Book Launch: Love, Class and Empire
2025-10-03 18:30 - 20:30 (Australia/Melbourne) | RHSV Gallery Downstairs, 239 A'Beckett St, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia
Join us to celebrate the publication of Love, Class and Empire by A. James Hammerton.
Early twentieth-century Persia and the Persian Gulf presented a largely blank slate to the British, best known only as a vital conduit to India and a site of contest – the ‘great game’ – with the Russian Empire.
As oil discoveries and increasing trade brought new attention, the expanding telegraph and river shipping industries attracted resourceful men into junior positions in remote outposts. Love, Class and Empire explores the experiences of two of these men and their families.
Drawing on a wealth of personal letters and diaries, A. James Hammerton examines the complexities of expatriate life in Iran and Iraq, in particular the impact of rapid social mobility on ordinary Britons and their families in the late imperial era. Uniquely, the study blends histories of empire with histories of marriage and family, closely exploring the nature of expatriate love and sexuality. In the process, Hammerton discloses a tender expatriate love story and offers a moving account of transient life in a corner of the informal empire.
Housekeeping
This event will be in-person only.
At the RHSV refreshments are served from 6.30pm.
An automatic confirmation of your RSVP will be sent to you – please check your Spam or Junk Mail folder as these automated emails are often viewed as Junk by your email provider. Don’t panic, your name will be at the door if you can’t find your ticket.

CATALOGUING CLINICS 2025
2025-09-25 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 2025, however, we do ask you to register each month as this enables Jillian to send you extra material / links etc after each session.
11am (AEDT) Thu 27 Feb 2025
11am (AEDT) Thu 27 Mar 2025
11am (AEST) Thu 24 Apr 2025
11am (AEST) Thu 29 May 2025
11am (AEST) Thu 26 Jun 2025
11am (AEST) Thu 31 Jul 2025
11am (AEST) Thu 28 Aug 2025
11am (AEST) Thu 25 Sep 2025
11am (AEDT) Thu 30 Oct 2025
11am (AEDT) Thu 27 Nov 2025
Please download and import the following iCalendar (.ics) files to your calendar system.
Monthly: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/tZ0pcOiuqjItH9JWUaZk1ZrdaP1uA9d1Yqc1/ics?icsToken=DESnOhi_USXAWOo5GQAALAAAAOsufSxu9e_o1VvEoUWUiVuOT3wUceY4gYwdUjlaNrGDW1VrT1KjyEhE0aD9QHm4eoEg_M9GmHYiFwIZujAwMDAwMQ&meetingMasterEventId=3FhVroEqTuiqU-ygov-0vg
Join Zoom Meeting
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The Convent
2025-09-23 18:30 | Prahran Mechanics Institute, 39 St Edmonds Road, Prahran, VIC, 3181, Australia
Have you visited the Abbotsford Convent before? It is a beautiful place, its history, architecture, artistry, and food make it a must visit. The Abbotsford Convent was a haunted place, left to languish for years after the last of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd had gone. In its prime it had been a school, a refuge, a retreat, a workhouse and a prison – the single largest charitable institution in the southern hemisphere. In the late 1990s a proposed high-density development threatened the idyllic riverside location, sparking outrage in the local community and further afield.
Years of protesting, negotiating and fundraising followed and the convent, now on Australia’s National Heritage List, has started a new life as a vibrant centre for art and culture. The Convent: A City Finds its Heart written by Stuart Kells tells the story of the site’s rich history and the efforts to preserve it. It is an uplifting tale of community activism – a tangible reminder that the magic of the past can endure and what people-power can achieve.
Join us at the PMI Victorian History Library for a night of historical storytelling, that you wont want to miss.

Book launch: Old North Melbourne
2025-09-23 18:00 - 19:30 | RHSV, Gallery Downstairs, 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne, VIC, 3000, Australia
Join us to celebrate the publication of Old North Melbourne, the first comprehensive book on the nineteenth-century history of Hotham/North Melbourne, by Dr Fiona Gatt.
‘Like Janet McCalman’s Struggletown this book is destined to become a classic in the genre of Australian urban social history’ – Associate Professor Seamus O’Hanlon.
This is the story of the first fifty years of today’s much-loved suburb of North Melbourne. When the unceded lands of the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung were first developed by European settlers in 1852, there were many barriers to its success. A great expanse of barren land lay between it and Melbourne, a swamp on the west, open sewerage to the east and undeveloped bushland to the south. But of the thousands of immigrants who flocked to Victoria during the gold rush, some settled in North Melbourne, determined to develop an urban town to be proud of. From 1859 to 1887, it was called Hotham. The town’s businessmen had a booming stake in Melbourne’s meat market, metal manufacturing and tanneries. It also harboured an unusually high number of Irish immigrants and some of Melbourne’s most downtrodden residents. This book details the triumphs and struggles of the people of nineteenth-century North Melbourne, revealing fascinating individuals and the collective story of the emergence of this determined working-class community.
Fiona will be introduced by Professor Andrew May, who has described the book as ‘Australian urban history at its best’.
Fiona Gatt works on commissioned histories for significant organisations. She has taught history at Deakin and La Trobe universities. Fiona is currently a Postdoctoral Research Associate in Property History at the University of Sydney and Senior Research Officer at the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation.
This event has received funding from the Centre for Contemporary Histories at Deakin University.
Pre-order the book to collect on the night
Pre-order the book from the RHSV bookshop and choose “Click and Collect” as your shipping method to pick up your copy when you attend the launch.
Housekeeping
This event will be offered both in person at the RHSV, 239 A’Beckett St Melbourne 3000, and online via Zoom.
At the RHSV refreshments are served from 6pm – 6:30pm and the Zoom session will start, as will the lecture, at 6.30pm.
An automatic confirmation of your booking will be sent to you – please check your Spam or Junk Mail folder as these automated emails are often viewed as Junk by your email provider. Don’t panic, your name will be at the door if you can’t find your ticket.

RICHMOND: From cottages to Colosseums – Clements Langford
2025-09-14 14:00 - 16:00 | Studio 1, Former Channel 9 Building, 15 Barnett Way, Richmond, Victoria, 3121, Australia
Speaker: Peter Beer
Peter has published the book: From cottages to Colosseums – Clements Langford – A Melbourne Master Builder’s Lasting Legacy.
Clements Langford is Peter’s great-great grandfather. Clements, aged 18 moved to Melbourne in 1868 with his family. His father George became a grocer on the corner of Church and Kent Streets, Richmond. Clements became apprenticed to David Mitchell in 1879. While working under Mitchell, Clements would have worked on jobs such as Scots Church in Collins Street (1874) and the Exhibition Buildings in 1880. Clements entered a partnership with Robert and Henry Hutchinson, a Richmond father and son carpentry and building team. Clements made significant progress and established his own business in Bridge Road, Richmond, with the factory extending around to Church Street. He was very involved in the Richmond community, the St Stephen’s Church and was responsible for the construction of many significant Richmond and Melbourne landmarks. Incorporated as Clements Langford Pty Ltd in May 1923, by 1930 it encompassed ‘shop and office fitters, plumbers, painters [and] decorators’, and boasted large joinery, timber-machining and plumbers’ shops.

Rapprochement with China
2025-09-09 17:30 - 19:00 | RHSV Gallery Downstairs, 239 A'Beckett St, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia
We are delighted that eminent historian Marilyn Lake AO will deliver the 2025 Hugh Anderson Lecture.
In National Life and Character: A Forecast (1893), Charles Pearson, noting that China’s population had already surpassed 400 million, wrote presciently that with ‘civilisation equally diffused… the preponderance of China over any rival – even over the United States of America – is likely to be overwhelming’. The future would see China take ‘its inevitable place as one of the great powers of the world’.
Pearson’s influential forecast shaped our foundational policy of White Australia: the ‘great white walls’ were erected to keep the Asiatic threat at bay. From the 1960s, however, Australians began to forge new ties with China, forging wide-ranging cultural, educational, economic and trade relationships. Asian histories and languages began to be taught in universities. Future diplomats were trained in Asian languages. Under the Whitlam government full diplomatic relations were established with Beijing.
By the end of the 1970s, Hugh and Dawn Anderson had embarked on the first of their numerous trips to China. Hosted by the Chinese Writers Association, their deep cultural engagement with Chinese authors and literature was a key feature of Australian rapprochement with China.

Marilyn Lake D.Litt, FAHA, FASSA, AO
Marilyn Lake is an Honorary Professorial Fellow in History at the University of Melbourne, where as an ARC Professorial Fellow between 2013 and 2016 she directed the ‘Australia in the World’ series of seminars, lectures and symposia. Prior to this appointment she was Charles La Trobe Professor in History at La Trobe University. Professor Lake has held visiting appointments at ANU, the University of Sydney, Stockholm University, the University of Maryland and between 2001-2 she held the Chair in Australian Studies at Harvard University. She has published locally and internationally, in academic presses and daily newspapers. Her fifteen books include the prize winning Drawing the Global Colour Line: White Men’s Countries and the International Challenge of Racial Equality (Cambridge University Press, 2008) and Progressive New World: How Settler Colonialism and TransPacific Exchange Shaped American Reform (Harvard University Press, 2019).

Hugh Anderson
“Hugh Anderson (1927-2017) was a scholar of formidable breadth, productivity and versatility. While it is as a folklorist that he is arguably best known both in Australia and abroad, Anderson’s prolific output also included biography, bibliography, history, school textbooks and documentary collections. His range of interests was very wide: Anderson seemed as comfortable in writing about John Pascoe Fawkner as Squizzy Taylor, as at home with an Aboriginal gumleaf player and a Sydney street poet as with the exquisite verse of John Shaw Neilson or the stately poetry of Bernard O’Dowd. This lecture will consider Anderson specifically as a historian and biographer. While it should not be pigeon-holed, Anderson’s historical and biographical writing incorporated many of the materials, perspectives and insights derived from folklore studies, and he treated literary creativity as central to telling the Melbourne, Victorian and Australian stories. Anderson’s boundary-riding between history, biography, folklore and literature was remarkably productive for him, and it was not unusual among writers with his radical-nationalist politics in the middle decades of the twentieth century. I argue in this lecture for the significance of Anderson as a historian and biographer working outside academia and across a diverse cultural domain, at a time when universities were moving toward a sharper focus on specialised research, theory and discipline-based knowledge – in ways that both deepened and limited understandings of Australian history and culture.” by Professor Frank Bongiorno AM

Housekeeping
This event will be offered both in person at the RHSV, 239 A’Beckett St Melbourne 3000, and on Zoom. At the RHSV refreshments are served from 5:30pm – 6pm and the Zoom session will start, as will the lecture, at 6pm.
An automatic confirmation of your booking will be sent to you – please check your Spam or Junk Mail folder as these automated emails are often viewed as Junk by your ISP. Don’t panic, your name will be at the door if you can’t find your ticket.

Regional Seminar Event: Making Ourselves Useful
2025-09-06 - 2025-09-07 | Victoria
Making Ourselves Useful – historical societies in the community
We all would like to think we are valued by our communities, in one way or another.
Representatives from local history groups including Shepparton, Kilmore, Daylesford, Benalla, Jeparit, and Bendigo will present how they define being useful in their community.
Speakers will discuss how being useful is important, and what they have done to win the ‘useful’ tag. The discussion will be illustrated with examples of successes… or failures.
Featuring keynote speaker Fiona Kinsey, Senior Curator, History & Technology Department, Museums Victoria. Fiona has worked with community collection custodians and is familiar with the rich collections held in historical societies.
The seminar will be followed by an afternoon forum led by Simone Ewenson, Heritage Collections Officer, City of Greater Bendigo. Simone will open the discussion up to everyone and provide the opportunity to share usefulness stories with other volunteers.
The seminar is kindly supported by the City of Greater Bendigo who are subsidising the registration cost for volunteers and refreshments during the day.
For those in Bendigo on the afternoon of Saturday 6 September, a city centre walk of Quirky Pall Mall will be offered by Bendigo Historical Society.
Morning tea and lunch provided in registration fee.
Agenda
9.00: Registration
9.30: Welcome and introduction
Euan McGillivray, President Bendigo Historical Society
9.45: Keynote speaker: Fiona Kinsey, Senior Curator, Images & Image Making, Museums Victoria
Fiona has 25 years of experience at Museums Victoria. She currently collects, researches and interprets material culture relating to the history of the Australian photographic industry, the practice of commercial and amateur photography, and the role of the camera in documenting our working lives. Fiona is also researching goldfields history, lives outside Melbourne and is passionate about engaging with the community, especially in regional areas.
10.30: Kym Lovett & Pam Keown, Bendigo Military Museum
Ensuring Bendigo’s rich military past and collections are accessible to both local and global audiences through meaningful education and thorough research.
11.00: Morning tea
11.30: Kristy Rudd, Shepparton Heritage Centre.
Empowering volunteers through community connections — where passion meets purpose by preserving our shared history to inform and inspire future generations in Shepparton.
12.00: Craige Proctor, Wimmera Mallee Pioneer Museum & Jeparit Historical Society
Working within the Jeparit community to resurrect a defunct historical society as well as take a much revered but ‘safe’ museum into uncharted waters.
12.30 Lunch
1.00: Alan Monger, Benalla Historical Society
Heroes and outlaws, clothing and culture – informing Benalla’s citizens of their heritage and history.
1.30: Garry Lawrence, Daylesford Historical Society
Looking sideways – growing confidence and building resilience through community connections and support. Our ongoing journey of transformation in Daylesford.
2.00: Barbara Wilson & Liz Dillon-Hensby, Kilmore Historical Society
Preserving the memories of WWI volunteers of Kilmore and conserving the fabric of our society through the precious textile collections.
2.30 Break to set up for Open Forum Discussion
3.00: Open Forum: Led by Simone Ewenson, Heritage Collections Officer, Bendigo Council.
While Simone manages the City’s Heritage Collection, she also supports a wide range of volunteer history and heritage groups in the wide area of the City of Greater Bendigo. She provides advice and organises specialist workshops for volunteer groups on collection issues such as preservation, storage and disaster preparedness.
4.00 Close
About the Presenters:
Keynote speaker: Fiona Kinsey, Senior Curator, Images & Image Making, Museums Victoria
Fiona has 25 years of experience at Museums Victoria. She currently collects, researches and interprets material culture relating to the history of the Australian photographic industry, the practice of commercial and amateur photography, and the role of the camera in documenting our working lives. Fiona lives outside Melbourne and is passionate about engaging with the community, especially in regional areas.
Panel leader: Simone Ewenson, Heritage Collections Officer, Bendigo Council
While Simone manages the City’s Heritage Collection, she also supports a wide range of volunteer history and heritage groups in the wide area of the City of Greater Bendigo. She organises specialist workshops for volunteer groups on collection issues such as preservation, storage and disaster preparedness – to name few. She is always only a phone call away for advice.

Exhibition launch: The Burying of Melbourne
2025-09-04 17:30 - 19:00 | RHSV Gallery Downstairs, 239 A'Beckett St, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia
Robert Pascoe,
Dean Laureate and Professor Emeritus Victoria University
President of the Royal Historical Society of Victoria,
together with RHSV Councillors
invites you to the launch of our exhibition
The Burying of Melbourne
curated by Dr David Thompson
designed by Susan Fitzgerald

to be launched by Steven Avery,
Executive Director, Heritage Victoria
at 5:30pm on Thursday 4 September, 2025
RHSV Gallery, 239 A’Beckett St, Melbourne 3000
office@historyvictoria.org.au | 03 9326 9288

In the mid-1850s some areas of the Melbourne CBD were buried under a layer of clay at the direction of Melbourne City Council, a rather extraordinary event that until recently had been largely forgotten. It is only in recent years that archaeologists carrying out the excavations required prior to developments in the city have uncovered evidence of the clay layer.
A study commissioned by the Heritage Council of Victoria found that the burying was part of efforts by the City Council to control flooding, caused largely by the original laying out of Melbourne’s street grid without due consideration of the flow of water over the underlying topography.
The depositing of the clay layer, metres thick in some places, had a significant effect on the lives and circumstances of those affected but did result in the sealing off of a layer of archaeology stemming from the earliest days of European settlement.
This exhibition, The Burying of Melbourne, describes events leading up to the burial and looks at some of the archaeology discovered beneath the clay.

RICHMOND: Pete Smith - GTV 9 Living History
2025-08-31 14:00 - 16:00 | Studio 1, Former Channel 9 Building, 15 Barnett Way, Richmond, Victoria, 3121, Australia
TV Personality, Radio Announcer and Television Voice Over Artist.
Pete’s extensive 60 year career in radio and television has seen the beginnings, the early development and significant changes in the entertainment industry.
Pete will take us on a journey of the magic of television, the personalities and the enjoyment these years of entertainment has brought to the wider community.

Book launch and panel discussion, "Fathering: An Australian History"
2025-08-29 15:30 - 19:00 | Royal Historical Society of Victoria, 239 A'Beckett St, Melbourne, VIC, 3000, Australia
You are invited to a book launch and panel discussion for Fathering: An Australian History (bookings essential)

Panel Discussion, 3.30-5.30pm Enjoy three fascinating panels discussing fathering and family life: historical perspectives and contemporary issues, co-presented by the authors and other experts.
Book Launch, 5.30-7pm by Hon. Ged Kearney, MP

Please RSVP below to attend the panel or the launch or both sessions.
Fathering: An Australian History
The 21st-century father is expected to be actively engaged in the everyday care of his children, as epitomised by the celebrated dad of children’s cartoon Bluey, the Blue Heeler Bandit. Fathering: An Australian History explores why fathers often struggle to meet social and cultural expectations. The authors’ groundbreaking research reveals the forces that have shaped Australian family life and fathering since the early twentieth century, and how Australian fathers have managed their evolving role and its responsibilities.
Focusing on lived experience and drawing upon a century of personal accounts, Fathering reveals how the experience of being a father is as much shaped by social class and material wellbeing as it is by race and ethnicity, geography and sexuality, and by family legacy and personal character.

Book Launch
Venue: Downstairs in RHSV exhibition space at 239 A’Beckett Street, Melbourne
5.30pm Drinks and food / canapes + book sales by RHSV
6.00pm Welcome by Prof Alistair Thomson, and Acknowledgement of Country
6.05pm Launch by Hon. Ged Kearney MP (Assistant Minister for Social Services and Assistant Minister for Prevention of Family Violence)
6.20pm Closing Remarks by Prof Michael Roper (Essex University)
Book sales, signing, drinks and food / canapes
7.00pm Finish
Please RSVP to attend.

Panel Conversations / Q and A
Fathering and Family Life: Historical Perspectives and Contemporary Issues
Venue: Upstairs in the RHSV Drill Hall at 239 A’Beckett Street, Melbourne
3.30 Afternoon tea
4.00 Welcome and introductions: Emeritus Prof Alistair Thomson
Panel Moderator: Prof Michelle Arrow (Macquarie University; President of the Australian Historian Association)
Panel 1: Fathering and MotheringFocusing on how expectations about and experiences of fathering – and mothering – have changed across time and varied across culture and circumstance, and how cultural expectations enable and disable men’s ability to be active and effective fathers.

Prof Jacqui McDonald (Deakin University, convenor, Australian Fatherhood Research Consortium)
Associate Prof Richard Fletcher (Principal Investigator, SMS4dads & SMS4DeadlyDads, Fathers and Families Research Program, University of Newcastle)
Dr Johnny Bell (Fathering author)
Emeritus Prof Alistair Thomson (Monash University, Fathering author)

Panel 2: Fathering and WorkFocusing on how men’s paid work and employment policies and practices have impacted fathering, and how fathers and families, and society and policy, can make paid work less of an impediment to active and effective fathering.

Belinda Probert (author of Bill’s Secrets: Love, War and Ambition, formerly Professor at Melbourne and LaTrobe universities)
Prof Sean Scalmer (University of Melbourne, author of A Fair Day’s Work: The Quest to Win Back Time)
Emeritus Prof John Murphy (University of Melbourne, Fathering author)

Panel 3: Fathering and Fractured FamiliesFocusing on the changing experience of fathering in families that have been fractured – by parental illness, death or separation, by war and trauma, by violence or neglect, by child removal – and how fathers, families and Australian society best manage such difficult situations)

Hon. Ged Kearney MP (Assistant Minister for Social Services and Assistant Minister for Prevention of Family Violence)
Associate Prof Catherine Kevin (Flinders University, ARC Strategic Research Initiative, ‘A History of Domestic Violence in Australia 1850-2020’)
Dr Sean Martin, (Program Lead, Ten To Men: The Australian Longitudinal Study on Male Health at the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS))
Dr Kate Murphy (Monash University, Fathering author)
Dr Jill Barnard (author of the PhD ‘The Family Lives of Forgotten Australians)

Please RSVP to attend.

Housekeeping
These events will not be delivered online via Zoom.
If you have questions about the program please contact Jill Barnard on jill.barnard1@monash.edu
If you have questions about the venue please contact the RHSV on office@historyvictoria.org.au | 03 9326 9288

CATALOGUING CLINICS 2025
2025-08-28 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 2025, however, we do ask you to register each month as this enables Jillian to send you extra material / links etc after each session.
11am (AEST) Thu 28 Aug 2025
11am (AEST) Thu 25 Sep 2025
11am (AEDT) Thu 30 Oct 2025
11am (AEDT) Thu 27 Nov 2025
Please download and import the following iCalendar (.ics) files to your calendar system.
Monthly: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/tZ0pcOiuqjItH9JWUaZk1ZrdaP1uA9d1Yqc1/ics?icsToken=DESnOhi_USXAWOo5GQAALAAAAOsufSxu9e_o1VvEoUWUiVuOT3wUceY4gYwdUjlaNrGDW1VrT1KjyEhE0aD9QHm4eoEg_M9GmHYiFwIZujAwMDAwMQ&meetingMasterEventId=3FhVroEqTuiqU-ygov-0vg
Join Zoom Meeting
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Meeting ID: 894 7164 9756
Passcode: [REDACTED]
If joining by phone:
One tap mobile
+61871501149,,89471649756#,,,,*[REDACTED]# Australia
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Dial by your location
• +61 8 7150 1149 Australia
• +61 2 8015 6011 Australia
• +61 3 7018 2005 Australia
• +61 7 3185 3730 Australia
• +61 8 6119 3900 Australia
Meeting ID: 894 7164 9756
Passcode: [REDACTED]
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kdoUG5MWlO

Heritage and the new Housing Zones: The Need to Reform the Reforms
2025-08-26 17:30 - 19:30 | RHSV Gallery Downstairs, 239 A'Beckett St, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia
The National Trust of Australia (Victoria) and the Royal Historical Society of Victoria will hold a public meeting at the Drill Hall, 239 A’Beckett St Melbourne 3000:
Heritage and the new Housing Zones: The Need to Reform the Reforms

Three leading experts will discuss challenges to heritage in the new planning context and ways to address these challenges:

Michael Buxton, Emeritus Professor, Planning and Environment, RMIT University
Nigel Lewis, Leading Melbourne heritage architect since 1976
Scott Walker, Director Urban Living, City of Boroondara

Collette Brennan, CEO of the National Trust of Australia (Victoria), will open the meeting, followed by Charles Sowerwine, Chair, Heritage Committee, Royal Historical Society of Victoria, who will chair proceedings.

The meeting follows on from the NTAV and RHSV joint statement “More Housing and Heritage Must Go Hand in Hand” https://www.nationaltrust.org.au/blog/national-trust-of-australia-victoria-and-royal-historical-society-of-victoria-joint-statement/ and the Charter 29 Report, “Reforming the Reforms” charter29.com

Housekeeping

As with most RHSV events, refreshments will be served from 5:30pm – 6pm when the speakers will commence.
This event is an in person event only.
An automated confirmation email is sent to your email address when you book. If this email doesn’t turn up in your ‘in-box’ please check your Spam or Junk Mail folders. Don’t panic – there will be a list of names at the door so you will be able to gain entry without your ticket.
The RHSV Gallery Downstairs is an accessible venue.

Farewell and Bon Voyage, Rosemary Cameron
2025-08-21 17:30 - 19:00 | RHSV, Gallery Downstairs, 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne, VIC, 3000, Australia
“After eight years and three Presidents, our legendary Executive Officer is retiring from the Royal Historical Society of Victoria.
Please join us to celebrate all that she has done to help the Society become one of Australia’s success stories at a time when the arts and humanities need robust history societies more than ever.
Feel free to add any messages or memories of your involvement with Rosemary when you RSVP”.
Robert Pascoe, President RHSV

Farming Families of Whittlesea
2025-08-21 14:00 - 16:00 | Whittlesea Library, 57-61 Laurel Street, Whittlesea, VIC, 3757, Australia
Did you have farming ancestors? Join members of the Whittlesea Historical Society who will present the history of some key pioneer farming families within the City, recognising the history and heritage of the Whittlesea farming community since 1859 when the Agricultural Society was established. Visit display items and share your own stories as part of our family history month program.
Afternoon tea will be provided by students from Whittlesea Secondary College. Presented in partnership by Yarra Plenty Regional Library with Whittlesea Historical Society, Whittlesea Agricultural Society, City of Whittlesea and Whittlesea Secondary College .
Thursday 21 August 2.00pm–4.00pm
Whittlesea Library, 57-61 Laurel Street, Whittlesea, Vic. 3757
Free event – registrations essential.

Specimens Across Time: A 200th birthday tribute to Baron von Mueller
2025-08-14 18:30 - 20:00 | Mueller Hall, Herbarium, Royal Botanic Gardens, Birdwood Avenue, Melbourne, 3004, Australia
For National Science Week, scientists at Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria will host a free talk about the legacy of the first Gardens director, founder of the National Herbarium of Victoria, and first Government Botanist of Victoria, Baron Ferdinand von Mueller. During the talk, scientists will share their favourite Herbarium specimens from Mueller’s time and discuss their contemporary significance. The talk also celebrates 200 years since Mueller’s birth.
“Baron Ferdinand von Mueller was a botanist, explorer, and patron of science, who founded our collection of plant, algal and fungal specimens through his own collecting, and through a network of collectors and scientists that he established globally,” said Alison Vaughan, Manager Collections at Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria.
Approximately two-thirds of the 1.5 million plant, algae and fungi specimens in the National Herbarium of Victoria today were amassed through Mueller’s endeavours.
Free entry, bookings essential.
Mueller Hall, enter via Oak Lawn Gate.
To book to attend in-person or to register to watch online, go to: https://www.rbg.vic.gov.au/melbourne-gardens/whats-on-melbourne/specimens-across-time/

Duneira Estate Winter House Tours with morning tea in the stables
2025-08-13 10:00 - 11:30, 2025-07-23 10:00 - 11:30, 2025-07-09 10:00 - 11:30 | Duneira Estate, 1 Officer Lane, Mount Macedon, VIC, 3440, Australia
Duneira is running guided Winter House tours showcasing Stuart Stoneman’s extensive Art Collection. Stoneman was Duneira’s last owner who, upon his death in 2002, bequeathed his estate and his collections to the care of the S.R.Stoneman Foundation.
Duneira is considered to be the ‘jewel in the crown’ of the few remaining grand hill stations left intact on Mt Macedon after the devastating bushfires of 1983. Along with the Stoneman Art Collection, the house features an extensive library, Persian rugs, grand pianos and interesting period furniture.
During this tour our knowledgeable guide will provide fascinating insights into the story of Duneira and its six owners. This tour includes morning tea in the newly stables.
Tickets: https://events.humanitix.com/duneira-winter-house-tours-with-morning-tea-2025

An Evening With Peter Mitchell and Jane Sullivan
2025-08-12 18:30 - 19:30 | Eltham Bookshop, 10 Arthur Stree, Eltham, VIC, 3094, Australia
Peter and Jane will discuss Peter’s new book, “Under the Same Moon”; a powerful World War II story of two brothers, drawn from previously unknown letters and histories of Australia’s Middle East and Java campaigns.
Entry: Single $50 / Couple $65 – includes one copy of the book or a $25 book voucher, plus refreshments
Bookings are essential: 94398700 or https://elthambookshop.com.au/c/our-author-events

Researching your Family History in South Asian Countries
2025-08-11 10:30 - 11:30 | Thomastown Library
Most South Asian family history has been traditionally maintained only within families and has been passed down from generation to generation, with children hearing their stories from their “elders” from early childhood. In this session, Librarian and family historian Smita Biswas will share other basic steps and tips to get more clues about your South Asian countries’ family roots in India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh and provide tips to learn more about your family history. Presented by Yarra Plenty Regional Library.
Monday 11 August 10.30am–11.30am
Thomastown Library, 54 Main Street, Thomastown, Vic. 3074
Free event – registrations essential.

Rebels and Revolutionaries buried in the Melbourne General Cemetery: Zoom session
2025-08-05 19:30 - 20:30 | ZOOM, Join from anywhere in the world
This presentation by Jeff Atkinson will follow a brief Annual General Meeting of the Carlton Community History Group.
To take part you will need to register, which can be done by emailing jeffann@bigpond.net.au
A Zoom link will be sent to you on the day before the presentation.

Biographical Storytelling
2025-08-03 14:00 - 15:00 | Diamond Valley Library
Charlotte Chidell has researched the life of pioneer Katherine Rose Beale (1795-1856) who arrived at Port Phillip in 1839. The Beale family established the St Helena estate. Finding few reliable primary sources, her book, This Still Hearth tells the story of Katherine in a mix of fact and fiction.
In this presentation Charlotte will discuss her research, writing and pathway to publication journey and discuss various styles of storytelling to share your family history research. Books available for sale. Presented by Yarra Plenty Regional Library.
Diamond Valley Library, Civic Drive, Greensborough
Saturday 3 August 2.00pm–3.00pm
Free event – registrations essential.

CATALOGUING CLINICS 2025
2025-07-31 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 2025, however, we do ask you to register each month as this enables Jillian to send you extra material / links etc after each session.
11am (AEST) Thu 31 Jul 2025
11am (AEST) Thu 28 Aug 2025
11am (AEST) Thu 25 Sep 2025
11am (AEDT) Thu 30 Oct 2025
11am (AEDT) Thu 27 Nov 2025
Please download and import the following iCalendar (.ics) files to your calendar system.
Monthly: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/tZ0pcOiuqjItH9JWUaZk1ZrdaP1uA9d1Yqc1/ics?icsToken=DESnOhi_USXAWOo5GQAALAAAAOsufSxu9e_o1VvEoUWUiVuOT3wUceY4gYwdUjlaNrGDW1VrT1KjyEhE0aD9QHm4eoEg_M9GmHYiFwIZujAwMDAwMQ&meetingMasterEventId=3FhVroEqTuiqU-ygov-0vg
Join Zoom Meeting
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Meeting ID: 894 7164 9756
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If joining by phone:
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Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kdoUG5MWlO

RARE BOOK WEEK: Scapegoats of the Empire
2025-07-29 12:30 - 13:30 | RHSV Gallery Downstairs, 239 A'Beckett St, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia
Stories that divide us
Recently, the library of esteemed community historian Weston Bate was donated to the RHSV. Amongst the many gems was a rare book, Scapegoats of the Empire, written in Lancefield and published in 1907 about military crimes half a world away in South Africa. The author, George Witton, was the 3rd defendant in the military trial for murder brought against Breaker Morant and Peter Handcock. Morant and Handcock were executed by firing squad and Witton was jailed for life. Less than 3 years later he was released and returned home to Australia to write his dubious memoir.
Join distinguished historian Dr Andrew Lemon AM as he explores not just Scapegoats but looks to the rich literature that is spawned when the truth gets murky.
Andrew Lemon is a multiple award-winning Australian historian, best known for his three volume History of Australian Thoroughbred Racing (joint winner of the 2009 Australian Society for Sports History biennial book prize). He has written biographies, local, company and school histories, and co-authored Poor Souls, They Perished on Australia’s worst shipwreck (1986 FAW Wilke Prize). His book A Great Australian School: Wesley College Examined (2004) was shortlisted for the New South Wales state Premier’s History Award. In 2005 the University of Melbourne awarded him the degree of Doctor of Letters for his published work. In 2012 he was a John H. Daniels research fellow at the National Sporting Library and Museum, in Virginia, USA. Andrew is a former President of the RHSV.
Housekeeping
This event is part of Rare Book Week and, for those attending both the RHSV event at 12:30pm and the earlier Ephemera Society of Australia event at 11am in the same venue, we will be serving refreshments between the two events.
These events are in person only – there is no Zoom and nor are the events recorded.

RARE BOOK WEEK: Hoarder or Historian?
2025-07-29 11:00 - 12:00 | RHSV Gallery Downstairs, 239 A'Beckett St, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia
Is our history in a drawer, a scrapbook, or a curated collection?
Speaker: Mandy Bede
This talk will focus on a selection of ephemera collections, teasing out the theme of how our history is preserved. Join Mandy Bede, President of the Ephemera Society of Australia, as she shows examples of printed Australian ephemeral material from the sublime to the mundane. Regardless of how these items have been collected and preserved, or by whom, or for whatever reason, they form part of the remarkable commonwealth of documents that record our past.
Housekeeping
This event is part of Rare Book Week and, for those attending both the RHSV event at 12:30pm and the earlier Ephemera Society of Australia event at 11am in our venue, we will be serving refreshments between the two events.
These events are in person only – there is no Zoom and nor are the events recorded.
Presented by: Ephemera Society of Australia
at Royal Historical Society of Victoria, 328 A’Beckett Street, Melbourne
Morning tea will be served immediately following this event.

Cranbourne Shire Historical Society: Annual Luncheon
2025-07-20 12:00 - 15:00 | Tooradin & District Sports Club, Recreation Reserve, Tooradin, VIC, 3980, Australia
Cranbourne Shire Historical Society invites you to their Annual Luncheon. The guest speaker is Judy Rand, who will talk about the history of her historic property, Balla Balla Homestead, at Cannons Creek.
When: Sunday, July 20, 2025 at 12 noon. Where: Tooradin & District Sports Club, Recreation Reserve, Tooradin. Cost: $30.00 per head – drinks at bar prices.
RSVP including any special dietary requirements by July 11, 2025 to either Barry Freeman at pauline.freeman2@bigpond.com or Sue Tobin at susantobin@bigpond.com

Labassa: Christmas In July
2025-07-20 10:30 - 16:00 | Labassa, 2 Manor Grove, Caulfield North, Victoria, 3161, Australia
Experience the sights, sounds and tastes of a traditional mid-winter Christmas in the lavish surroundings of Labassa. We’ve decked the Christmas tree and set the dining table with all the style of a sumptuous 1890 banquet. Join us for a guided tour or opt for a self-guided tour. Creative activities for young visitors are available.
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

Squatters, Snodgrass, and the spoils of colonialism in Victoria - law, land, and corruption
2025-07-16 17:30 - 19:00 | RHSV Gallery Downstairs, 239 A'Beckett St, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia
We are delighted that Professor Kate Auty will deliver the Society’s second Paul Mullaly History and Law Lecture.
In this lecture Professor Auty considers a fraction of the history of First People’s exposure to the ‘Port Phillip’ legal culture that stripped them of their country. She specifically examines the corruption that made colonial land theft, occupation, and ‘entitlement’ possible. She uses the activities of corrupt squatter – Peter Snodgrass – as her launching pad. He was one of many. He was involved in and led some of the earliest arbitrary reprisals in north-east Victoria. He was a highly significant proponent of the corruption associated with squatters’ opposition to the Nicholson Land Acts. More specifically he was corruptly and cynically instrumental in the machinations that led to the theft of Taungurung country at Acheron, a place to the east of Euroa, where Professor Auty lives.
Professor Auty lives and works on Taungurung country in north-east Victoria and she acknowledges the Taungurung people, pays respect, and dedicates this paper to their place on country.
It is because of the struggle and commitment of First Peoples and their allies that our jurisdiction has striven to be a leader in respect of justice initiatives. In relatively recent times (compared with First Nations time of occupation of country), building partnerships, we established an ALS. We committed to on-country community consultation at the broadest scale during the RCIADIC. We established an Aboriginal Justice Agreement which has led to elders, respected persons, and Koori justice workers guiding Koori Courts across the state. Kooris also started the legal push for repatriation of cultural material, and then remarkably Budj Bim was appropriately declared as a world heritage site, it being a place that celebrates the oldest living culture and also that of the colonial squatting class. More recently the Yoorrook Justice Commission was established to listen, confer, and report on the truths that underpin our colonialist past and its present and continuing impacts. First Peoples are now leading the work of crafting a Treaty to recognise their entitlement to economic justice. These achievements have often involved the law. They all rest upon the robust bedrock of First Nations resilience and resourcefulness and they respond in various ways to the great inequity of the colonial and post-colonial culture of entitlement.
Today the Taungurung and others are resuming control of their country. Treaty and truth-telling are making this possible. It is time. Professor Auty hopes this paper contributes to their just claims.
His Honour Paul Mullaly QC
The Royal Historical Society of Victoria was much saddened at the death of long-serving member, His Honour Paul Mullaly QC, in 2022 just shy of his 93rd birthday. Paul contributed substantially to the RHSV over many years and in many ways however his greatest contribution has been his transcription and annotation of Judge Willis’ Port Phillip Casebooks, for which legal scholars will always be in his debt. Paul’s work can be found on a mini-website within the RHSV website here: The Judge Willis Casebooks . To honour Paul’s contribution we have established this biennial lecture on history and law in our Distinguished Lecturer series.
Speaker: Professor Kate Auty
Barrister, historian, environmentalist, active community member in regional Victoria, and author, Professor Kate Auty is passionate about diversity and inclusive community development. She is involved in a number of community-based intermediary organisations in respect of environment, climate change, energy and Indigenous matters. She is a member of the Australian Accountability Roundtable; co-chair of the Australian Open Government Partnership Multi-Stakeholder Forum; chair of the governing board of the Victorian Environmental Protection Authority; Professorial Fellow School of Law University of Melbourne and Senior Research Fellow with Melbourne Energy Futures.
She was the Commissioner for Environmental Sustainability in Victoria from 2009 to 2014. She has formerly held appointments as a magistrate in Victoria and in the goldfields and western desert of Western Australia, in both positions establishing Aboriginal sentencing courts in consultation with Aboriginal people.
Kate holds tertiary qualifications in environmental science, law and history, having graduated from University of Melbourne (Arts Hons/Law), Monash University (Masters in Environmental Science), and La Trobe University (PhD in Law and Legal Studies). She also holds a Diploma of International Environmental Law from UNITAR. Kate is member of the Environment Institute of Australia and New Zealand and is also a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Kate continues as a barrister in Victoria (1992 – ).

Housekeeping

From 5:30pm – 6pm the RHSV serves refreshments before the lecture commences at 6pm. Zoom audiences will join at 6pm. Zoom log-in details will be sent to attendees 24 hours prior to the lecture.

Speaker photo by Janet Fogarty

Echoes of the 19th Century
2025-07-15 18:30 | Prahran Mechanics Institute, 39 St Edmonds Road, Prahran, VIC, 3181, Australia
Step back in time and immerse yourself in the enchanting sounds of the 19th century with the Four Seasons String Quartet at the PMI Victorian History Library. Led by internationally acclaimed cellist Nora Brownrigg, this talented ensemble will bring history to life through a captivating program of period music.
Experience the elegance and charm of a bygone era as the quartet performs timeless pieces that once graced grand halls and intimate gatherings of the 1800s. Whether you’re a lover of classical music, a history enthusiast, or simply seeking a unique cultural experience, this magical evening promises to transport you to another time.
Join us for this unforgettable journey through historical arts accompanied by delicious snacks, made possible by a generous grant from Stonnington Council.

Protesting the Vietnam War and National Service Talk
2025-06-26 18:00 - 19:00 | Library at the Dock, 107 Victoria Harbour Promenade, Docklands, Victoria, 3005, Australia
During the Vietnam War, a huge national protest movement grew around the conscription of young Australians ordered to fight in the contentious war. In Victoria, many women were at the forefront of the historic protest movement. These brave women are the focus of the award-winning podcast Women, Conscription, War.
Discover this pivotal moment in Australian history in a talk by historian and podcaster Alexandra Pierce.

📍 Library at the Dock
📆 26 June, 6pm

Book here: https://bit.ly/43jVjYV
