Royal Historical Society of Victoria

Life So Full of Promise
2024-11-06 18:30 - 19:30 (Australia/Melbourne) | 39 St Edmonds Road, Prahran, VIC 3181, 39 St Edmonds Road, Prahran, VIC, 3181, Australia
Award-winning historian and biographer of Pompey Elliott, Ross McMullin, on his new book.
Ross is a renowned storyteller and an entertaining speaker. He will regale us with stories from “Life So Full of Promise”, his second lost generation multi-biography following “Farewell Dear People”, which won the Prime Minister’s Prize for Australian History.
Ross’s new book again combines prodigious research and narrative flair in a collection of interwoven family stories about forgotten Australians who had radiant potential. The rich cast of characters includes a popular doctor, a brilliant cricketer, and an exceptionally talented barrister who was a potential prime minister.
“Life So Full of Promise” illuminates what the war was like at home and at the sharp end. It provides insights into the experiences of Australians before, during and after the war, whether they were combatants or civilians, or soldiers’ wives or parents.
Bookings are essential with a gold coin for entry.

The Life and Works of the sculptor Charles Summers (1825-1878)
2024-11-07 19:30 - 21:30 | Phyllis Hore Room, Kew Library, Civic Drive, Kew, Victoria, 3101, Australia
Join us on Thursday November 7th for our next club meeting.
Our upcoming talk is on the ‘Life and Works of the Sculptor Charles Summers (1825-1878).
He is best known as the maker of the bronze statue of Burke and Wills, Melbourne’s first public monument, but he also made many other important works.
Our speaker is Jennie Maggs, a descendant of the sculptor and a Summers researcher and collector.
Hosted by the Antique Collectors Club of Victoria.
The talk will be followed with a light supper.
Please message if you wish to come along to allow for catering.
Non-members/casual entry $10.
Thursday 7:30pm Phyllis Hore Room, Kew Library.

My Grandfather's Clock
2024-11-13 14:00 - 15:00 | 39 St Edmonds Road, Prahran, VIC 3181, 39 St Edmonds Road, Prahran, VIC, 3181, Australia
🕰️ My Grandfather’s Clock
This is a joint Family History Connections and PMI Victorian History Library event. If family history, a love of research and discovery is your thing, do come along.
Hear about a story of an ordinary family’s journey from frontier warfare and dispossession through economic turmoil and emigration to modest prosperity. At each step, we are led to reflect on the puzzles of personal identity and the mystery of time. Based on a lifetime of creative scholarship, My Grandfather’s Clock is a moving testament to the power of family history to illuminate the present.
Graeme Davison is Emeritus Sir John Monash Professor of History at Monash University. He has written widely on Australian history. His previous family history, Lost Relations: Fortunes of My Family in Australia’s Golden Age, won a Judges’ Special Prize in the Victorian Community History Awards.
Graeme will sell and sign books on the day.
Bookings essential with a gold coin for entry.

Labassa Open Day
2024-11-17 10:30 - 16:00 | Labassa, 2 Manor Grove, Caulfield North, Victoria, 3161, Australia
Experience the complex richness of Labassa’s architectural and human history.
Although more than 700 people have lived at Labassa, it has miraculously survived with most of its opulent Victorian era decoration intact. Guided house tours and tower tours operate throughout the day, and the tea room is open 10:30am to 3:30pm. The tower will be open with a limit of 12 people per tour group. Due to the tower’s narrow, steep steps visitors are advised to wear sensible shoes.
Please arrive at least 15 minutes before your intended tour time. Capacity will be monitored on the day. Pre-bookings for entry to the house are highly recommended to avoid disappointment. Walk up availability is subject to the numbers already in the house.
Cost: $0 – $50
No parking in Manor Grove.

INAUGURAL GWENDA D. M. JONES MEMORIAL LECTURE
2024-11-19 17:30 - 19:00 | RHSV Gallery Downstairs, 239 A'Beckett St, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia
We are thrilled to launch the inaugural biennial Gwenda D. M. Jones Memorial lecture as part of our Distinguished Lecture series.
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.
Eminent historian, Richard Aitken will deliver the inaugural lecture, Orontes’ adventure: introducing The Jones Collection of the Royal Historical Society of Victoria. Richard is a Melbourne-based historian, curator, and writer specialising in the history of gardens and homemaking. Richard’s work is recognised nationally and internationally, and his books have become essential reading for anyone with an interest in Australian history and domestic design. He spent three years sorting, listing and annotating The Jones Collection, resulting in the recent donation of approximately 200 archive boxes of documents and realia to the Royal Historical Society of Victoria. Richard’s work which combines his deep knowledge of and love for Gwen and her family combined with his historian’s rigour have added immeasurably to the value of the collection.
Richard’s lecture will introduce The Jones Collection by focussing on the 1953–54 study tour of Britain and Europe undertaken by Gwen Jones. This is a particularly comprehensive holding within the collection and will act as a catalyst for narrating a significant part of Gwen’s life story as well as highlighting the richness of The Jones Collection for historical research and provide an assessment of its overall archival significance.
Gwenda Dagmar Marie Jones graduated from the University of Melbourne with BA (1947), BEd (1953), and MA (1983) degrees. She was the only child of Ebenezer and Meda Jones and immensely proud of her Welsh and Danish ancestry. The family were exceptionally close and shared a love of travel and music, instilling confidence and independence in Gwen as she progressed through a culturally rich life. Apart from several years studying, teaching, and lecturing in Castlemaine, London, and Geelong, Gwen lived in the family home in Coburg. She embraced her humble local origins of miners and seamstresses but also forged global friendships and interests.
Gwen was educated in local state schools, progressing from University High School to training at Melbourne Teachers’ College. Following her BEd thesis on the early career of pioneering Victorian educationalist Frank Tate, she embarked on year-long study at the University of London School of Education. Funded partially by the University of Melbourne’s Smyth Travelling Scholarship in Education she studied British drama education and its applicability to Victoria. The scholarship and ensuring experiences living in London were a high-point of her personal and professional life.
Apart from stints teaching in high schools, Gwen’s main career was as a lecturer at Geelong and Coburg Teachers’ Colleges. Gwen introduced an elective in Australian history at Geelong in the late 1950s with a focus on local and regional history, was local co-ordinator of the New Education Fellowship, a fine accompanist, madrigalist, and cello player, and produced Salad Days with her students to universal acclaim.
Gwen returned to Melbourne in 1964. She undertook long-term research into the history of Coburg’s Holy Trinity Anglican Church, was a book reviewer and occasional author of articles in professional journals, and wrote many plays for children’s theatre. She took a keen interest in local history and in 1973 commenced postgraduate research under the supervision of Pat Grimshaw, studying governesses in Australian colonial society.
Following retirement in 1986, Gwen spent an engrossing sixteen years with The History Institute of Victoria as a member of its Executive Council and acting as membership secretary and in other roles.
The Jones Collection at the Royal Historical Society of Victoria holds Gwen’s personal and professional papers and an extensive family archive. Whether it was playing piano for Arthur Rubinstein on his 1937 Australian tour, watching Wilson Hall burn in 1952, meeting Yehudi Menuhin at the stage door, or observing artist Arthur Boyd and his family on board her 1972 cruise to England, Gwen seemed to have a ringside seat for history.
Gwen’s passport which used one of her graduation photos.
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.

The Dominatrix Next Door
2024-11-19 18:30 - 19:30 | 39 St Edmonds Road, Prahran, VIC 3181, 39 St Edmonds Road, Prahran, VIC, 3181, Australia
🎭 The Dominatrix Next Door – Mother by day, Dominatrix by night.
When a cash-strapped single mother of two in suburban Melbourne has a fun idea to start a side hustle running workshops for hens’ parties, she has no idea it will lead her on a surreal adventure (or twenty) through the debaucherous underground world of kink clubs and swingers’ parties. Nor does she know that it will bring her out on the other end as one of Australia’s most recognised Dominatrixes.
Mistress Jane is the Melbourne-based kinkster, fetish queen, sex nerd and mother of two (but not in that order). Whether hosting hens’ parties and club events, writing, podcasting, or running workshops, she imparts her unique brand of flirtation and female empowerment to everything she touches.
Bookings are essential with a gold coin for entry.

Author Talk by Boris Frankel - No Country for Idealists
2024-11-20 19:30 | Murrumbeena Park Bowls Club, 26-28 Gerald Street, Murrumbeena, VIC, 3163, Australia
Hosted by the Glen Eira Historical Society.
We invite members and friends of Glen Eira Historical Society to join us at a presentation from Professor Boris Frankel. Boris will tell us the dramatic story of how his family (St Kilda residents) became ‘subversives’ in Australia and the USSR during the Cold War.
Boris’ book No Country for Idealists – The Making of a Family of Subversives will be available to purchase on the night.
Entry by gold coin donation. Supper is provided. Drinks can be purchased from the bar.
Bookings: https://www.trybooking.com/CWSPN

The forgotten class? Shopkeepers of nineteenth-century Melbourne
2024-11-20 19:30 - 21:00 | Malvern Town Hall, Corner High Street and Glenferrie Road Malvern, Melbourne, 3144, Australia
Join members of the Malvern Historical Society with Guest speaker, professional historian, Dr Fiona Gatt, who will talk about ‘The forgotten class? Shopkeepers of nineteenth-century Melbourne’. Dr Fiona Gatt will investigate and compare the shopkeepers who operated in three distinct representative suburbs of nineteenth-century Melbourne; genteel Malvern, inner urban North Melbourne and industrial Footscray.
All welcome!
Wednesday 20 November, 7.30pm
Malvern Town Hall, Upper Foyer,
1251 High Street, MalvernBookings are essential for seating purposes.
RSVP by 18 November
Jonathan ph: 0420 986 884
Email: malvernhistorical@yahoo.com
image caption: Glenferrie Road, looking South, 1915, Source: Stonnington History Centre, MP679

Traditional Trades Exposition
2024-11-23 - 2024-11-24 | Labassa, 2 Manor Grove, Caulfield North, Victoria, 3161, Australia
Join this annual knowledge-sharing forum that brings together practitioners to exchange experiences, successes, and challenges, while fostering discussions on conservation philosophy and processes.
Set against the backdrop of Labassa Mansion, the Exposition will showcase displays and demonstrations by some of Victoria’s finest traditional trade practitioners and offers a unique opportunity to engage their knowledge and experience, and get hands on yourself.
Attendees can learn about good custodianship of heritage properties, explore career opportunities, and gain an understanding of the skills and methods used by practitioners.
EVENT DETAILS
Date: Saturday 23 & Sunday 24 November 2024
Time: 10.00am – 4.00pm (daily)
Location:Labassa Mansion, 2 Manor Grove Caufield North
Tickets: Adult: $30, Child $15 | National Trust Member: $20, Child Member $10
The event will feature displays and demonstrations – including some from National Trust conservation projects – on a range of traditional trades including:

Plastering
Tuckpointing
Roofing & Plumbing
And more…

Attendees can browse a selection of hand tools for sale from the Hand Tool Preservation Association of Australia and gain insights from experts during daily panel discussions
The Traditional Trades Exposition is presented by the National Trust of Australia (Victoria) and supported by the Heritage Council Victoria

Buy tickets here

HUME & HOVELL BICENTENARY 2024 COMMEMORATION
2024-11-24 10:00 - 12:00 | Hume and Hovell Monument, Myrtleford-Stanley Road, Stanley, VIC, 3747, Australia
You are invited to join the Stanley Community and attend the
HUME & HOVELL BICENTENARY 2024 COMMEMORATION
Friends of Stanley Athenaeum Present
Bicentenary of Hume & Hovell ‘THEY PASSED THIS WAY’
Sunday 24 November 2024 at 10am
Hume & Hovell Monument (Myrtleford – Stanley Road)
Afterwards at the Stanley Athenaeum
to see ‘They Passed This Way’ exhibition
& share morning tea
at STANLEY ATHENAEUM- $5 donation
Enquiries – Chris stanleyathenaeum@gmail.com or 0458 606 922
Coordinator- Chris Dormer
Stanley Athenaeum and Public Room
2 Mount Stanley Road
Stanley Vic 3747
Phone: 0458 606 922 or 03 5728 1540
www.victoriancollections.net.au:8013/organisations/stanley-athenaeum
http://mivic.org.au/stanley.html
https://www.facebook.com/Stanley-Athenaeum-1192094190800862

CHRISTMAS DINNER: NAVAL HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIA (VIC CHAPTER)
2024-11-25 18:00 - 21:00 | Waverley RSL, 161 Coleman Parade, Glen Waverley, VIC, 3150, Australia
Victoria Chapter of the Naval Historical Society of Australia will hold its end of year Christmas Celebratory Dinner at the Waverley RSL (Sunset Room) on Monday 25 November 2024.
Our Guest of Honour and Speaker will be Rear Admiral John Lord AM RAN (Rtd), whose extensive naval service and industry career spanned many facets, including command of HMA Fleet. He undoubtedly has many stories to tell.
Once again, this event promises to be a delightful opportunity for members and friends to gather for dinner and some fun and games associated with the traditional raffle.
Dinner costs $30 per head to cover the two course meal. Drinks are available at bar prices.
Guests arrive from 6pm, to be seated by 7pm.
PAYMENT:
*Direct Debit – BSB: 633000; Account: 118958503
(please print your name as identification)
Or
Cheque: made payable to the:
“Naval Historical Society Victoria Chapter”
and posted to:
Marty Grogan
549 Nepean Highway
Frankston VIC 3199
Queries: Andrew Mackinnon andrewmackinnon0404@gmail.com

The 2024 Duigan Lecture: Mr Greg Hood AO
2024-11-27 19:30 - 21:00 | Air Force Association, 24 Camberwell Road, Hawthorn East, VIC, 3123, Australia
Speaker: Mr Greg Hood AO, former Chief Commissioner of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.
Greg will talk candidly about his aviation career including his time as an air training corps cadet flying gliders in South Australia, his RAAF ATC career including overseas service in the Sinai Desert, his time with Airservices Australia as an air traffic controller, ATC instructor, Manager Melbourne Centre, and Executive General Manager. He will talk about some of the tough decisions during his 6 years as CASA’s Executive Manager Operations, and will discuss how he inherited the search for MH370 and some of the other tragic accidents that he deployed to during his 5 years as Chief Commissioner at the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB).
He’ll talk about his love of flying and the 12 years he owned and flew his BD4 across the country and will outline the bumps in the road experienced as a result of his heart disease. Finally, he will pay tribute to John Duigan MC, who in 2012 was one of the first aviators to be inducted into the Australian Aviation Hall of Fame (AAHOF), an organisation of which Greg is currently Chair.

For more information or bookings
Email: secretary@ahsa.org.au
Website: www.ahsa.org.au
Mobile: 0428 557 365

CATALOGUING CLINICS 2024
2024-11-28 11:00 - 12:00 | ZOOM, Join from anywhere in the world
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 2024, 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 2024 Cataloguing Clinic will be held on

Thu 28 Nov 11am – 12noon (AEDT)

Please download and import the following iCalendar (.ics) files to your calendar system.
Monthly: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/tZYqcO-hqD8uH92SLyLFy8RywYTvMs4EraaZ/ics?icsToken=[REDACTED]
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82776964459?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 827 7696 4459
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If joining by phone:
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Dial by your location
• +61 3 7018 2005 Australia
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Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kdh0GPiJW

The Importance of Oral Histories
2024-11-28 14:00 - 16:00 | Benga, Heritage Hill Museum and Historic Gardens, 66 McCrae Street, Dandenong, VIC, 3175, Australia
Want to learn more about the value of oral histories and Council’s heritage collections?
Join us at our upcoming event at Heritage Hill Museum and Historic Gardens.
Historian Dr Nicolette Snowden will explain how to record oral histories and examine their value in both a community and professional context. Nicolette is an experienced oral historian, researcher and writer and she is a member of the Professional Historians Association (Victoria and Tasmania) and Oral History Victoria.
The program venue, Benga, was home to Australia’s first oral history centre. The centre resulted in a collection of recordings and transcripts of more than 300 interviews with a cross-section of people from the city. These oral histories now form part of Council’s Civic and Cultural Heritage Collection. Over the years, these oral histories have formed the basis of many social history exhibitions and have provided an invaluable research tool for those studying Australia’s cultural heritage. Council’s Heritage Collection Officer will provide attendees with an overview of this important collection.
This program is being run in conjunction with the We Built This City exhibition.
A light afternoon tea will be held following the presentations.
Registrations are required as places are limited – https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1311016
Cost: Free

LAUNCH: YARRA BIRRARUNG ARTISTS, WRITERS AND THE RIVER
2024-11-28 17:30 - 19:00 | RHSV Gallery Downstairs, 239 A'Beckett St, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia
Yarra Birrarung: Artists, Writers and the River is an illustrated history of life on the Yarra. Through the lens of artists and writers, the book explores how life has flourished on the river, including recreation, industry and land use, as well as infrastructure, natural history and social history.
Despite much despoiling, our river remains the vital artery of the city and beyond to the Yarra Ranges. Just as it was the fulcrum of Wurundjeri life, it continues to inspire and fulfil our lives. From the Heidelberg School to the MCG, the river has been a centre of Australian arts and culture for decades.
At this event we will be launching both the exhibition and Judith’s latest book, Yarra Birrarung: Artists, Writers and the River, which is the first comprehensive illustrated history of the Yarra Birrarung from before European settlement to the present day, a 200 year story, examined through the lives of its creatives.
Dr Judith Buckrich was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1950 and emigrated to Melbourne in 1958. She has several entries in the Encyclopedia of Melbourne and Remembering Melbourne 1850–1960. Her book The Village of Ripponlea won a Victorian Community History Award in 2016 and Acland Street: the Grand Lady of St Kilda won the 2018 Fellowship of Australian Writers (VIC) Award for non-fiction. She has also published with Melbourne Books before, releasing The Long and Perilous Journey: A History of Port Melbourne in 2002. At present, she is working on an illustrated history of Fitzroy North.
Judith has written her own one-woman shows, short stories, feature articles and essays and worked as a curator, editor and translator. She was Chair of the PEN International Women Writers’ Committee from 2003 to 2009 and President of the Melbourne PEN Centre from 1993 to 2005. She is a past President of the Prahran Mechanics Institute Victorian History Library.
Janet Bolitho is the President of the Yarra Riverkeeper Association. She is also a long standing and devoted member of the Port Melbourne Historical and Preservation Society. She is a former Councillor and Mayor of the City of Port Phillip.
Janet curates the Port Places project, documenting, observing and exploring Port Places – where the Yarra River meets Port Phillip Bay. She enjoys introducing students, local history enthusiasts and visitors to the places shaped by the Yarra Birrarung and the Port.
Holding a Master of Social Science in Policy and Planning, she has a passionate interest in people centred urban planning. She was a member of the Fishermans Bend Development Board until 2023. She is also a Board member of Westgate Biodiversity: Bili Nursery and Landcare, the group caring for Westgate Park on the banks of the Birrarung.
Housekeeping
This event is in-person only – it will not be recorded nor available via Zoom.
As with most RHSV events refreshments will be served.
You will be sent an automatically-generated confirmation email of your booking – if it doesn’t appear in your in-box please check your Spam or Junk Mail folder.

WHEN AUSTRALIA WAS ALMOST FRENCH
2024-12-03 17:30 - 19:00 | RHSV Gallery Downstairs, 239 A'Beckett St, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia
EVENT CANCELLED: Our deepest apologies but this event has been cancelled. Refunds have been sent to those who have already bought tickets. We apologise for the disappointment and inconvenience.

The RHSV is thrilled to host this lecture, the only one in Melbourne, presented by the Institut de recherche Nicolas Baudin.
For more than two centuries, France and Australia have forged strong links. Between 1772 and 1827, no fewer than nine French scientific expeditions explored the Australian coastline. French scientists drew maps, studied flora and fauna, and opened up to the Aborigines. In the century that followed, Australians and French shed their blood side by side in two world wars.
As recently as December 2023, the governments of our two nations solemnly renewed their cooperation through a multi-year agenda covering areas as broad and fundamental as rare metals, defence, culture, history, Antarctica, oceans, space and sport.
It’s these connections that the Institut de recherche Nicolas Baudin wants to highlight in their 2024 lecture tour. The Institut is presenting 12 events in 6 Australian cities as well as in New Caledonia.
From Saint-Aloüarn, who took possession of Australia for Louis XV at Shark Bay (Western Australia) in 1772, to the scientists of the Baudin expedition who drew up a plan for Napoleon’s invasion of Sydney, to Dumont d’Urville, who explored King George Sound (now Albany) to make Western Australia a French colony, France and England have always competed for possession of the island continent. Starting with the famous painting of Lapérouse unfolding the map of his expedition in front of Louis XVI, with his hand pointing to Australia, this lecture tells the long story of this race with its many twists and turns.

Patrick Llewellyn is French and has a degree in humanities. For almost twelve years, he has specialised in the history of the great scientific maritime expeditions of the 18th century, in particular that of Nicolas Baudin, the battle of the longitudes and marine chronometers. He was involved in organising the Art of Science exhibition in Australia in 2016, dedicated to Captain Baudin’s expedition, and facilitated the loan to Australia from the Musée National de la Marine in Paris of one of only two surviving marine chronometers from the Baudin expedition, and the large copper plate used to engrave the first complete map of the Australian coastline in Paris in 1811. Patrick gave numerous lectures in Australia in 2015 and 2016.

The speaking tour is made possible by the support of the Institut’s partners:

Bausele is an Australian watchmaker founded by a Frenchman, Christophe Hoppé.
The Accor group is the worldwide leader in hospitality.
The Silentworld Foundation and The Powerhouse Museum

And our event is sponsored by Dominique Portet Wines

Underrepresented Voices in History
2024-12-05 13:30 - 16:00 | Benga, Heritage Hill Museum and Historic Gardens, 66 McCrae Street, Dandenong, VIC, 3175, Australia
Learn about pioneering women in Greater Dandenong’s history, the less represented voices.
Speakers include Angela Bailey, a curator, photographer and creative producer whose practice is informed from a community and cultural perspective. As a young activist participating in the fight for gay law reform in Queensland in the late 1980s to her work as Director of the Visual Arts for the Midsumma Festival in the late 1990s – all have contributed to her ongoing participation in promoting and interpreting our rich and diverse histories by creating exhibitions, installations, discourse and public programs of engagement.
She has a postgraduate degree in Fine Arts from the VCA, a Masters of Art Curatorship from the University of Melbourne and is Vice President of the Australian Queer Archives. Angela will be speaking on her work on Heritage Victoria’s A History of LGBTIQ+ Victoria in 100 Places and Objects project, and the Australian Queer Archives collection.
Our second speaker, Christine Keys, is the sixth generation of the Keys family to live in Greater Dandenong. The family arrived to the area in 1845. She has taken an interest in the local history societies since her retirement and is currently president of both historical societies in our city. Christine will be speaking on some of the key pioneering women in Greater Dandenong’s history.
Afternoon tea will be served following the presentations.
Places are limited, bookings essential – https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1317616
This program is presented in conjunction with the We Built this City Exhibition.
Cost: Free

Guided Tour of Melba Park
2024-12-08 | Main Stage – Ralph Goodes Reserve, Main Street, Lilydale, VIC, 3140, Australia
Part of the Lilydale Melba Festival & Street Fair.
Inspired by Melba and presented by Lilydale & District Historical Society.
Come together with us for a guided tour of Melba Park, where you’ll discover fascinating stories about the origins of Melba Park and all that it contains, from its rich history to its hidden gems.
Tour times: 10:45AM, 12:45PM, and 2:45PM
Tickets: $5 per adult, children under 18 free
Booking via https://www.trybooking.com/CWNGF
Starting point: Main Stage – Ralph Goodes Reserve, Main Street, Lilydale VIC 3140
Join us as we spark your imagination by uncovering the history of Lilydale’s beloved park!

Labassa Open Day
2024-12-08 10:30 - 16:00 | Labassa, 2 Manor Grove, Caulfield North, Victoria, 3161, Australia
Organised by the National Trust of Australia (Victoria).
Experience the complex richness of Labassa’s architectural and human history on its final open day for 2024.
Although more than 700 people have lived at Labassa, it has miraculously survived with most of its opulent Victorian era decoration intact. Guided house tours and tower tours operate throughout the day, and the tea room is open 10:30am to 3:30pm. The tower will be open with a limit of 12 people per tour group. Due to the tower’s narrow, steep steps visitors are advised to wear sensible shoes.
Please arrive at least 15 minutes before your intended guided tour time. Capacity will be monitored on the day. Pre-bookings for entry to the house are highly recommended to avoid disappointment. Walk up availability is subject to the numbers already in the house.
Cost: $0 – $50.

Tooronga Station Estate Walk
2024-12-17 10:00 - 12:00 | VIC
Join members of the Malvern Historical Society
on Tuesday 17 December, at 10 am, to explore the history of the area close to Tooronga Station Malvern.

Bookings essential for the meeting place.
Tooronga Station is on the Glen Waverley Line
Members: Gold coin Non-members: $5
RSVP:
Tel: Duncan 0409 845 845
Email: malvernhistorical@yahoo.com
Please be aware parts of the walk are hilly .
Malvern Historical Society PO Box 184, Malvern VIC 3144
malvernhistorical@yahoo.com Tel: 0438 515 631

Photo caption: A relic of the land boom, J. R. Morton’s office next to Tooronga Station.
Hammond Charlie (Tecoma) 1890
Source: Stonnington History Archives Catalogue Reference number: MP1214

93rd Albert Jacka Commemoration: St Kilda Cemetery
2025-01-19 14:00 - 18:00 | St Kilda Cemetery, Dandenong Road & Hotham Street, St Kilda East, Vic, Australia
The City of Port Phillip welcomes you to the 93rd Captain Albert Jacka V.C., M.C. and bar (1893-1932) Commemoration 2025 on Sunday 19 January. The commemoration will commence at the St Kilda Cemetery, Dandenong Road, St Kilda at 2:00pm for formalities followed by afternoon tea at St Kilda Town Hall, Cnr Brighton Rd & Carlisle St at 3:00pm. (please book: https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1319041)

Author, Peter Fitzsimons has been invited as a guest to the above commemoration and Peter will, at 5pm, launch his latest book, The Legend of Albert Jacka, at St Kilda RSL, 88 Acland St, St Kilda VIC 3182

Timetable of 3 separate events:

2pm Commemoration, St Kilda Cemetery
3pm – 4:30pm Afternoon tea, St Kilda Town Hall
5pm Book launch of The Legend of Albert Jacka, St Kilda RSL

NAA webinar: How to preserve your own records
2025-01-29 11:00 - 12:00 | ZOOM, Join from anywhere in the world
Have you ever wondered how you can safeguard your collection of records for the future?
Join us for this free webinar, our first co-presentation with the National Archives of Australia for 2025.
In this webinar, we’ll explore the variety of ways you can preserve records and historical collections at home or with your community organisation.
Discover how to protect fragile documents, photographs, and other records from the effects of time. Whether you’re a history enthusiast, a volunteer, or simply looking to care for your family’s keepsakes, this session will equip you with the knowledge to ensure their stories will continue into the future.
Housekeeping:
This event is delivered via Zoom and, 24 hours before the event, we will send the Zoom log-in details to all those who have booked
On booking you will be sent an automated confirmation email – if this isn’t found in your inbox please check your Spam mail or Junk mail folder as automated emails often fall foul of your ISP

Book Launch: Our Journeys in Australia 1947 -1977
2025-02-01 14:00 - 15:30 | Tobruk House, 44 Victoria Ave, Albert Park, VIC, 3205, Australia
The Polish Museum and Archives in Australia Inc. (PMAA) warmly invites you to the book launch of “Our Journeys in Australia 1947 -1977”, on Saturday 1st February 2025 at Tobruk House, Melbourne, at 2pm.
“Our Journeys in Australia 1947-1977” is the English translation of the book “Nasze Drogi w Australii 1947 – 1977” published almost 45 years ago. This book covers the first thirty years of the lives and work of the members of the Carpathian Brigade in Australia. These soldiers/settlers initially migrated to Tasmania in 1947 and 1948, and then settled in various parts of Australia. Many of their descendants have little knowledge of their fathers or grandfathers pasts, stories, and contribution to the Polish and wider community in Australia.
The event will include:

Book launch by Ed Kremzer – Honorary Consul of the Republic of Poland (Tasmania)
Q&A session
Opportunity to purchase the book
Refreshments

PMAA would be delighted to have you with us for this event.
Kindly RSVP by 30th January, 2025 by email to polishmuseumarchivesaustralia@gmail.com, or contact Barbara Capewell | 0402 002 429.

Think Tank: orientation/training programme for young people joining historical societies
2025-02-04 11:00 - 12:30 | ZOOM, Join from anywhere in the world
Murchison & District Historical Society wants to develop an orientation/training programme for young people – i.e. 14 – 18yo’s – to become volunteers for their historical society. Isn’t that a great idea? If your historical society has any experience in developing or running such a program, Kay Ball from Murchison would love to hear from you. {murch.hs@outlook.com}
The RHSV thinks that this idea is worth putting effort into and seeing if we can develop a template that can be adopted by many historical societies. To facilitate this I’ve organised a Zoom meeting for 11am Tuesday 4 February 2025 for everyone interested to get together and share ideas and experiences and to work out what can be done. So please do join Kay and me on Zoom and bring your ideas and enthusiasm and we’ll see what we can nut out together.
Kay Ball from Murchison says, “I have 15 x 2 hour sessions in mind (includes morning tea), that will be held on Saturdays and then some weekdays during school holidays. Planning on starting with about 8 in the group with two adults mentoring. Our volunteers have backgrounds in teaching, retail and business management as well as a passion for history so should be a good fit!”
Your Zoom log-in:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82712545917?pwd=[REDACTED]

Meeting ID 827 1254 5917

Passcode: [REDACTED]

Transgender Australia: A History Since 1910
2025-02-04 18:30 | Prahran Mechanics Institute, 39 St Edmonds Road, Prahran, VIC, 3181, Australia
Join authors Noah Riseman and Sam Elkin as they enter a conversation about trans history. They will weave together personal experience with historical examples to discuss changes to trans life and politics in Victoria since the early twentieth century. Their discussion will especially focus on the role of activism, as well as where activists and political causes have fallen short at addressing the real challenges facing trans Victorians on the margins.

Collecting Egyptology and Ancient History
2025-02-06 19:30 - 21:30 | Phyllis Hore Room, Kew Library, Civic Drive, Kew, Victoria, 3101, Australia
Please join us on Thursday Feb 6th for the first Antique Collectors Club meeting of 2025.
We are going Egyptian for the evening. Jennifer J. from Ankh Antiquarian Books is presenting a lecture on ‘Collecting Egyptology and Ancient History’.
Hosted by the Antique Collectors Club of Victoria Inc.
Venue: Phyllis Hore Room, Kew Library. Kew.
The talk will be followed with a light supper.
Non-members/Casual Entry $10.
Email: antiquecollectorsclubvic@gmail.com

Pre-European Indigenous culture in the St Kilda area with Gary Presland
2025-02-10 18:00 - 19:30 | St Kilda Army & Navy Club, 88 Acland Street, St Kilda, Victoria, 3182, Australia
The St Kilda area is part of the traditional lands of the Yalukit willam clan. As part of the Kulin nation, the Yalukit willam were connected to clans as far away as the Murray River. Dr Gary Presland will detail the nature of these connections and elaborate on how the Yalukit willam made a living, at the same time honouring and caring for their country. Gary has been researching, writing and talking about the Indigenous history and natural history of the Melbourne area for more than 40 years. He is the author of eight books on these topics, including First People: the Eastern Kulin of Melbourne, Port Phillip and Central Victoria. Gary is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society of Victoria and an Honorary Associate of Museum Victoria. He is also president of his local historical society, in Box Hill

Labassa Open Day
2025-02-16 10:30 - 16:00 | Labassa, 2 Manor Grove, Caulfield North, Victoria, 3161, Australia
Although more than 700 people have lived at Labassa, it has miraculously survived with most of its opulent Victorian era decoration intact. Come and experience the complex richness of Labassa’s architectural and human history. Young visitors will have fun tracking down all those non-human “critters” who still live at the mansion.
Guided house tours and tower tours operate through out the day, and the tea room is open 10.30am to 3.30pm.
Join us for a guided tour or opt for a self-guided tour.
Guided Tour Times:

11am: Interior House Tour
12pm: ‘Who’s been living in this house?’ Tour (Note: this tour goes upstairs)
1pm: Exterior tour
2pm: Interior House Tour
3pm: Interior House Tour

Tower tours:

10:45am, 11.45am, 12.45pm, 1.45pm, 2.45pm & 3.45pm

The tower will be open with a limit of 12 people per tour group. Due to the tower’s narrow, steep steps visitors are advised to wear sensible shoes.
Please arrive at least 15 minutes before your intended guided tour time. Capacity will be monitored on the day.
Cost: $0 – $50

2025 Billibellary Indigenous History Lecture: Breaking Australian Rules in Sport and History
2025-02-20 17:30 - 19:00 | RHSV Gallery Downstairs, 239 A'Beckett St, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia
We are delighted to invite our members and friends to join us for the 4th annual Billibellary Indigenous History Lecture to be delivered by distinguished academic Professor Barry Judd.

The Indigenous sport of Australian (Rules) Football is widely regarded as the national game at least in Melbourne and the State of Victoria. First codified in 1858 as the Melbourne Rules, today Australian Football as it is officially known is the most spectated sport nationally and the controlling body of the sport the Australian Football League (AFL) is one of the wealthiest most influential Australian institutions. The history of Australian Football and its origins in goldrush era Melbourne provides an exemplary example of why the rules that govern the discipline of Australian history need to be broken. By referencing the orthodox methodological approaches and research practices in the writing of Australian Rules Football histories this lecture shows how Indigenous peoples, knowledges and cultural practices can be eliminated from the Australian past. By referencing Australian football histories this lecture also shows how as productive settler-colonial relationships with Indigenous peoples can be made marginal and of insignificant importance.
Drawing on recent scholarly collaborations with Professor Kat Ellinghaus a trained academic historian, this lecture concludes by suggesting alternate approaches to the writing of Australian history that are inclusive of Indigenous Australian understanding of the past and therefore more capable of reconstructing more truthful understandings of the past. To do so the lecture concludes that an approach to historical research encapsulated by the ARC funding project Ngura Ninti is required.

Professor Barry Judd is a distinguished academic and accomplished leader, currently holding the positions of Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Indigenous) and Professor of Indigenous Studies in the School of Culture and Communication at the University of Melbourne. As the DVC (Indigenous), he plays a crucial role in shaping institutional policy, strategy, and guidance on all aspects of Indigenous higher education.
In addition to these duties, Professor Judd provides academic leadership to the Indigenous Studies Program through undergraduate teaching, Higher Degree Research supervisions, and research activity, all of which support the development of this emerging field of studies. He is a member of the esteemed Australian Institute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) and was a foundation Chief Investigator of the National Indigenous Research and Knowledges Network (NIRAKN).
Professor Judd’s expertise is widely recognised, and he serves as a Board member of the Museums and Galleries of the Northern Territory (MAGNT) and the Life Again Foundation. He is also a member of the Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) committee of the Richmond Football Club.
Professor Judd’s academic background is extensive, with an MA in Public Policy and a PhD in Australian Indigenous Studies, as well as postgraduate qualifications in higher education teaching and learning. His research expertise lies in Australian race relations in Australian sports and interdisciplinary research methods in Indigenous Studies and Australian history.
With over 30 years of experience in supporting Indigenous activity in Australian higher education, Professor Judd is widely published and holds several current Australian Research Council research grants. His invaluable contributions to the field of Indigenous Studies are a testament to his exceptional work, inspiring and leading the way for future Indigenous leaders.

House-keeping
The Zoom log-in details will be sent, 24 hours before the event, to all those who have booked – please check your Spam or Junk Mail folder if you cannot find the email in your in-box. The Zoom event will start at 6pm (30 mins later than the in-person event).
As will all RHSV lectures, we will serve refreshments from 5:30pm until 6pm when the lecture will commence.

Geelong Numismatic Society is celebrating their 60th Anniversary
2025-02-22 10:00 - 15:00 | Belmont Uniting Church, 42 Thomson St, Belmont, Victoria, 3216, Australia
Come and see 60 years of history on display at the Western Money Fair Geelong
Wonderful displays and trade in Australian & International coins, banknotes, stamps and PNCs.
Accessories, collectibles, valuations and more
Book sale and craft trade

Entry $2 with door prize and special $2 raffle
Information at www.westernmoneyfair.com.au
westernmoneyfair@gmail.com
FB: Western Money Fair
Instagram: western_money_fair
