April 2019
Australian Presence in the French Naores Caves (Sommes) Public Lecture
Gilles Prilaux is a leading French archaeologist of the WW1. For many years, he has been working in the battlefields of the Western Front. During his work in the underground city beneath the French town of Naours, he discovered the names and regimental numbers of WW1 soldiers scrawled on the limestone walls. Many of them were Australian. Further information
Find out more »‘Conflict, Collective Memory and the Creation of History’: 2019 Sydney Writer’s Festival History Council of NSW Event
The History Council of New South Wales’ event for the Sydney Writer’s Festival will consist of three prize-winning historians and authors discussing their award-winning books. Winners of the 2018 New South Wales Premier’s History Awards - Christina Twomey, Paul Irish and Sean Scalmer reveal to Caroline Butler-Bowdon (Director, Strategy and Engagement at Sydney Living Museums) how they fell upon their subjects, how they write engaging historical narratives, and the consequences of their work. Each speaker will discuss their work followed by…
Find out more »‘The Archaeology of the Great War: Discovery, Autopsy, Danger’ Public Lecture
In this presentation, the eminent French archaeologist Gilles Prilaux will outline the difficulties and dangers of his work in conducting a veritable autopsy of the First World War battlefields, where uncovering traces of mass human death incurs the constant risk of millions of unexploded shells. He will also present his discovery of the “underground archives” left by soldiers of many nationalities (including hundreds of Australians) whose names and other inscriptions survive in the caves beneath the Somme. Please register to attend. Further…
Find out more »May 2019
Book Launch: Painting War: A History of Australia’s First World War Art Scheme by Margaret Hutchison
Associate Professor Anna Johnston will launch Margaret Hutchison's Painting War: A History of Australia's First World War Art Scheme. The book explores the creation of Australia’s first collection of war paintings and its role in commemorating the First World War. It argues that the artworks had many makers beyond the artists and examines the interaction between government officials and military officers and their selection of official artists and subjects for the war paintings. Their approach profoundly shaped the character of the…
Find out more »July 2019
AHA Conference 2019: ‘Local Communities, Global Networks’
How have the local and the global intersected, inspired and transformed experiences within and from Australia’s history? How do the histories of Indigenous, imperial, migrant and the myriad of other communities and networks inform, contest and shape knowledge about Australia today? The conference theme speaks to the centrality of History for engaging with community and family networks. Constructing livelihoods within an empire and a nation that have had a global reach, local communities have responded in diverse ways. The varieties…
Find out more »