This year's HCSA Annual Regional Lecture was co-hosted by Mount Gambier Library at the Riddoch Arts and Cultural Centre on Boandik Country, on Thursday 28 November 2024. The day was a huge success, many thanks to everyone involved, particularly Danni Reade (Mount Gambier Library), Dr Kiera Lindsay, Professor Matt Fitzpatrick, Dr Carmel Pacale, Dr David Sweet, Angela Goode, Peter Christopher and everyone who had a hand in making it happen.

This year we built on the success of previous years by expanding the program to include three sessions before the Annual Regional Lecture. Rather than a lecture only, the day became an all day History Get Together, or - as we put it on the booking site - an all-day chat-fest!

The first session, chaired by the South Australia's History Advocate Dr Kiera Lindsey, featured speakers from Adelaide-based institutions who shared what resources are available to Mount Gambier historians and history enthusiasts. The National Australian Archive, State Records of South Australia, State Library of South Australia, the History Trust of South Australia, and Genealogy SA all spoke about their collections, how to access them, and how to get involved.

The second session, chaired by Danni Reade, featured speakers from South East organisations, who shared about their work, collections, challenges and successes. We heard from Kingston National Trust branch, Mount Gambier History Group, Mary MacKillop Centre Penola, and Sheep's Back Museum Naracoorte.

The third session focused in on 'Our Stories - Our History'. Chaired by Dr Carmel Pascale, we heard from Uncle Ken Jones about Boandik people and Country, Angela Goode about life on the land (and writing about it) in the South East, and from Ian Lewis, about the unique hydrogeology of the Limestone Coast, its caves, and cave diving history.

The capstone event was the 2024 Annual Regional Lecture given by Peter Christopher OAM. Peter's lecture 'Diving Deeper into what makes the South-East unique' built on the talks from sessions two and three, to discuss the unique environmental and social histories of the South East. Peter, who is passionate about shipwrecks (amongst many other topics), introduced us to the history visible above and below the surface along the Limestone Coast.