RHSV AGM + 2026 Weston Bate Oration: Professor Richard Broome AM
2026-05-26 17:00 - 19:30 (Australia/Melbourne) | RHSV Gallery Downstairs, 239 A'Beckett St, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia
AGM: 5pm – 6.10pm
Break: 6.10pm – 6.30pm
Weston Bate Oration: 6.30pm – 7.30pm
The Weston Bate Oration follows the RHSV’s Annual General Meeting. The AGM runs from 5pm until about 6:10pm when we have a short break before resuming for the Oration at 6:30pm. Refreshments will be served in that break.
If you wish to attend the Oration only then there is no need to arrive at the Drill Hall until, say, 6:15pm for 6:30pm.
Both the AGM and the Oration are hybrid and will be available on ZOOM for those who cannot attend in person at the Drill Hall. The same ZOOM log-in will apply to both the AGM and the Oration and those log-in details will be sent to those who RSVP 24 hours before the event. You just need to log-in when you are able to join the meeting/oration.
There is the opportunity below to record your apologies if you cannot attend the AGM in person or via ZOOM.
Members will be sent the papers for the AGM 14 days prior to the AGM.
Non-members are more than welcome to attend the AGM – we just ask members to identify themselves when RSVPing as it makes it easier for us to count votes, etc.
Weston Bate Oration:
Presented by Professor Richard Broome AM, FAHA, FRHSV, FFAHS
In this lecture Richard will explain how he found Aboriginal history in the 1970s and how his practice and methodological approach to this field has changed over five decades. He will reveal how and when he shifted from a position of youthful ignorance; to being interested in and talking about Aboriginal people; to listening to and talking with them; and finally, to deep collaboration with them.
About the presenter:
Emeritus Professor Richard Broome AM taught Australian and Indigenous History at La Trobe University for over three decades. He is a former President of the RHSV and currently co-editor of the Victorian Historical Journal. He is the author of twenty books, including Aboriginal Australians. A history since 1788 (Allen & Unwin 5th ed., 2019) and the multi-prize-winner Aboriginal Victorians. A History since 1800 (Allen & Unwin, 2nd ed., 2024). He co-edited with Ashley Pratt, Analyzing Australian History, a 4 volume VCE text (Cambridge University Press, 2021). Richard has co-authored three books for the RHSV, the latest being The Story of Melbourne’s Lanes (2024).
The Weston Bate Oration is one of the RHSV’s Distinguished Lecture Series.

Cataloguing Clinics 2026
2026-05-28 11:00 - 12:00 | Join via Zoom
Join Jillian Hiscock, the RHSV Collections Manager, each month in 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. Bring your questions (no matter the topic) – 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 2026, however, we do ask you to register each month as this enables Jillian to send you extra material / links etc. after each session.
Sessions:
11am (AEDT) Thursday 26 February 2026
11am (AEDT) Thursday 26 March 2026
11am (AEST) Thursday 30 April 2026
11am (AEST) Thursday 28 May 2026
11am (AEST) Thursday 25 June 2026
11am (AEST) Thursday 30 July 2026
11am (AEST) Thursday 27 August 2026
11am (AEST) Thursday 24 September 2026
11am (AEDT) Thursday 29 October 2026
11am (AEDT) Thursday 26 November 2026

Please download and import the following iCalendar (.ics) files to your calendar system.
Monthly: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/tZUodu6tqDgiHd1GR_iE8TH4ES68fGZNptVS/ics?icsToken=DG-8nju0TlavGLpMYAAALAAAAHjKVvjojHkP8b0WEF3xBU3_ND_gQsgdvSNgtqHVOZ5zsuq6aJanYT-P0Z-4fXQe-__Qy-vPVgC56bc5rzAwMDAwMQ&meetingMasterEventId=zzNd4ZUyTrmUVJnN31jJmA

Join Zoom Meeting
Https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81517563879?pwd=[REDACTED]

Meeting ID: 815 1756 3879
Passcode: [REDACTED]

If joining by phone:

One tap mobile
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Join instructions
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Cataloguing Clinics 2026
2026-06-25 11:00 - 22:00, 2026-07-30 11:00 - 12:00, 2026-08-27 11:00 - 12:00, 2026-09-24 11:00 - 12:00, 2026-10-29 11:00 - 12:00, 2026-11-26 11:00 - 12:00 | ZOOM, Join from anywhere in the world

Lives lived and clothes worn: reading Gwen Jones' gowns
2026-07-21 17:30 - 19:00 | RHSV Gallery Downstairs, 239 A'Beckett St, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia
This lecture honours the life of Gwen Jones, a keen member and generous supporter of the Royal Historical Society of Victoria over many years until her death in 2021, aged 98. The lecture series will promote the vital role of The Jones Collection of the RHSV in documenting and supporting research on these themes.
The Jones Collection was donated to the RHSV by Gwen shortly before she died. Gwen’s creation, stewardship, and generosity surrounding the collection has ensured that future historians have an incredibly rich archive on which to draw.
Lives lived and clothes worn: reading Gwen Jones’ gowns
Clothing is a personal document that records experiences, reflects moments in time and captures aspects of its wearer. In this presentation, Lorinda Cramer delves into three gowns related to Gwen Jones in the collection of the National Trust of Australia (Victoria). As she reads these garments for the lives lived in and through them, she teases apart the social, cultural and fashion history in which these dresses were worn.
About Dr Lorinda Cramer
Dr Lorinda Cramer is a Lecturer in Cultural Heritage and Museum Studies at Deakin University. Her work as a dress historian sits at the intersections of social history, cultural history and material culture studies. She employs an innovative methodology that draws on the materiality of museum objects to deepen insights into clothing’s connections with gender, race and class, to explore consumer preference, and to interrogate fashion as a worn experience.
Housekeeping
This event will be hybrid so presented in person in our rooms and also via ZOOM. Those purchasing ZOOM tickets will be sent the log-in details 24hrs before the event.
An automatically generated confirmation of booking email is sent on booking – please check your Trash or Spam folders if this email does not turn up in your in-box.
As with most of our events, refreshments will be served from 5:30pm – 6pm when the lecture starts (the Zoom session also starts at 6pm). There will be Q&A at the end of the lecture.
