Waltzing Matilda: Australia's Accidental Anthem
2021-05-18 18:30 (Australia/Melbourne) | 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.

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.

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

The history of the Box Hill/Burwood Rotary Club
2021-05-16 14:15 - 16:00 | 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.

Discover Our Collections: Heritage @ Williamstown Library
2021-05-12 11:00 | Williamstown Library, 104 Ferguson St, Williamstown, VIC, 3016, Australia
Williamstown Library is the home base for Hobsons Bay Libraries Heritage Collection, dedicated to preserving the history of Hobsons Bay from historic maps and photographs to newspaper and local books.
The Library’s Heritage Room houses microform readers, a high-res scanner, interactive touch table, and a regularly changing array of local history exhibitions.
Come along for an introduction to what’s on offer, and learn how we can help you out with your local and family history research.
Bookings are essential and spaces are limited.
This event is part of the Australian Heritage Festival.

ONE DAY BUS TRIP – WALKING THE WONDERS OF THE WEST
2021-05-07 08:30 - 17:00 | Australian Garden History Society
Join us for a trip to walk around three different historic landscapes in the west of Melbourne.
HV McKay Memorial Gardens, Sunshine – Robin McKay Hunt, great grandson of HV McKay and AGHS member, together with the Friends of McKay Gardens will inform us and lead a walk to unfold the Sunshine Harvester story and how this industrial suburb was designed along garden city principals including the 1909 gardens which were established for the workers.
Newport Lakes – In 1989 work commenced to transform this former bluestone quarry and rubbish tip into a bushland oasis which now supports over 200 plant species and many birds and reptiles. We will have a ‘walking lunch’ to give you the opportunity to explore the trails and many viewpoints.
Williamstown Botanic Gardens – Permanently reserved in 1856, these are one of Victoria’s oldest and most intact botanic gardens retaining Victorian and Edwardian features and significant trees, Curator Shelly Wood will guide us around these gardens and inform us of the significant works that are planned to ensure the future of these gardens.
NOTE: THERE IS A LOT OF WALKING ON THIS TRIP SO MEMBERS MUST BE CAPABLE AND PREPARED FOR THIS.
DATE: Friday 7th May 2021
COST: Members $120, non-members $150
DEPARTURE: 8.45am sharp Russell St Extension Bus Loop (behind Ian Potter Gallery)
RETURN: Approx. 5pm depending on traffic
INCLUDES: Morning tea, lunch and notes
TryBooking
https://www.trybooking.com/BQEQB

1850s Heritage-listed garden in Thomastown: horticulturalist guided tours
2021-05-05 13:00 - 14:00, 2021-04-07 13:00 - 14:00, 2021-03-03 13:00 - 14:00 | Ziebell’s Farmhouse Museum & Heritage Garden, 100 Gardenia Road, Thomastown, VIC, 3074, Australia
Ziebell’s Farmhouse Museum and Heritage Garden has introduced horticulturalist guided tours of its heritage-listed garden, which dates from the 1850s.
The garden’s professional horticulturalist, Christine Burke, has tended Ziebell’s Farmhouse garden for nine years. From her extensive experience, she has created a talk and tour about the geology, plants and the history of this heritage-listed cottage garden. Christine has also drawn on the knowledge of descendants, especially Sylvia Schultz, who tended the garden for over 80 years and with whom Christine worked for several years. Younger descendants still volunteer to tend the garden and, in doing so, maintain the continuous commitment to the garden by Christian and Sophia Ziebell and their descendants from the 1850s to the present day.
Described as one of the finest small cottage gardens in Melbourne, it features over 70 roses including one planted in the 1860s. It is tangible evidence of the love of beauty and culture that existed at Westgarthtown, which is an historic dairy farming settlement established by German and Wendish emigrants. Ziebell’s Farmhouse is Victoria’s oldest German emigrant building and is now an accredited museum and the cultural interpretive centre for Westgarthtown
Regarding this new initiative, Garden Co-ordinator, Gillian Borrack commented, “Our new garden tours are another way we share these historic and beautiful gardens. Christine’s knowledge, along with that of the descendants’, have created insights that few people get to experience. We hope our heritage garden and tours contribute to the appreciation and significance of heritage gardens.”
What: Ziebell’s Farmhouse Museum and Heritage Garden Horticulturalist Tours
When: 1pm Wednesday 3rd March, then the first Wednesday of each month.
Cost: $10 per person with a minimum of 6 required for a tour to proceed.
Bookings: Essential one week prior to tour date. Bookings at www.westgarthtown.org.au
Where: Ziebell’s Farmhouse Museum and Heritage Garden, Cnr Gardenia Road and
Ainwick Crescent, Thomastown.

TEXTILES IN BLOOM: FASHION & TEXTILES AT VILLA ALBA MUSEUM
2021-05-01 - 2021-05-02 | Villa Alba, 44 Walmer St, Kew, VIC, 3101, Australia
A series of installations uniting items from the fashion and design collection of Kew Historical Society within the heritage interiors of the Villa Alba Museum.
Explore the use of printed floral fabrics and embroidery by Australian and international designers. The exhibits include displays of 19th and 20th century costumes, millinery,soft furnishings and accessories.
A two day event at the Villa Alba Museum highlighting rare items from our fashion and design collection, many of which will be displayed for the first time. This event is part of the 2021 Australian Heritage Festival. Unfortunately there are restrictions on visitors, so bookings for the Saturday and Sunday sessions are limited. If you would like more information, please download the Textiles in Bloom flyer. Tickets can be purchased on eventbrite. A partnership between Villa Alba and Kew Historical Society
Venues/ Dates and times:
Saturday 1 May (12.3–2.00pm, 2.30-4.00pm)
Sunday 2 May (12.3–2.00pm, 2.30-4.00pm)
Tickets $15

Finding Families
2021-04-28 11:00 - 12:00 | Williamstown Library, 104 Ferguson St, Williamstown, VIC, 3016, Australia
Hobsons Bay Libraries’ experienced heritage staff will demonstrate how to search for your ancestors across a variety of online platforms, including Victorian Births Deaths and Marriages records, Ancestry, historic newspapers, and immigration records. Find out important family dates, where your ancestors worked, and what they did for a living.
Recommended for beginners. Basic computer skills recommended.
Bookings are essential and spaces are limited.
This event is part of the Australian Heritage Festival.

"Never Forget Australia"; Transformation at Villers-Bretonneux - a presentation via zoom by Dr Ross McMullin
2021-04-27 06:45 - 20:00 | ZOOM, Join from anywhere in the world
“Never Forget Australia”; Transformation at Villers-Bretonneux – a presentation via zoom by Dr Ross McMullin
The immense German onslaught in March 1918 caused Britain’s gravest crisis of World War I. Australians, rushed to the rescue, influenced the destiny of the world more than in any other year. The culmination of their contribution in the conflict’s climax was the stunning counter-attack at Villers-Bretonneux. It was acclaimed as the war’s most brilliant exploit, and no-one was more significant than Camberwell’s own Pompey Elliott.
To commemorate the anniversary of this celebrated feat, award-winning historian Ross McMullin will illuminate what occurred. Ross has written two books on Pompey, and his biography Pompey Elliott won awards for both literature and biography. His multi-biography Farewell, Dear People: Biographies of Australia’s Lost Generation was awarded the Prime Minister’s Prize for Australian History. His other books include Will Dyson: Australia’s Radical Genius, which was highly commended by the judges of the National Biography Award.
http://www.rossmcmullin.com.au
When : Tuesday 27 April 2021 6:45 for 7pm
Please book – the zoom link will be sent after booking
To book please call George Fernando 9885 9927 or email enquiries@chs.org.au

Cataloguing Clinic via Zoom with Jillian Hiscock
2021-04-22 11:00 - 12:00, 2021-03-25 11:00 - 12:00 | ZOOM, Join from anywhere in the world
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 2021 will be held (all via Zoom) on these dates:

Feb 25, 2021 11AM
Mar 25, 2021 11AM
Apr 22, 2021 11AM
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]

Australian Heritage Festival - Preserving your Photos for the Future
2021-04-21 19:00 - 20:00 | Online
Do you have a collection of old photos that you’re not quite sure what to do with? Do you know how to care for them so they survive into the future? Join Debra Parry from Melbourne Conservation Services for an online workshop to learn how to best care for your photos.

During this Zoom presentation, Debra Parry will give a talk on photos from the 19th and 20th century, and how to conserve these for the 21st century. Find out what resources you need and what kind of problems can arise with handling, storage, and display of photos.
The presentation will be followed by a Q&A session where you can ask questions and have the opportunity to get brief advice.
Times: 7.00pm-8.00pm
Entry Fees: Adults $10, Concession $8, Members $Free
Booking: Prebooking required – Please book here
Attendance Limit: Less than 50
For More Information nationaltrust.org.au/vic/

AGL Shaw Lecture: Law, Lawyers and La Trobe
2021-04-20 18:30 - 20:30 | RHSV, Gallery Downstairs, 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne, VIC, 3000, Australia
Three. That was the number of Attorneys practising in Melbourne when Charles Joseph Latrobe arrived in the Port Phillip colony in 1839. The legal infrastructure of the colony was similarly scant. It included a Police Magistrate, a civil magistrate, mounted police, two justices of the peace, a police court, a gaoler, a flagellator, two clerks of court but no dedicated court-house. That was it for a population of 5,822. When Latrobe left in 1854, some 15 years later, the scene was quite different. The now independent colony of Victoria had seen 186 attorneys/solicitors and 63 barristers admitted to practise in that period. There was also a substantial Supreme Court building (and bluestone gaol) with three justices (including a Chief Justice) who had the capacity to hear and interpret the new Victorian statute book. There were also the stirrings of an organised legal profession. The rule of law had been firmly established.
So, what can we say about the evolution of Victoria’s legal system during Latrobe’s time? What prompted its start, who were the key personalities and what were key moments?
Leading legal scholar, Dr Simon Smith AM FRHSV, will be addressing the above questions when he delivers the 2021 AGL Shaw Lecture which forms part of the RHSV’s Distinguished Lecture series. This lecture is jointly presented by the C. J. La Trobe Society and the RHSV and is always a convivial and lavishly-catered evening. The event will be held in the RHSV’s Gallery Downstairs which is totally accessible and does not involve any stairs.

Simon Smith is an Adjunct Professor with the Sir Zelman Cowen Centre at Victoria University. He is also a leading legal history scholar and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society of Victoria (RHSV). He was Vice-President of the RHSV in 2009-2011. In 2016 he edited Judging for the People: A Social History of the Supreme Court in Victoria 1841-2016.
His other recent published works include Solicitors and the Law Institute In Victoria 1835-2019: Pathway To A Respected Profession which was commended in the Victorian Community History Awards, Barristers Solicitors Pettifoggers: Profiles in Australian Colonial Legal History (2014) and Maverick Litigants: A History of Vexatious Litigants in Australia 1930-2008 (2009).
As a Monash University law undergraduate in the 1970s, Simon helped establish Australia’s first community legal centre, the Springvale Legal Service. In that context he was a founding editor of a leading practice text, the Lawyers Practice Manual (Vic). After completing his legal training in Oxford, he was admitted to practice in 1975. In 1978 he became the first full-time clinical legal education academic in Australia, based at Springvale.
Through that clinical programme, for a decade, he helped introduce Monash undergraduates to the practice of law in a supervised poverty law setting. Over 40 years of that programme, the power of ‘first impressions’ on those future practitioners has contributed to the better practice of law in Australia.
In the 1980s, Simon was a pioneer in alternative dispute resolution and was the first Ombudsman in the Australian financial services sector. In 1991 he helped establish the Society of Consumer Affairs Professionals in Business (SOCAP). He was President in 1996. Later he was Senior Counsel with a top-500 insurance company and a curator of the nationally significant insurance archive, the Suncorp Insurance Archive, now in the hands of the State Library of Victoria.
Simon holds the degrees of B Juris. LL M and PhD from Monash University. In the 2019 Australia Day honours he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for significant service to the law particularly in consumer affairs, to higher education, and to history.

RHSV members please note the later than usual start time for this event.

Finding Families
2021-04-20 18:30 - 19:30 | Altona Library, 123 Queen St, Altona, VIC, 3018, Australia

Walking tour: Colonial Mayors of Prahran
2021-03-28 14:00 - 17:00 | St Kilda Cemetery, Dandenong Road & Hotham Street, St Kilda East, Vic, Australia
Come and listen to the fascinating stories of the lives of those Colonial Prahran Mayors on a walking tour of St Kilda Cemetery led by Claire Barton.
St Kilda Cemetery, Dandenong Road, St Kilda East
Melway 58 F9
Cost: $15 includes refreshments afterwards
Meet at the Main Gates at 2.00pm
Bookings required. Ring Gabriel on 0451831102,
email gabrielhermes@live.com or go to http://foskc.org
We go in all weathers, rain, hail or shine so please wear
suitable clothing and footwear and bring an umbrella.
Photo caption: Prahran Council meeting 1901. Photograph: Yeoman and Company.
Courtesy Stonnington History Centre.

Aviation Cultures Mk.V
2021-03-25 - 2021-03-28 | Victoria
This inclusive, online conference will bring together researchers, academics, curators and practitioners to share their knowledge and ideas of flight, and its place in history and society.
The conference will address how aviation has changed the world, and how the world has changed aviation.
Keynote addresses will include:

Wing Commander Marija ‘Maz’ Jovanovich, RAAF test pilot;
Madelyn Shaw, Smithsonian Institution;
Marnix ‘Max’ Groot, airport historian and editor of AirportHistory.org;
Dr Leigh Edmonds, civil aviation historian;
Frank Quinlan, Federation Executive Director of the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

Registration for the conference is $25, with $10 concession rate for full-time students, COVID-affected and the unwaged.
Get your tickets now
Click here
You can follow Aviation Cultures Mk.V on Twitter (@AvCulturesConf) and on Facebook or visit the Aviation Cultures website (aviationcultures.org) for regular updates.
We look forward to meeting you at this online event which will include live video chat, panel discussions, digital papers, presentations, videos and entertainment by harmony quartet Company B.
Want to know more? Check out the Aviation Cultures Mk.V flyer and program schedule.
Best wishes,
James Kightly, Phil Vabre and the conference team

CORAGULAC HOUSE: book launch
2021-03-24 18:00 - 19:00 | RHSV, Gallery Downstairs, 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne, VIC, 3000, Australia
Author and historian, Jennifer F. O’Donnell, invites RHSV members and friends to celebrate the launch of her latest history, Coragulac House. Drinks and light refreshments will be served in the RHSV’s Gallery Downstairs.
In the early 1870s, George Pringle Robertson built “Coragulac”, nestled in the shelter of Red Rock near Colac. Built of bluestone quarried on the land and designed by architects Davidson and Henderson, it was an unexceptional mansion with a wide verandah and lacking a tower, so common in the Western District.
Robertson’s father William was a member of Batman’s expeditions to Port Phillip and started buying land near Colac in 1840 (at the time of his death in 1874 it is estimated he held 40,000 acres). Three generations of the Robertson family lived in the area their story being integral to the history and the development of Colac.
Andrew Spence Chirnside bought “Coragulac” in 1901 and set about radically restructuring the building, tearing down external walls, realigning the roof, raising the billiard room roof, re-locating the front door and adding a new wing. The architect, Guyon Purchas, added conical turrets on each side; internally the house now featured two magnificent fireplaces, carved by Robert Prenzel, along with a host of other Art Nouveau additions. In 1903, Chirnside employed his friend, Ballarat architect William Braznor, to erect vast new stables.
Thomas Baker bought “Coragulac” in 1912. A prominent Colac estate agent, among his other activities, he was a strong believer in sub-division and opened up the area to farming. He died in “Coragulac” in 1924 and the mansion fell into neglect.
In 1932 Len Ralton, a potato and onion grower, bought the property and set about rescuing the mansion. Ralton was a founding figure in the Apex movement; when war came, he answered the call. In 1947 “Coragulac” was put on the market and finally bought by the Matthews brothers in 1950. Members of the Matthews family would own “Coragulac” for next 64 years. Today, with new owners Gary and Sharyn Gibson, “Coragulac” is being restored to earlier glory.
Jenny O’Donnell, historian and photographer, has carved out a niche writing histories of Victoria’s splendid homesteads and mansions. Her earlier books include Thornebridge: the Bridge Hotel at Murchison, Noorilim: from wool to wine, Narrapumelap: a pastoral history, Ravenswood, Kawarau and, most recently, St Kilda Families. Memorials in Christ Church.

Launch of the Jessie Webb Society
2021-03-24 10:30 - 12:00 | RHSV, Gallery Downstairs, 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne, VIC, 3000, Australia
Richard Broome AM, President, Councillors and Foundation Committee members
of the Royal Historical Society of Victoria
invite you to the launch of

with special guests, Annette Webb,
Gary Presland and Bill Russell.

Create history. Make a bequest.
Over our considerable lifetime the RHSV has received many bequests which allow us to make great leaps forward. They allow us to tackle the larger projects and these have included restoring significant original artworks, digitising our unique Pioneer Register, indexing the on-line Victorian Historical Journals, funding prizes and, just as vital if more prosaic, building our new website and funding our database.
The trouble with bequests is that we never get the opportunity to say a heart-felt thank you. So we have established the Jessie Webb Society to honour those who have made a bequest to the RHSV whilst they are still with us.
Join the Council and Foundation to raise a toast to Jessie Webb and to celebrate our new society and those who have become its founding members.

Who was Jessie Webb (1880-1944)?
In 1909 Jessie Stobo Watson Webb was not only an original Historical Society of Victoria member (membership No. 30) and the first woman but she also provided rooms in Block Arcade in which our first meeting was held. She was a passionate historian and a true individual who lived by her own rules. Graduating from the University of Melbourne with first class honours in history and political economy, she became the third woman appointed to the University teaching staff when she joined its history department as an evening lecturer in 1908.
She and her friends exemplified the ‘new woman’: intelligent, emancipated women who led rich intellectual lives. She spent 7 months trekking from Cape Town to Cairo in 1922 and thence to Athens where she spent eight months at the British School of Archaeology which had a huge influence on the rest of her life. She was an alternate Delegate to the League of Nations, travelled through outback Australia in 1926 in a Baby Austin 7 and returned to Europe, North Africa and the Middle East in 1936 for one last historical tour. She was a founding member of many academic clubs and associations and lived her life in the pursuit of education and adventure.
We want to honour Jessie’s legacy, and her impact on the RHSV which is still felt over 100 years later, by naming our bequest society after her. The Jessie Webb Society, like its namesake, is there to make a difference and its members understand the power of a legacy.
“My bequest through the Jessie Webb Society is made in acknowledgement of the enduring value and worth there is in the study of history. I am pleased to provide support for a discipline that gave me not only many years of enjoyable employment, but also enduring friendships, and opportunities to contribute to an understanding of our past.
I am proud to think that, through the Jessie Webb Society, my achievements can be of benefit in the future. That, surely, is what ‘history’ is about.”
Dr Gary Presland FRHSV
“As Victoria grows, we mustn’t forget our heritage in records, stories, and historical places and figures. If we neglect the past, we lose our soul; history provides the links and stories that give our communities meaning. The RHSV has been collecting, saving and publishing those stories for over 110 years.
“By leaving a bequest to the RHSV, I know I’m helping secure their vital work in protecting Victoria’s heritage, and the stories and histories of its communities, into another century.
Jessie Webb loved the past but saw to the future: We can all contribute to the goal of preserving the stories and records of Victoria’s history long into the future. One of the best ways is to leave a bequest to the RHSV Foundation, which is what I intend to do.

“The success of the RHSV depends upon the generosity of people like you and me. If we value the past, we must protect its future.”
Professor E W Russell

We invite you to become a member of the Jessie Webb Society
The RHSV established the Jessie Webb Society to honour those who bequeath funds to us. If you make the decision to leave the RHSV a bequest in your will there is no obligation to notify us, however, we’d love it if you did so that we can acknowledge your generous gift now and invite you to enjoy the Jessie Webb Society and its benefits.
Find Out More
Photograph of Jessie Webb courtesy of Annette Webb. Taken in her early twenties, just a few years before she joined the Historical Society of Victoria.

LAUNCH OF RHSV WOMEN'S DICTIONARY OF BIOGRAPHY
2021-03-19 17:00 - 18:30 | RHSV, Gallery Downstairs, 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne, VIC, 3000, Australia
Do join us to celebrate the launch of this major research project and its online presence.
There is a perception that from its beginnings in 1909, the Royal Historical Society has been the domain of men. Yet from the outset women have played an active role in the Society in many capacities – as members, councillors, fellows, employees, volunteers, patrons, benefactors.
The RHSV Women’s Biographical Dictionary has been established to honour the contributions made by women to the Society, particularly those who do not appear in the Australian Dictionary of Biography or Women Australia or The Australian Women’s Register. Where the life of a featured woman has been documented elsewhere, her entry will highlight her contribution to the RHSV.
This project has been instigated by the indefatigable Cheryl Griffin. Cheryl has done all the research thus far but we are hoping that there are more people out there interested in adding to the dictionary. Katrin Strohl, President of Coburg Historical Society and talented graphic designer, has designed the individual pages. Come to the launch and learn how you too can be involved. The dictionary will always be a work-in-progress.
Photos above are (L to R): Mary Webster, Louise Bakewell and Mary Lyell.

Vera Deakin in War and Peace
2021-03-16 17:30 - 19:00 | RHSV, Gallery Downstairs, 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne, VIC, 3000, Australia
The RHSV’s major lecture during Women’s History Month (March). The lecture will start at 6pm and we will be serving drinks prior to that from 5:30pm.
The daughter of Prime Minister Alfred Deakin, Vera Deakin studied music in the Habsburg Empire on the eve of the Great War. Driven by British imperial fervour on her return to Australia, she bypassed the government’s restrictions on women’s participation in the war effort by serving with the fledgling Australian Red Cross. Aged only 23 in 1915, she became the founding secretary of the Australian Red Cross Wounded & Missing Enquiry Bureau in Cairo and later London. Narrowly avoiding replacement by a man, she showed outstanding leadership and was appointed OBE. In peace she married an adventurous military pilot, Captain Thomas White, later a cabinet minister. When he was knighted, she became Lady White. Vera led several humanitarian causes but her lodestar remained the Red Cross.
Carole Woods OAM is a Fellow and honorary secretary of the RHSV. A former librarian, bibliographer and freelance historian, she has been a longtime advocate for community history. She chaired the judges’ panel of the Victorian Community History Awards for seven years and curated two exhibitions at the RHSV. Her books include Beechworth. A Titan’s Field and the recently published Vera Deakin and the Red Cross.
Chaired by Dr Judith Smart AM.

BRAZEN HUSSIES: Film Screening and Q&A
2021-03-11 17:30 - 19:45 | Williamstown Library, 104 Ferguson St, Williamstown, VIC, 3016, Australia
BRAZEN HUSSIES reveals a revolutionary chapter in Australian history, the Women’s Liberation Movement (1965 -1975).
Interweaving freshly uncovered archival footage, personal photographs, memorabilia and lively personal accounts from activists, BRAZEN HUSSIES shows us how a daring and diverse group of women joined forces to defy the status quo, demand equality and create profound social change – contributing to one of the greatest social movements of the 20th Century.
Join us in celebrating International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month with a screening of this acclaimed film followed by a Q&A with some of these inspiring women.
Places are limited to allow for social distancing. Bookings are required.

Launch of exhibition: Tales from the MacRobertson International Air Races
2021-03-11 17:00 - 19:00 | RHSV, Gallery Downstairs, 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne, VIC, 3000, Australia
Emeritus Professor Richard Broome AM FRHSV and the Council of the Royal Historical Society of Victoria have much pleasure in inviting our members and friends to the launch of our exhibition,
Tales from the MacRobertson International Air Races
with
Mr Richard Mendelsohn, Honorary Consul, Kingdom of the Netherlands
Mr Richard Champion de Crespigny AM
Curators: Mr Noel Jackling OAM, Dr David Thompson FRHSV, Mr John McCulloch
In October 1934 a great air-race was planned from London to Flemington, Melbourne. From a field of 20 planes just 12 arrived. The winner took a whisker under 3 days; the last entrant arrived in February 1935. The best known tale is of the Dutch plane, Uiver, which made an emergency landing in Albury during a wild storm; the locals used the town’s lights to flash morse code to the plane and then lit the race-track, a make-shift aerodrome, with their car-headlights. Flight was one of the last frontiers and all the tales are unashamedly romantic and full of derring-do.
Please note that because of COVID we are restricted in the number of people who can attend this event and only people who have RSVPed will be allowed entry. Wearing of masks, electronic record keeping and sanitising of hands on arrival is mandatory.

Pre-European Indigenous Culture in the Kew Area - 2021 McIntyre Lecture
2021-03-10 19:30 - 21:30 | Victoria
2021 MCINTYRE LECTURE
Gary Presland is an archaeologist and historian, with long-standing research interests in the pre-contact Indigenous culture, and natural history, of the Melbourne area. He has written extensively on these topics over the past 40 years. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society of Victoria and an Honorary Fellow in the School of Geography at University of Melbourne.
The Kew Historical Society’s 2021 McIntyre Lecture will focus on the society and culture of the Indigenous clan whose estate took in the area that is now Kew. Members of the Wurundjeri-willam clan identified with this area but they also had binding cultural connections with clans whose estate were as much as 185 kms away, to the north of Kew.
Lecturer – Dr Gary Presland
When – 10 March 2021
Where – Just Theatre
Kew Court House
188 High Street
KEW VIC 3101
Time: 7.30 for 8 PM
Cost $20 – Box Office 9278 4770 | or book online at www.boroondara.vic.gov.au/events
Sponsors:
City of Boroondara
Rotary Club of Balwyn
Kay & Burton Hawthorn

Discover Your Military Ancestors
2021-03-10 11:00 - 12:00 | Williamstown Library, 104 Ferguson St, Williamstown, VIC, 3016, Australia
Want to learn more about your family’s military history?
Discover the huge range of military records you can search online, and find out what your ancestors did during the wars of the 20th century.
Recommended for beginners with basic computer skills.
Bookings required as places are limited to allow for social distancing.
Image from the Argus Newspaper Collection of Photographs, State Library of Victoria. ‘Soldiers striking camp at Williamstown, WWII.’

BOOK FAIR
2021-02-25 17:00 - 20:00 | RHSV, Gallery Downstairs, 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne, VIC, 3000, Australia
We have been forced to delay the Book Fair because of the latest lockdown. The updated dates appear below.
Every year the RHSV hosts a fabulous second-hand history book fair where we sell history books of every imaginable genre. Victorian and Australian history dominate but you’ll find biographies and memoirs, military history, art history, natural history, classics, children’s books, political and social history, literary history etc
There wasn’t a book fair in 2020 so the Drill Hall is bursting at the seams with accumulated donations of books from members and friends: professional and professorial libraries being downsized, private, public and educational libraries deaccessioning and old books making way for new. Books are priced to go – we don’t want any books left behind! A COVID silver-lining has to be that everyone Marie-Kondo’ed their libraries in 2020 and we’ve benefited.
At the 2021 Book Fair we are honoured to offer the Les Blake Collection for sale. Leslie Bamford James Blake, O.B.E., B.A. Melb., M.Ed. Melb., F.A.C.E., F.R.S.H.V., F.I.B.A. was born at Bendigo (Vic.) on 5 March 1913 and died 4 June 1987 at Karingal. A long-time member of the Victorian Education Department, during which he was an Inspector of Schools (1958-1972), and official historian of the Department (1966-1974), after which he became Victoria’s State Historian. He made major contributions to the Australian Dictionary of Biography and served in the Australian Army Signal Corps of the A.I.F. during WWII. He was President of the R.H.S.V. from 1966-1971 and Foundation President of the Western Victorian Association of historical Societies (1963-1964).
The Book Fair is open to the public however it kicks off with a Members-only night on Thursday 25th Feb from 5pm – 8pm. The fair then remains open to the public on Friday 26th, Saturday 27th February and Monday 1st March (9am – 5pm except Saturday which is 10am – 4pm).

Williamstown Croquet Club - Past, Present and Future
2021-02-23 18:30 - 19:30 | Online
Come along and learn about croquet’s origins in the 19th century and the history of Williamstown’s own club, founded in 1926.
Club president, Paul Lund, will also provide information on the club’s operations today including membership, competitions, social activities and events.
This event will be held online via Microsoft Teams. Bookings are essential so that we can send you a link to join the session. You will be emailed a link prior to the event along with instructions on how to participate.

History Writers' Group with Cheryl Griffin
2021-02-23 11:30 - 13:00 | RHSV, Gordon Moffatt Room, 239 A'Beckett St, Melbourne, VIC, 3000, Australia
The History Writers’ Group is for RHSV members only. It is led by Dr Cheryl Griffin and meets monthly on the 4th Tuesday of each month from 11:30am – 1pm. These events are hybrid – some people choose to meet at the RHSV and others choose to Zoom in. The capacity of the group is flexible. When we set this group up in early 2020 it was capped at 15 however, with some Zooming in, we can increase the cap slightly. It is not a group where you can dip in or out – it really requires commitment to the full year to achieve the most and build rapport and trust within the group.
This is a very interactive group which shares information and assists each other with problems they have encountered in their history writing. There are the occasional guest speakers. Cheryl is not only a respected historian but also a splendid teacher. Her own writing is delightful and she has the rare skill of making history personal and engaging.
