by Joy Hughes At the beginning of December 2013, Dr Alex Byrne, the State Librarian, announced an appeal for funds for the ‘revitalisation’ of the Mitchell Library. The appeal’s ritzy brochure outlines exciting plans on a grand scale for a large below ground auditorium and for current office spaces on the first floor to become … Read more
Katherine Knight alerts us to an historical perspective to the Royal Commission into Institutional Response to Child Sex Abuse. On 31 January, Bonney Djuric posted on Facebook “See ABC 7.30 Report NSW, tonight Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse Parramatta Girls Home”. For over a decade, the former “Parramatta Girl” Bonney has … Read more
As Australia faces a week of soaring temperatures, this post takes us to snow-bound Washington DC where the 2014 American Historical Association (AHA) meeting recently took place. It is a short entry, offering some links to material you might have time to explore before 2014 gets into top gear and which may be useful in … Read more
Bruce Baskerville, the PHA NSW’s 13th President, addressed the PHA NSW Christmas party. He spoke about the mission of public history. The following is an abridged version of his speech. I recently read a collection of essays edited by one of a former PHA (NSW) president, Dr Paul Ashton, Australian History Now (http://www.newsouthbooks.com.au/books/australian-history-now-provisional-title) The opening … Read more
Ian Willis reports on a public lecture he presented on 9 October 2013 at the Camden Historical Society called ‘The story of the Camden district Red Cross in war and peace, 1914-1945’. This is a wonderful story of conservative country women doing their patriotic duty in an outpost of the British Empire. From 1914 Camden … Read more
North Sydney Council’s historian, Ian Hoskins, writes about staging an exhibition of local history and cartography at the North Sydney Heritage Centre/Stanton Library, North Sydney. Custodianship of a public collection brings with it both the urge to care and cosset and the desire to display. The latter is typically driven by a fascination in the … Read more
Roslyn Burge reports on the launch on 30 October by Deputy Lord Mayor, Councillor Robyn Kemmis, of the City of Sydney’s Online Oral History Collection. It’s a wonderful collection of interviews based around six themes – Open all Hours, Shelter Shared Terrain, Belief, Art and Culture, and Our City. About 60 interviews are accessible online. This … Read more
Emma Dortins reports on a fabulous talk by Paula Hamilton at History House in Sydney on 11 October 2013. ‘Sensory Dissonance: The Clash of Cultures in Urban Memories’ was part of an evening seminar series organised by Nancy Cushing (University of Newcastle) and Lisa Ford (University of NSW). Paula focused on the sounds and smells … Read more
by Bruce Baskerville. PHA member Dr Lisa Murray, City Historian, recently posted on our PHA Facebook page an invitation to a public meeting hosted by Sydney City Council on Wednesday 16 October in Millers Point to discuss a proposal to shrink Millers Point and Dawes Point by formally separating parts of each locality and combining … Read more
This week’s blog by Francesca Beddie takes you beyond our shores to Havana in Cuba. The magnificent old city, founded in 1519, is fortunate to have had a professional historian, Eusebio Leal Spengler, in charge for four decades. Dr Leal is the director of the restoration program of Old Havana, listed as a UNESCO World … Read more