GARAGE GIRLS @ LAMAMA COURTHOUSE THEATRE
2023-07-21 19:30 - 21:30 (Australia/Melbourne) | La Mama Courthouse Theatre, 349 Drummond Street, Carlton, VIC, 3053, Australia
JOIN THE RHSV ON FRIDAY 21 JULY @ 7:30pm
We are hosting a group booking for members and their friends.

Imagine…1920s Melbourne-the advent of the motorcar! Society reels from the aftermath of war and a second wave of Spanish flu wreaks havoc on the streets. Theatres buzz with vaudeville hacks and men with an eye for enterprise seize every opportunity to weasel wealth. Meanwhile, one small woman defies convention and makes her mark…
Part history, part farce, part who-done-it, Garage Girls shines a light on one remarkable young woman’s short but eventful life. Who was Alice Anderson? Why did she drive her baby Austin all the way to Alice Springs? Who were all those women, dressed in greasy dungarees… and don’t they look a little bit like men? Sparked by actual events and a healthy dose of magic realism, breathtaking sound design and many colourful characters, played by five actors-Garage Girls is a rip-roaring ride celebrating a Victorian icon.
Welcome to Miss Anderson’s All Girl Garage!
“Sharp as a razor, very witty, very funny and beautifully directed with much visual humour.” – Stage Whispers
“Superb performances, an outstanding ensemble…This is first class storytelling..” – Theatrepeople
Inspired by “A Spanner in the Works: The extraordinary story of Alice Anderson and Australia’s first all-girl garage” by Loretta Smith 2019.
Content Warnings: Adult themes and loud noises
Producers: Three Birds Theatre and The Shift Theatre
Writers: Candace Miles, Madelaine Nunn and Anna Rodway (Three Birds Theatre) in collaboration with Carolyn Bock and Helen Hopkins (The Shift Theatre)
Directed by: Janice Muller
Performed by: Carolyn Bock, Helen Hopkins, Candace Miles, Madelaine Nunn and Anna Rodway

THE VENUE
The La Mama Courthouse is located at 349 Drummond Street, Carlton, behind Lygon Court and the Nova Cinemas, and close to Elgin Street.
Finding parking near La Mama can be very difficult, especially on Friday and Saturday nights, so if you need to drive, make sure you allow plenty of time to find a park.
CONTENT WARNING
Note that most productions at La Mama are new works, usually being seen for the first time on opening night. The RHSV has not seen this play and we are attending in the spirit of fringe theatre – it is live, it is bold, it is about Melbourne’s history and we like to support new works.
LOCK OUT!
Please note that because of the intimate space, it is not possible to admit late-comers. We lock the doors at show time and in most cases are unable to transfer the tickets. Please ensure you leave plenty of time for traffic and parking. Our bar opens an hour before show time and we always have free tea and coffee so come early and relax.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT
Trams
1 & 6 Stop #112 Lygon St / Elgin St Walk east along Elgin St and turn right on to Drummond St, it will be on your right (4 mins)
1, 3/3a, 5, 6, 16, 64, 67, 72 Stop #1 Melbourne University / Swanston St Walk east along Faraday St and turn left on to Drummond St, it will be on your left (7 mins)
Buses
200, 207 Lygon St / Elgin St Walk east along Elgin St and turn right on to Drummond St, it will be on your right (2 mins)
250, 251 Elgin St / Rathdowne St Walk west along Elgin St and turn left on to Drummond St, it will be on your right (3 mins)
Train
Melbourne Central Station, followed by a tram or bus ride above
ACCESSIBILITY
La Mama Courthouse has recently undergone extensive renovations, which has significantly improved audience facilities, as well as making the venue fully accessible for everyone. This means that we are wheelchair accessible for both audience and artists. However, the building is Heritage listed which means there are some things that are outside of our control. The doorway to the theatre is approximately 1 metre wide if you are a wheelchair user with a mobility device wider than this please get in touch before the show so we can try to meet your access requirements in the most comfortable way for you myf@lamama.com.au or (03) 9347 6948.

Rare books from the RHSV collection
2023-07-24 12:30 - 13:30 | RHSV Gallery Downstairs, 239 A'Beckett St, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia
We are thrilled that Rare Book Week and its fair are back after a three-year COVID hiatus!
The Royal Historical Society of Victoria has had a very active collecting policy both in Australia and back ‘home’ in the UK since its creation in 1909. In the 1920s, when the Victorian Branch of the Royal Geographical Society closed, their archive and library were absorbed by the RHSV. Whereas our collection is concentrated on the history of Victoria, the RGS collection is much broader, covering exploration across Australia and the Pacific and, because of this ‘misfit’, the RGS collection was not catalogued until very recently.
Jillian Hiscock, our Collections Manager, will speak about three items from the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia: two first-edition explorers’ journals and the Moll Atlas published in 1719: A new and complete map of the whole world shewing the situation of its principal parts. Viz the seas, kingdoms, rivers, capes, ports, mountains, woods, trade-winds, monsoons, variation of the compass climats [sic] &c.
This event will follow, in the same venue, a Rare Book Week event at 11am from the Ephemera Society of Australia. Morning tea is available before, between and during both events. For more information about the Ephemera Society event click here. Edwin Jewell will be speaking about material from Australian internment camps.

Herman Moll (c. 1654-1732) was one of the most important London mapmakers in the first half of the eighteenth century. Moll was probably born in Bremen, Germany, around 1654. He moved to London to escape the Scanian Wars. His earliest work was as an engraver for Moses Pitt on the production of the English Atlas, a failed work which landed Pitt in debtor’s prison. Moll also engraved for Sir Jonas Moore, Grenville Collins, John Adair, and the Seller & Price firm. He published his first original maps in the early 1680s and had set up his own shop by the 1690s.
Moll’s work quickly helped him become a member of a group which congregated at Jonathan’s Coffee House at Number 20 Exchange Alley, Cornhill, where speculators met to trade stock. Moll’s circle included the scientist Robert Hooke, the archaeologist William Stuckley, the authors Jonathan Swift and Daniel Defoe, and the intellectually-gifted pirates William Dampier, Woodes Rogers and William Hacke. From these contacts, Moll gained a great deal of privileged information that was included in his maps.
Over the course of his career, he published dozens of geographies, atlases, and histories, not to mention numerous sheet maps. His most famous works are Atlas Geographus, a monthly magazine that ran from 1708 to 1717, and The World Described (1715-54). He also frequently made maps for books, including those of Dampier’s publications and Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels. Moll died in 1732. It is likely that his plates passed to another contemporary, Thomas Bowles, after this death.

FOR THE FULL RARE BOOK WEEK PROGRAM CLICK HERE

WRITING HISTORY GROUP
2023-07-25 11:30 - 13:00, 2023-08-22 11:30 - 13:00 | ZOOM, Join from anywhere in the world
Dr Cheryl Griffin leads this group which has been meeting since 2020.
This group is for people who are tackling writing a history project or two and want a sounding board / source of information / guidance and HELP! Each month from February to November Cheryl convenes the group via Zoom for 90 minutes and they will attack a particular aspect of writing history and also be a sounding board for members problems / queries. Cheryl also has guest writers drop in to talk about their work and how they’ve dealt with thorny issues.
This writing group has a cap on the numbers who can join as we don’t want it to get too unwieldy where questions can’t be answered nor feedback given. Ongoing attendance is encouraged. The group dynamic doesn’t work if you can only drop in to a couple of sessions or you don’t have a current project on which you are working.
So, if you are a newcomer and are interested in joining, please RSVP for the Feb session and we’ll let you know if we have reached the limit of the group or not.

Tue 28 Feb, 2023 11:30 – 1pm AEDT
Tue 28 Mar, 2023 11:30 – 1pm AEDT
Tue 18 Apr, 2023 11:30 – 1pm AEST (a week early to avoid Anzac Day)
Tue 23 May, 2023 11:30 – 1pm AEST
Tue 27 Jun, 2023 11:30- 1pm AEST
Tue 25 Jul, 2023 11:30- 1pm AEST
Tue 22 Aug, 2023 11:30- 1pm AEST
Tue 26 Sep, 2023 11:30- 1pm AEST
Tue 24 Oct, 2023 11:30 – 1pm AEDT
Tue 28 Nov, 2023 11:30 – 1pm AEDT
Please download and import the following iCalendar (.ics) files to your calendar system.
Monthly: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/tZAkcO-rpjgjE9xC-Djyq2jCCSkdiwv1SZNl/ics?icsToken=[REDACTED] Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84976383998?pwd=[REDACTED] ID: 849 7638 3998
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Approaching the Voice: a four part lecture series
2023-07-25 12:30 - 14:00 | Kathleen Fitzpatrick Theatre
Our friends at U3A Melbourne City have put together a 4 part series, Approaching the Voice, in partnership with the Indigenous Unit at The University of Melbourne.
Later this year you will be asked to vote in the Referendum on a Voice to Parliament and in the coming months you will be bombarded with opinions from all political perspectives. In this Approaching the Voice series we bring you voices that you won’t regularly hear on radio and television: the voices of people who work continuously in this area and who are willing to share their expertise with us.
The remaining two sessions are:

Taking Indigenous knowledge seriously – a grounded account of listening to Indigenous voices

Tuesday, July 25, 12.30-2.00pm at the Kathleen Fitzpatrick Theatre, University of Melbourne
Speaker: Dr. Matt Campbell lectures in the area of Treaty and agreement making.
Matt spent more than two decades in Northern Australia, working with Indigenous people, seeking to find ways to ensure that his work appropriately centred Indigenous knowledge and governance.

Indigenous Voice: Uluru as pathway to Australian social reconstruction

Tuesday, August 1, 12.30-2.00pm at the Kathleen Fitzpatrick Theatre, University of Melbourne
Speaker: Professor Barry Judd is Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Indigenous) and Director of the Indigenous Studies Program.
Barry is a member of the Australian Institute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies and has worked in the support of Indigenous activity in Australian higher education for over 30 years. He is widely published with particular expertise in race relations in Australian sport.

In the Chair for all sessions will be Professor Russell Goulbourne, Dean, Faculty of Arts. Russell is a noted scholar in French literature having published extensively on major figures in French intellectual culture including Voltaire, Diderot and Rousseau.
Our thanks to Russell for facilitating this cooperative venture.
The 45 minute presentations will be followed by an audience Q@A session.
All four presentations are in the Kathleen Fitzpatrick Theatre, University of Melbourne Parkville campus, Level B1: Arts West – West Wing, Street address: Professor’s Walk

Extra directions: Room B01. Enter either east door (opposite Old Arts building) or west door (opposite Genetics). Take stairs to basement. Theatre is at the foot of the stairs. Lift access: Ramp on left side of east door (opposite Old Arts building). For main lift turn right then left. Otherwise go straight ahead to use open lift next to the far staircase.

You can book below for individual sessions or all 4 sessions. They are free-of-charge. These will not be offered via Zoom. These sessions are sure to be popular to please don’t book unless you know that you can attend.

Stories are shaped by the documents that survive to tell them
2023-07-25 19:00 - 20:00 | 39 St Edmonds Road, Prahran, VIC 3181, 39 St Edmonds Road, Prahran, VIC, 3181, Australia
📜 All stories are shaped by the documents that survive to tell them.
Over the past 169 years, the Prahran Mechanics’ Institute (founded in 1854) has accumulated a collection that not only covers the history of Victoria but also contains many hidden gems. Come along and discover the treasures of the PMI collection from letters, ephemera, invitations, dance cards, petitions, plans and registers that make up the PMIs own history to the books and ephemera which represent its journey over the last 169 years.
Discover the rare items the PMI is collecting even today and the ephemera it collects that will become tomorrow’s rare collection. The talk will immerse you in the PMI’s collection and give you the impetus to explore further.
Bookings are essential with a gold coin donation for entry.

AGM & Speaker Series – Popular Music in History, Heritage & Archives
2023-07-26 07:30 - 21:30 | Murrumbeena Bowls Club, 10 Blackwood Street, Carnegie, VIC, 3163, Australia
We invite you to the 50th AGM of the Glen Eira Historical Society followed by a talk by Paul Long, Professor in Creative and Cultural Industries at Monash University.
Whether in the form of the classical greats, traditional music or popular sounds from jazz, country, big bands to rock and roll, music offers a soundtrack to our lives.
Paul’s talk will look at how music of all types can be framed as part of our history and heritage.
Feel free to bring along music memorabilia and memories.
Entry $2.00 (cash only)
Please arrive 7.15pm for 7.30pm start
Bookings – https://www.trybooking.com/CIYWY
Supper including tea and coffee provided
Drinks can be purchased from the bar (cash or credit card)

Approaching the Voice: a four part lecture series
2023-08-01 12:30 - 14:00 | Kathleen Fitzpatrick Theatre
Our friends at U3A Melbourne City have put together a 4 part series, Approaching the Voice, in partnership with the Indigenous Unit at The University of Melbourne.
Later this year you will be asked to vote in the Referendum on a Voice to Parliament and in the coming months you will be bombarded with opinions from all political perspectives. In this Approaching the Voice series we bring you voices that you won’t regularly hear on radio and television: the voices of people who work continuously in this area and who are willing to share their expertise with us.
The remaining 4th session is
Indigenous Voice: Uluru as pathway to Australian social reconstruction
Tuesday, August 1, 12.30-2.00 at the Kathleen Fitzpatrick Theatre, University of Melbourne
Speaker: Professor Barry Judd is Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Indigenous) and Director of the Indigenous Studies Program.
Barry is a member of the Australian Institute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies and has worked in the support of Indigenous activity in Australian higher education for over 30 years. He is widely published with particular expertise in race relations in Australian sport.

In the Chair for all sessions will be Professor Russell Goulbourne, Dean, Faculty of Arts. Russell is a noted scholar in French literature having published extensively on major figures in French intellectual culture including Voltaire, Diderot and Rousseau.
Our thanks to Russell for facilitating this cooperative venture.
The 45 minute presentations will be followed by an audience Q@A session.
All four presentations are in the Kathleen Fitzpatrick Theatre, University of Melbourne Parkville campus, Level B1: Arts West – West Wing, Street address: Professor’s Walk

Extra directions: Room B01. Enter either east door (opposite Old Arts building) or west door (opposite Genetics). Take stairs to basement. Theatre is at the foot of the stairs. Lift access: Ramp on left side of east door (opposite Old Arts building). For main lift turn right then left. Otherwise go straight ahead to use open lift next to the far staircase.

You can book below for individual sessions or all 4 sessions. They are free-of-charge. These will not be offered via Zoom. These sessions are sure to be popular to please don’t book unless you know that you can attend.

Researching your Ancestors from India and Sri Lanka
2023-08-03 19:00 - 20:00 | Mill Park Library, 394 Plenty Road, Mill Park, VIC, Australia
Family Historian Smita Biswas will share tips to find clues about your family roots in India and Sri Lanka, including understanding the history, surnames and official resources.
Regarded by some historians as the oldest living civilization on Earth, the Indian tradition dates back to 8,000 BC and has a continuous recorded history of over 2,500 years. Most Indian family history has been traditionally maintained only within families, and has been often passed down from generation to generation, with children hearing their stories from their elders from early childhood.
Presented by Yarra Plenty Regional Library
Location: Mill Park Library, 394 Plenty Road, Mill Park, Vic.

TOUR: ISLAMIC MUSEUM OF AUSTRALIA
2023-08-04 11:00 - 12:30 | Islamic Museum of Australia, 15A Anderson Road, Thornbury, VIC, 3071, Australia
Join the RHSV for a curator’s tour of the Islamic Museum of Australia, one of Melbourne newest museums. The tour will have special emphasis on the artistic and cultural heritage of Muslims in Australia.
The arrival of Muslim Macassan fisherman from Southern Sulawesi, Indonesia on the Northern Australia coast in the early 1700s marked the beginning of a long-lasting trade relationship between the Macassans and First Nations people. Over time, these communities developed a mutual respect for one another, and shared cultural and religious traditions. Another section of the exhibition pays homage to the Afghan cameleers, highlighting their important contributions to our country’s infrastructure and economy.
There is a delightful coffee shop in the museum if you wish to stay for lunch or coffee.

Vandemonians Book Talk
2023-08-05 14:00 - 15:00 | Diamond Valley Library
Join Professor Janet McCalman of the University of Melbourne as she discusses her book Vandemonians: the repressed history of colonial Victoria. This fascinating book examines the stories of Victoria’s convict ancestors to find more than just their criminal activity. Only now are we discovering their stories and Victoria’s place in the nation’s convict history.

Altona Homestead Devonshire Tea
2023-08-06 10:00 - 14:00, 2023-09-03 10:00 - 14:00 | Altona Homestead, 128 Queen Street, Altona, Victoria, 3018, Australia
The Altona-Laverton Historical Society members and volunteers invite you to drop into the Altona Homestead on the first Sunday of the Month (February to December) to enjoy a serve of our famous Devonshire Tea or Cream Tea or Cornish Tea, anyway you look at them they are delicious.
Our Devonshire tea comes with two freshly made scones, home-made mixed berry jam, whipped cream and your choice of a pot of coffee or a pot of tea. We also have fresh lemonade available (and hot chocolate in winter). All in the surrounds of the heritage Altona Homestead building within the beautiful Logan Reserve, Altona

The Altona Homestead provides visitors of all ages the opportunity to take a step back to the time of our early settlers to the region of Altona. Located overlooking the tranquil Logan Reserve in close proximity to the Altona foreshore, the homestead is a unique and treasured part of Altona’s heritage. On display are objects, pictures, paintings and collections that reflect everyday life from 1840 through to the mid 1900s. The property has been used by a number of families as a residence, was used as holiday accommodation, was the council office and meeting place for the Altona Shire before Altona gained city status and moved to new chambers, and was used by a number of community organisations as well as Altona Historical Society.
Restoration works commenced in 1988 and through careful planning and funding provided by the then Altona City Council, ensuring preservation of the homestead for the people of Altona and visitors to enjoy and learn about Altona’s, and the western suburb’s, past.

A Chinese Family History
2023-08-07 13:00 - 14:00 | Mill Park Library, 394 Plenty Road, Mill Park, VIC, Australia
Librarian Jack Chan has had a long-time interest in local and family history and has researched his own Chinese ancestry in Australia. He has documented the history of his own family’s Chinese restaurants in Geelong. Join Jack for his trip down memory lane and his tips for researching family history.

George Arden, gentleman drunkard
2023-08-08 13:00 - 14:00 | RHSV Gallery Downstairs, 239 A'Beckett St, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia
We are delighted that author and historian, Susan Priestley FRHSV, will be delivering this lecture which explores the background and career of editor and author George Arden, whose life compiled by the late P.L. Brown, Geelong and Western District historian, was an entry in the first volume of the Australian Dictionary of Biography (1966). Arden together with his two brothers provide variant exemplars of the lifestyle and widely variant fortunes encountered when gentlemanly emigrants, along with the multitude of others, took the colonial plunge into Britain’s nineteenth century world, thereby illuminating the idiosyncrasies of multi-coloured humanity.

Susan Priestley, Master of Arts (University of Melbourne), has been an independent historian since 1962. Susan’s eleven commissioned histories embrace aspects of places, people and institutions in Victoria. Her ongoing interest is the study of past lives and the evolution of identity – personal, collective and national. an article for the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, seven articles for the Australian Dictionary of Biography, as well as papers and reviews, mostly for the Victorian Historical Journal. She is a founding member of the Professional Historians Association (Victoria). She is a founding member and former Vice-President of the La Trobe Society, and a Fellow of the RHSV, having served as RHSV councillor for twenty years and as president from 1999 to 2005 (only the second woman to hold this office in our 114 year history).

Susan’s bibliography includes:
(Those in italics are available in the RHSV bookshop – click on the title to go to the bookshop)

Cattlemen to commuters: A history of the Mulgrave district, now the city of Waverley, 1839 – 1961
Echuca: a centenary history
Echuca: a history (revised edition 2009)
Bush nursing in Victoria: 1910 – 1985, the first 75 years
Making their mark: The Victorians
South Melbourne: a history
Henrietta Augusta Dugdale: An Activist 1827 – 1918
Altona, a long view
The crown of the road, the story of the RACV
Melbourne’s Mercy: a history of Mercy Private Hospital

Members and friends are more than welcome to bring their lunches to eat (quietly!) whilst listening to Susan’s lecture. We will be serving tea and coffee.
The event in hybrid – both in person and via Zoom.

Soldiers and Aliens Book Talk
2023-08-10 11:00 - 12:00 | Ivanhoe Library & Cultural Hub, 275 Upper Heidleberg Road, Ivanhoe, 3079, Select a Country:
Local author June Factor will discuss her book Soldiers and aliens: men in the Australian Army’s Employment Companies during World War II, which details the forgotten history of the remarkable contribution of non-British subjects to Australia in 1939-1945.

MARKETING FORUMS
2023-08-14 12:00 - 13:00 | ZOOM, Join from anywhere in the world
Christina Browning, the RHSV Marketing Officer, leads these forums which each month tackle a different aspect of marketing for historical societies – they tend to concentrate on social media as it is very available and is free to use, however, Christina will tackle any aspect of marketing which you want to raise. Christina will prepare a topic each month and she welcomes questions and feedback and suggestions for future topics – these sessions are relaxed and interactive. Bring your queries / issues etc. The forums are free and delivered via Zoom. There are always extra documents and links that are sent to you after each forum and it is for that reason we ask attendees to register – otherwise we can’t contact you.
The same Zoom log-in is used for all 1o forums across 2023

Mon 14 Aug 2023, 12noon – 1pm AEST
Mon 11 Sep 2023, 12noon – 1pm AEST
Mon 9 Oct 2023, 12noon – 1pm AEDT
Mon 13 Nov 2023, 12noon – 1pm AEDT

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82571257942?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 825 7125 7942
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CATALOGUING CLINICS 2023
2023-08-17 11:00 - 12:00 | ZOOM, Join from anywhere in the world
Join Jillian Hiscock, the RHSV Collections Manager, each month is this informative and easy-going Zoom forum on all aspects of cataloguing collections for historical societies. Jillian has a different topic each month and is happy to be guided by those who attend as to what they would like covered in upcoming clinics. This is an interactive space where questions are encouraged. The RHSV does not endorse any particular cataloguing software – we believe it is horses for courses – and Jillian will talk about issues that impact on cataloguing whether you are using cataloguing cards or software.
The one-hour clinics are free and the Zoom log-in below is used every month in 2023, however, we do ask you to register each month as this enables Jillian to send you extra material / links etc after each session.
The remaining Cataloguing Clinics 2023 will be held at

Thu 15 Jun 11am – 12noon (AEST)
Thu 20 Jul 11am – 12noon (AEST)
Thu 17 Aug 11am – 12noon (AEST)
Thu 21 Sep 11am – 12noon (AEST)
Thu 19 Oct 11am – 12noon (AEDT)
Thu 16 Nov 11am – 12noon (AEDT)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86065204468?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 860 6520 4468
Passcode: [REDACTED]
Please download and import the following iCalendar (.ics) files to your calendar system.
Monthly: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/tZItceyqrj8uHNyeZRXkEGbD7ZUBvzw25bH8/ics?icsToken=[REDACTED]

George Weickhardt (1906-2000) and the pioneer engineers of Victoria
2023-08-17 17:30 - 19:00 | RHSV Gallery Downstairs, 239 A'Beckett St, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia
This presentation, by Ken McInnes, will bring to the fore the research by George Weickhardt (1906-2000), and in particular his research on the pioneer engineers of Victoria and their contributions to the early developments in the colony.
George was an active member of Engineering Heritage Victoria (EHV) in the 1980s, and presented and published many papers on engineering history. He also produced a well-received series of articles about pioneer engineers published in The Victorian Historical Journal and his unpublished research papers and manuscripts are held in the archives at the Royal Historical Society of Victoria (RHSV).
George, together with his more well-known brother Len, regularly attended and participated in EHV and RHSV meetings, and both contributed biographies to the Australian Biographical Dictionary.
This overview of the life, the works and contributions of the pioneer engineers, as researched and described in George’s published papers and recently catalogued archives, is relevant to all who are interested in the history of Victoria.

History of Australian Motherhood
2023-08-19 14:00 - 15:00 | Eltham Library
It is Family History Month! Join us for a fascinating panel discussion on the history of Australian mothers and how motherhood has changed over time. Dr. Carla Pascoe Leahy, author of Becoming a Mother: an Australian History and Miranda Francis, a researcher into the history of Australian motherhood in the 20th century, will discuss their work in this session.
Photo: Mothers and babies at the Drouin Infant Welfare Centre, Victoria, circa 1944. Photo by Jim Fitzpatrick. National Library of Australia U-429-122.

AGM with speaker Judy Maddigan
2023-08-21 18:30 - 21:30 | Yorkshire Stingo Hotel, 48 Hoddle Street, Abbotsford, Victoria, 3067, Australia
Collingwood Historical Society will hold the 2023 AGM with our annual dinner followed by guest speaker, Judy Maddigan, the first woman Speaker of the Victorian Legislative Assembly, who will talk on ‘Victoria, the last State to allow women to vote and stand for Parliament’.

British Surnames
2023-08-22 11:00 - 12:00 | Eltham Library
Join Nick Cree as he discusses his research on British surnames with reference to recent census data on the population of the Shire of Nillumbik. He will also discuss some examples of origins of commonly occurring names. Surnames are a fascinating area of family history with records dating back to the 11th century.
Presented by Yarra Plenty Regional Library

Book Launch: LINE OF BLOOD: The Truth of Alfred Howitt by Craig Horne
2023-08-22 18:00 - 19:30 | RHSV Gallery Downstairs, 239 A'Beckett St, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia
Melbourne Books invites you
to the launch of LINE OF BLOOD: The Truth of Alfred Howitt by Craig Horne
To be launched by Hilary McPhee

Line of Blood: The Truth of Alfred Howitt tells the full story of Australia’s so-called ‘ablest anthropologist’; the botanist, geologist, senior public servant and explorer Alfred Howitt—and ancestor of the author, Craig Horne.
Howitt first made his name in Australia as a bushman and explorer—Mt Howitt and Howitt Plain in the Victorian Alps are named in his honour. That he was an extraordinarily capable polymath is not challenged. What this book challenges are the contributions of Howitt’s anthropological conclusions, coupled with his social and political influences, in legitimising the murderous advance of white settlement upon the Australia landscape.
For Howitt, the ‘line of blood’ that followed white settlement was nothing more than the iron law of replacement—whereby an ‘inferior race’ is inevitably usurped by a ‘superior civilisation’. Howitt’s racial ideologies facilitated a pattern of Australia’s mechanical dismissal of First Nations peoples; identifying them as ‘savages’, ‘blacks’, and in need of saving through a determined white policy of paternalistic neglect.
Craig Horne worked as the Communications Manager for Aboriginal Affairs Victoria for ten years and was a member of the Victorian Archaeological Survey in the 1970s. In that time, he was confronted with the devastating impact of Australia’s racism on First Nations peoples and became determined to help those wanting to hold a mirror up to these destructive ideologies. He subsequently worked as a public servant and speechwriter. He has also pursued a successful parallel career as a musician and singer on the Melbourne scene over the last fifty years.
Craig has published a trilogy of music biographies with Melbourne Books, including Daddy Who?; Roots: How Melbourne became the music capital of the world; and more recently I’ll Be Gone, Mike Rudd, Spectrum and how one song captured a generation.
Hilary McPhee is a writer, editor and founder of McPhee Gribble Publishers with Diana Gribble. She was also Chair of the Australian Council for the Arts 1994-97 and inaugural Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow at the University of Melbourne until 2004. Her books include Other People’s Words, Wordlines and Memoirs of a Young Bastard: The Diaries of Tim Burstall and Other People’s Houses.
You will be sent a confirmation email of your booking, please check your Spam or Junk Mail folder if it isn’t in your In-box as sometimes these automatically generated emails get treated as spam.

MORWELL SEMINAR: STRENGTHEN YOUR SOCIETY THROUGH HISTORY
2023-08-26 - 2023-08-27 | Morwell Historical Society, 12 Hazelwood Street, Morwell, VIC, 3840, Australia
RHSV Historical Societies Support Committee – Regional Seminar Weekend
The third RHSV seminar for 2023, and second in rural Victoria, is being hosted by Morwell Historical Society on Saturday 26 August 2023 with optional activities in the La Trobe valley on Sunday 27 August 2023.
The needs of societies in the region have shaped our program, but RHSV members Victoria-wide are invited to attend, to learn from informed speakers as well as different societies’ experiences and simply enjoy Gippsland. The presentations and visits will strengthen the best of most historical societies’ and individual members’ existing work and inspire fresh approaches.
Indeed, for potential attendees unfamiliar with the unique qualities of the wider region, why not make a longer break?

SATURDAY 26 AUGUST PROGRAM
Please note that in every session there is time for questions and answers and sharing of experiences.
10.00am REGISTRATION, coffee and networking
10.30-10.40am PROGRAM START: Acknowledgement of Country, welcome, housekeeping
10.40am -11:40am Family history research and writing – Gippsland case studies
Speaker: Carol Smith
11:40am – 1pm Capacity Building: Leading and retaining volunteers and attracting new visitors and members
Speaker: Paul Fearon
1:00pm – 2:00pm LUNCH and mingling/networking
2:00pm – 3:00pm Hitchhiker’s Guide to Collection Management
Speaker: Jillian Hiscock
3:00pm – 4:00pm Writing engaging exhibition labels and appealing visitor ‘self-guided’ tours
Speaker: Rosalie Triolo
4:00pm CLOSE
Followed by
5:30pm Optional DINNER, @ Morwell Bowling Club Bistro, 52 Hazelwood Road, Morwell
If you’d like to attend this seminar dinner, please RSVP below. You can check out the menu etc here: https://www.morwellbowls.com.au/ (à la carte menu)
SPEAKERS
PAUL FEARON FAICD FCPA FIPAA (Vic) joined the RHSV Council following a 40-year career in the energy industry and as a government regulator. He has also held director roles in two small volunteer-based charities; has arts, business and finance degrees; and, has commenced a PhD in History. Paul will provide a ‘primer’ on principles and techniques in leading and retaining effective teams of volunteers.
JILLIAN HISCOCK has been the RHSV Collections Manager since 2018. She qualified as a librarian at Melbourne University after doing a Bachelor of Arts at La Trobe University. She has had a career working in public and special libraries, and managing government department libraries and intranets. She ran the Department of Transport library which supported Heritage Victorian and the Planning portfolio, this in role particular has given her relevant experience in managing collections that span manuscripts, ephemera, books, images and non-print materials.
CAROL SMITH is a local Morwell resident and the author of two books A Call to Arms and Heading for the Hills. A Call to Arms covers her family’s military history with stories beginning with both grandfathers one of whom fought at Gallipoli and was later wounded on the Western Front and the other who rode in the Charge of Beersheba. Heading for the Hills talks about her two uncles Ron McIntyre and Charlie Mills, both ‘Rats of Tobruk’ who had been captured at El Alamein and transported to Prisoner of War Camps in Italy.
Dr ROSALIE TRIOLO, FRHSV is RHSV Vice-President and HSSC Chair. Rosalie has enjoyed over 40 years in History education, including multiple, long-term, volunteer Victorian and national History leadership roles; teaching Australian history in diverse Victorian rural and city government schools, including Boort and Derrinallum; publishing for general, as well as tertiary, secondary and primary education audiences; and, facilitating the development of specialist teachers of History for 25 years at Monash University. Rosalie will offer strategies for catering to, and attracting, newer groups in communities so they might visit, join and contribute to societies.

2 DAY PROGRAM
You have the option to design your program over two days – pick and choose what suits you.

SATURDAY 26 August 10am – 4:00pm, MORWELL
Full day seminar: Strengthening your societies through History (detail above)
@ Morwell Historical Society, 12 Hazelwood Road, Morwell VIC 3840
Bookings for the Saturday seminar should be made below
The seminar is followed by an optional a la carte dinner, @ Morwell Bowling Club Bistro, 52 Hazelwood Road, Morwell
Book dinner below but you can check out the menu here: https://www.morwellbowls.com.au/ (à la carte menu)

SUNDAY 27 August: self-drive optional activities + lunch
1. PowerWorks, Ridge Road, Morwell – Special Opening 10am to 12noon for seminar participants
Preferred booking on registration
https://www.powerworks.net.au/
Entry Fee $5.00 /$2.50

2. Latrobe Valley Maltese Museum, Henry Street, Morwell – open from 11am-4pm
https://www.facebook.com/people/Latrobe-Valley-Maltese-Museum/100064075810576/
Australia’s first and only Maltese Museum.
Entry Fee: $5
A GROUP LUNCH can be reserved at 12 noon at a cost of $20 with viewing of the exhibition afterwards – participants would need to book on registering for the seminar (book below)
There are two courses for lunch: first course is soup followed by a choice of 2 or 3 main courses.

3. Morwell Centenary Rose Garden, corner of Commercial Road & Maryvale Crescent (a short distance from the Morwell Historical Society) – a rose filled parkland of over 2 hectares
https://www.morwellrosegarden.com.au/
Visitors can access at any time
4. Immigration Wall and Heritage Walk around Kernot Hall Lake
https://www.gippslandimmigrationpark.com.au/
Visitors can access at any time
5. Latrobe Regional Gallery, 138 Commercial Road, Morwell (on corner with Hazelwood Road)
https://latroberegionalgallery.com/
Open on Sunday: 10am to 4pm

DO YOU NEED ACCOMMODATION? CAFES? MEALS?
See City of La Trobe Tourism: https://visitlatrobecity.com/

PMI Victorian History Library’s History Showcase
2023-08-26 10:30 - 15:30 | 39 St Edmonds Road, Prahran, VIC 3181, 39 St Edmonds Road, Prahran, VIC, 3181, Australia
🏺 Are you interested in History? Then come to the PMI’s History Showcase!
There are over 20 historical societies, family history and genealogical history groups, archives groups and special interest group, from across Victoria gathered together for one day to show you just how they can help you with whatever enquiry or history related curiosity you may have. The PMI is conveniently located near public transport and many places to eat, so you can comfortably spend all day exploring what is on offer.
Bookings are essential with a gold coin donation for entry.

ALL-STAR SPORTS TOUR OF COBURG CEMETERY
2023-08-27 14:00 - 16:00 | Coburg Pine Ridge Cemetery, Bell Street, Preston, VIC, 3072, Australia
Visit the graves of Jock McHale, Dick Lee and other famous footy players, a few jockeys and other sporting movers and shakers who helped make Melbourne what it is today.
Email to book: focc.group@gmail.com
$10 ($2 for members of Friends of Coburg Cemetery).

A Walking Shadow. Edward Oxford, well known resident of Albert Park with a secret past as an an attempted assassin of Queen Victoria
2023-09-04 19:30 - 21:00 | Middle Park Primary School, 192 Richardson St, Middle Park, VIC, 3206, Australia
A talk for the Middle Park and Albert Park History Group by Jenny Sinclair (author).
Edward Oxford (18 April 1822 – 23 April 1900) was the first of seven people who tried to assassinate Queen Victoria. After Oxford was arrested and charged with treason, a jury found that Oxford was not guilty by reason of insanity and he was detained at Her Majesty’s pleasure in the State Criminal Lunatic Asylum and later, in Broadmoor Hospital. Eventually given conditional release for transportation to a British colony, he lived out the remainder of his life in Australia. He remains the longest-surviving attempted assassin of a British monarch.

Stories from and a Brief History of 3AW Radio
2023-09-05 14:00 - 15:00 | 39 St Edmonds Road, Prahran, VIC 3181, 39 St Edmonds Road, Prahran, VIC, 3181, Australia
🎙️ Stories from and a Brief History of 3AW Radio
Simon Owens, 3AW’s Station Historian, and Co-Host of the Sunday night program Remember When, has some fascinating stories to share. Having gathered insights from many of the stars who have worked at the station over it’s 90+ years – He will explain how the station has evolved over the years and answer any questions you might have about Melbourne’s most listened to radio station.

Marketing, promotion and partnerships On-line Seminar
2023-09-05 14:00 - 16:00 | ZOOM, Join from anywhere in the world
The Royal Historical Society of Victoria, in partnership with AMaGA Victoria, is pleased to present this seminar focused on marketing, promotion, and partnerships, tailored specifically for volunteer groups. The session aims to equip attendees with practical strategies and insights to enhance their organisation’s visibility, engagement, and collaborative opportunities.
During the seminar, participants will have the opportunity to explore various marketing and promotional techniques, including effective storytelling, social media engagement, and community outreach. Industry experts will share their knowledge, providing valuable tips and case studies to inspire and guide attendees in their marketing efforts.
Additionally, the seminar will delve into the significance of building partnerships and collaborations for volunteer groups. Attendees will gain insights on identifying potential partners, establishing mutually beneficial relationships, and leveraging partnerships to expand their reach and impact.
This event is delivered via TEAMS and the TEAM log-in details will be emailed to you 24 hours before the event.

Beyond the Docks: The Oil Rigs Symposium
2023-09-05 18:30 - 20:30 | RHSV Gallery Downstairs, 239 A'Beckett St, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia
A public forum for changing the way we see and understand ‘Maritime Melbourne and Victoria’
Join ‘Amphibious’ Curator and cultural programmer Valentina Bydanova, partnering with RMIT early career Photographer Jesse Grey, in the Beyond the Docks Symposium to explore the Bass Strait oil rigs and their history as a ‘community landscape’ or, we should say, seascape.
The discovery of the nation’s largest oil field in 1967; the Kingfish oil field (in the Gippsland Basin), changed Australia and Victoria’s industry and economy. However, not many Melbournians/ Victorians know that Bass Strait is dotted with 22 oil rigs that provide Victoria with 60 per cent of its oil and gas needs. Still, most of us rightfully have questions and opinions about these industrial complexes, beyond the docks and beyond our view. Many wonder how oil rigs impact local and global environments, and how the transition from extractive to more sustainable models of fuel will be actualised by local governments, service providers, global leaders – and ‘the people’.
Hosted by the Amphibious curatorial and photographic team, this Symposium is designed for open, critical and curious public discussion. The audience’s questions and conversations about this world-class infrastructure on our doorstep will shape the teams’ following documentary photographic expedition to capture the often-invisible world of the Gippsland Basin oil rigs.
The photographs taken, and subsequent outdoor exhibition held at the Docklands, will serve as visual answers to public questions raised about this infrastructure that currently powers our lives.
The Amphibious team needs your input: Shaping maritime Melbourne
Come to discuss and shape a new approach to creating art and conversation about under-represented local marine-maritime spaces. The Amphibious team believes that we can position local waterways as cultural theatres of exchange and encounter, to inspire greater public appreciation of Melbourne as a maritime city.
This symposium organised by Amphibious’ Curator, Valentina Bydanova, will be an in-person event only. Light refreshments will be served and there will be a display of material from the RHSV collection which is related to Bass Strait oil rigs.

Image captions:
Offshore Platform Marlin B (ExxonMobil Australia)
Bass Strait Oil and Gas System (ExxonMobil Australia 2022)
