history of Carlton from the comfort of your own home:
Before the Pram Factory? The story of Freeman’s livery stables
by Margaret Rich
The Inner Circle Line, Carlton’s forgotten railway line
by Jeff Atkinson
To take part in these presentations you will need to register. Email Jeff at jeffann@bigpond.net.au and a link will be sent to you in the days before the presentation.

http://www.cchg.asn.au/zoom29jun2021.pdf

Bory Latour-Marliac – the source of water lilies before and beyond Monet
2021-07-07 18:00 - 20:30 | ZOOM, Join from anywhere in the world
Long before Mendel’s work was known, Bory Latour-Marliac (1830-1911) engineered daring water lily couplings with consummate skill, meticulous care and acute observation. His previously unrecorded letters reveal a horticultural world wide web into which he launched his finest hardy hybrids. From the outset he corresponded with Japan, South-East Asia and the United States. The earliest international recognition of his hybrids came in the form of a gold medal at the 1889 Exposition Universelle in Paris attended by millions including Monet. Monet had moved to Giverny in 1883, his first order to Latour-Marliac in 1894 for a range of water and bog plants included lotus and water lilies. It could be argued that the plants from Latour-Marliac’s nursery were the genesis of Monet’s creation of a unique water landscape, now much imitated and copied – how many ‘Monet’s Garden’ installations have you seen? Caroline Holmes will use this presentation to navigate primary sources and delve the depths in an exploration of the history, science, networking and sheer pleasure of Latour-Marliac. The good news is that like Monet’s garden, the Latour-Marliac nursery thrives today. This presentation includes immersion in Monet’s monumental water lily panels at Paris’s Musée de l’Orangerie painted and donated by him to reflect on and commemorate the appalling loss of life during World War One. Today we can follow in the footsteps of both Monet and Latour-Marliac taking their visitors to their respective ponds in Giverny and Le Temple-sur-Lot to admire and discuss their blooms.
Date: Wednesday July 7th
Time: 6pm
Venue: Online
Price: $12 AGHS & Friends RBGV members, $15 non-members
Trybooking link – https://www.trybooking.com/BQWPH
Booking note: If you choose to attend online a Zoom link will be sent to you separately after bookings close
Caroline Holmes is a Garden Historian, author of 12 books including ‘Monet at Giverny’ and ‘Impressionists in their Gardens’. She was keynote speaker at the International Water Gardens Conference held at Giverny in 2019. Course Director for University of Cambridge ICE, accredited lecturer for The Arts Society and has spoken on every continent except Antarctica. Her design consultancies range from Human Renaissance gardens surrounding Notre Dame-de-Calais to devising the planting for The Poison Garden within The Alnwick Garden in Northumberland. Academic but not dry, she likes to sift the humour from the humus. www.horti-history.com

History of the Spencer Street Bridge
2021-07-08 17:30 - 19:00 | RHSV, Gallery Downstairs, 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne, VIC, 3000, Australia
History of the Spencer Street Bridge
Have you ever noticed the Spencer Street Bridge? Arguably nondescript, this dependable 1930 structure has a backstory of political infighting, pioneering technology and an unexpected obstacle pre-dating the bridge by several millennia. City of Melbourne local history librarian Fiona Campbell will lead a visual journey through the design, construction and significance of this enduring bridge.
We are delighted to partner again with Engineering Heritage Victoria to present this talk by Fiona Campbell, Local History Librarian at East Melbourne Library and bridge enthusiast.
Fiona graduated from Monash University with a Bachelor of Arts in 1994. Majoring in French and English literature, she also studied visual arts, Australian architecture and linguistics. From 1995 she studied horticulture at Burnley College (University of Melbourne) while working in retail nurseries and discovering an enduring interest in botany.
Led by an innate love of libraries and information, in 2002 Fiona undertook the Diploma of Library and Information Services at Swinburne University of Technology, which happily landed her in public library employment from 2003. She secured her current position of Reader Services and Local History Librarian at East Melbourne Library in 2007, and obtained the Graduate Diploma in Information Management with Distinction at RMIT in 2009. Specialising in local history has enabled Fiona to develop her inner history detective. Her work includes management of archival collections, responding to local history enquiries, events programming and resource training. She works to increase cultural and heritage awareness in the community by inspiring interest in our local stories and promoting the wealth of freely available resources.
Since 2018 she has been preoccupied with researching the history and construction of the Spencer Street Bridge and she is currently working on a book about the history of the bridge which she hopes to have published in 2021.
Refreshments from 5:30pm – 6pm
Lecture 6pm – 7pm
Photo caption: Spencer Street Bridge in 1930 (State Library of Victoria)

Searching for a Hero - an Ancestral Journey
2021-07-11 14:00 - 16:00 | Ellis Cottage, 10 Nillumbik Square, Diamond Creek, VIC, 3089, Australia
Searching for a Hero – an Ancestral Journey
An online enquiry from overseas, through Ancestry, leads to an incredible voyage of discovery, not only via online, but through exploration and travel to unexpected and distant places.
A talk by Jan Bailey (BA Hons Archaeology University of Melbourne, Grad Dip Ed La Trobe University)
$10 per person with homemade afternoon tea
Venue: Ellis Cottage Barn
RSVP 4th July to elliscottage@gmail.com

Trove for Beginners
2021-07-14 11:00 - 12:00 | Williamstown Library, 104 Ferguson St, Williamstown, VIC, 3016, Australia
Trove is a National Library of Australia website which provides access to historic newspapers, photographs, and much more. Come along to this session to learn what’s available on Trove, and some tips and tricks to find what you’re looking for.
Some computer skills recommended.

Cataloguing Clinic via Zoom with Jillian Hiscock
2021-07-22 11:00 - 12:00 | ZOOM, Join from anywhere in the world
Please note that the clinic held on Thursday 21st July has had a time change – it will now start at 12:30pm and run until 1:30pm.
This month Jillian will be looking at the issues around cataloguing oral history material including aspects of permission.
Jillian Hiscock, the RHSV Collections Manager, started these 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 for the remainder of 2021 will be held (all via Zoom) on these dates:

Jul 22, 2021 11AM
Aug 26, 2021 11AM
Sep 23, 2021 11AM
Oct 28, 2021 11AM
Nov 25, 2021 11AM

Please download and import the following iCalendar (.ics) files to your calendar system.
Monthly: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/tZItd-yhqz8oHtJgxpBNwW8ieSnpwIWjKaLP/ics?icsToken=[REDACTED]
Join Zoom Meeting (this is applicable to all 10 clinics during 2021)
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86005954246?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 860 0595 4246
Passcode: [REDACTED]

A New Look at the History of the Caulfield Racecourse: A talk by Andrew Lemon. via Zoom
2021-07-28 19:30 - 21:00 | ZOOM, Join from anywhere in the world
A New Look at the History of the Caulfield Racecourse
A talk by Andrew Lemon via Zoom

Glen Eira Historical Society
AGM and Speaker Series

In this talk, racing historian Andrew Lemon – author of the three volume The History of Australian Thoroughbred Racing – will look at the long history of Caulfield Racecourse and its place in the Australian story, and will reflect on the numerous campaigns and controversies surrounding this piece of crown land in the heart of metropolitan Melbourne.

Book Club: Benevolence
2021-07-29 18:30 - 19:30 | Williamstown Library, 104 Ferguson St, Williamstown, VIC, 3016, Australia
To acknowledge and celebrate the 2021 NAIDOC Week theme Heal Country!, Lenka Vanderboom is running a special Book Club event exploring Benevolence by Julie Janson.
Benevolence is set around the Hawkesbury River area, the home of the Darug people, in Parramatta and Sydney, 1816–35. The intensely visual prose interweaves historical events with detailed characterisation to shatter stereotypes and gives voice to an Aboriginal experience of early settlement. Author Julie Janson is a Burruberongal woman of Darug Aboriginal Nation.
Lenka Vanderboom grew up in the Kimberley on her Yawuru homelands, and is a Director of Indigenous publishing house Magabala Books Indigenous publishing house.
This event will be livestreamed.

PODCASTING 2 DAY MASTERCLASS
2021-07-31 | ZOOM, Join from anywhere in the world
PODCASTING 2 DAY MASTERCLASS
3CR Community Radio will be running a 2 day masterclass in how to make podcasts for our RHSV members. The masterclass will be run through Zoom to enable our members across Victoria to attend but please note, because it is very hands on, the masterclass is limited to 15 participants.
Today podcasts are a vitally important way of connecting with your community. This masterclass will enable you to produce sophisticated and professional podcasts that can be accessed through your historical society’s website. A great tool for every historical society.
A ten hours contact time podcast training course for 15 participants (there is additional time for breaks)
Session 1: Introduction to Podcasting/Technology and Equipment/ Concept/Audience/Promotion (2.5hrs)
Session 2: Creating Stories/Interviewing/Script Writing (2.5hrs)
Session 3: Getting the Best Recording/Audio Editing with Audacity or Cool Edit (2.5hrs)
Session 4: Collecting Sounds/Portable Recorders/Producing a Podcast (2.5hrs)
Day 1: Saturday 31 July 2021
● Intro to podcasting – 4 P’s of podcasting (Plan, Produce,
Publish, Promote)
● Planning a project: Concept & Audience Creating Stories
● Planning episodes (running sheets & podcast design)
● Writing for podcasts (scriptwriting, tags and show notes)
● Setting up a DIY studio space – equipment demo &
discussion
● Recording in DIY Home set up
● Recording on location
● Remote recording (VOIP)
● Hiring 3CR studios

Day 2: Saturday 7 August 2021
● Sound rich editing & podcast construction with Audacity
● Sourcing music and sound effects: licensing, copyright & open
source
● Media Law
● Publishing: hosting & listing
● Promotions/marketing, indexing & social media
● Archiving
TRAINERS:
Teishan Ahearne is a radio producer and media trainer with 3CR Community Radio, and has been making radio and podcasting since 2007.
Teishan has a passion for skill-sharing and has been helping people learn all things digital media since 2010.
You can find Teishan’s work here
https://linktr.ee/overdueitems
Nicky Stott is a broadcast & web content producer, trainer and studio technician with 3CR Community Radio since 2010. Nicky is proficient
with a wide range of digital/analog technologies and platforms—working with broadcast and digital media since 1991 and podcasting since
2008. They currently co-produce environment program/podcast Earth Matters.
All masterclass participants will be provided with a comprehensive podcasting handbook and other supporting materials.

Together Apart: Meet the Authors
2021-08-03 18:30 - 19:30 | Online
When COVID-19 hit Melbourne harder than a runaway tram, our lives changed – literally overnight. Photographer Jude van Daalen and editor Belinda Jackson join us to talk about their experience capturing Melbourne’s lockdown through ‘Together Apart: Life in Lockdown’, a beautiful, black-and-white coffee table book featuring 60 interviews and portraits of people in the Hobsons Bay community.

Welcome to new RHSV members
2021-08-05 16:30 - 17:30 | RHSV, Gallery Downstairs, 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne, VIC, 3000, Australia
Welcome to new RHSV members
Every year we like to host an event or two in the Drill Hall, before one of our lectures, to welcome our new members. We serve drinks and cheese and the staff give new members a background briefing on the RHSV and its treasures. So you’ll learn about our Collection from Jillian Hiscock, our Collections Manager, and Helen Stitt who looks after our huge images collection and our EO, Rosemary Cameron, will outline all the other membership benefits and how you can make the most of your membership.
Because we weren’t able to host these events last year we have a bit of catching up to do! We’ve scheduled 5 of these events over the coming months and new members are welcome to attend whichever one suits them. Our lectures are usually $5 or $10 for members ($20 for non-members) however, if you book for a new member event you can attend the following lecture free-of-charge.
We’d love to see you at one of these events – please indicate in the RSVPs if you want to attend just the New Member Welcome or the New Member Welcome + Lecture
Please note that these events will only go ahead if we are not in lockdown – we really need to be in the Drill Hall to show you what the RHSV is all about. If we are in lockdown we’ll be holding more New Member Welcomes at some point in the future and we’ll contact you again.
New Member lecture 4:30pm – 5:30pm, drinks continue until just before 6pm. Lecture 6pm – 7pm (includes Q&A).
The remaining lecture is:
Tue 19 Oct: Barbara Minchinton on The Women of Little Lon
Image caption: Holy Trinity Church of England, Bay Street, Port Melbourne by Samuel Hemming, 1853, erected under the supervision of Knight, Kemp and Kerr, 1855. RHSV Collection A-52-C. Miles Lewis has used this image in a powerpoint on portable buildings (https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/hdp.au.prod.app.vic-engage.files/8515/2418/2642/Lewis_Evidence.pdf)
