eNewsletter
Newsletter 1 February 2022
Members News
Statement and Petition Regarding the Veto of Literary Studies ARC Grants
Excerpt taken from the statement:
"The decision by the acting Federal Minister for Education, Stuart Robert, to exercise his veto against four literary studies grants recommended to him by the Australian Research Council constitutes an attack on literary studies and literary culture in Australia. The only public justification that Robert provided for the apparently arbitrary process that led to this decision is that the projects “do not demonstrate value for taxpayers’ money nor contribute to the national interest.” That two-thirds of the six censored grants should be in literary studies demonstrates a dismissive attitude to the value of the imagination and creativity."
View the full statement and add your name here (google form).
The Oral History Excellence Award
This year (2021-2022) in conjunction with Oral History Australia SA/NT we have a new category for the HCSA Historian Awards, the Oral History Excellence Award. This brand new award recognises the best oral history presentation, in any format, that uses first-person interviews with individuals encompassing unique life experiences and memories.
View our HCSA Historian Awards page here.
Wakefield Weekly Writing Competition (WWWC)
Wakefield Press has recently announced a new monthly competition, open to authors Australia-wide. The first WWWC is now on with entries due before close of business on Friday 11 February.
Further information on the Wakefield press blog here.
The Friends of South Australia's Archives Inc.
The latest newsletter from the FSAA has been released. This issue updates the situation regarding the relocation of South Australian archival material to Canberra and the planned digitisation hub, as well as other news items.
View the newsletter here (pdf).
Labour History Society SA General Meeting
The inaugural general meeting will take place at the Box Factory, 2.00pm on Sunday 16th February. There will be a panel discussion on 'The Uses of History'. All are welcome and attendance is free of charge, but masks are required.
The Historical Society of South Australia is pleased to announce resumption of its Grants Scheme in 2022 for research, publication or promotion of South Australian history.
Further criteria and application and acquittal forms are available from the society’s website [link here] or by email from the secretary at [email protected]
The closing date for applications is Monday 28th March 2022. Successful applicants will be announced at the lecture meeting during the annual History Festival on Friday 6 May and all applicants will receive notification by Monday 15 May 2022. Payment of the monies awarded in grants will happen in June 2022.
Applications should be addressed to:
The Convenor
HSSA Annual Grants Scheme
PO Box 519
Kent Town SA 5071
Wakefield Press Essay Prize
Applications for the 2022 Wakefield Press Essay Prize Award open in December 2021. The prize is for the best essay on a topic relating to South Australian history.
Further information here.
News
Tiati Wangkanthi Kumangka (Truth-telling Together) - Project of Influence 2021 Best in Heritage Award Winner
Co-curated by Senior Kaurna Elder Lynette Crocker and City of Holdfast Bay Curator Julia Garnaut, Titai explores the history of South Australian colonisation through our shared histories. This collaboration has been titled the 2021 'Project of Influence' by The Best in Heritage.
Watch an interview with the curators here on Youtube.
Watch a virtual tour of the exhibition here on Youtube.
Preserving SA Agricultural History
A dedicated group of volunteers has been working to preserve South Australia's agricultural and farming history. Claire Harris has written an article on the group and their efforts in Stock Journal.
Read the article here.
Untapped: The Australian Literary Heritage Project
Once out of print, many lost Australian books are now on offer at public libraries through BorrowBox. If you're a public library member in SA you can access these titles through the BorrowBox app or via Libraries SA.
Visit the project's website.
AICCM Disaster Preparedness Calendar
In this age of increasing natural disasters, the Australian Institute for Conservation of Cultural Materials has put together a disaster preparedness calendar. It is designed to assist cultural collecting organisations in being prepared for disasters likely to impact their region.
Access it on the AICCM website here.
Around the country
Lectures, exhibitions, and events
ANU Centre for Environmental History: Environmental Exchanges
A new seminar series dedicated to showcasing and discussing the new research that engages with key themes in environmental history. Seminars will be held approximately once a month on Thursdays, with all in 2022 being held via Zoom as well as in-person at the ANU's Acton campus.
Further information on the ANU School of history website here.
The first series is on the topic of Oceans, with the first seminar on 17 February:
Professor Coll Thrush (University of British Columbia) 'Wakes: Maritime Violence, Colonial Origin Stories, and Unfinished Business on the Northwest Coast.' Registration and further information here.
Virtual Seminar: Historians on Planetary Futures
Presented by New Earth Histories and the Laureate Centre for History and Population, UNSW. Held Tuesdays in February to April 2022.
Further information on Eventbrite
Grace Karskens, People of the River: ICEHO Global Conversations Seminar
Featuring Emeritus Professor Grace Karskens (UNSW) in discussion with Associate Professor Ruth Morgan (ANU). Professor Karskens will reflect on her latest award-winning book, People of the River. Presented by the International Consortium of Environmental History Organisations. February 15, 8.00am AEDT via Zoom.
Further information and registration here.
Historical Society of South Australia Author Talk: Patricia Sumerling
At the HSSA February meeting, Patricia Sumerling will be presenting a chronological, illustrated talk on the pubs of Port Adelaide and its suburbs.
Friday 4 February, 7.30pm, Burnside City Uniting Church, gold coin donation on entry.
Further information here.
Lust for Lifestyle: Modern Adelaide Homes 1950-1965
A new exhibition in the State Library Gallery on the architecture of the post-World War II boom. Open until 5 June 2022.
Further information on the State library website.
Historic Gawler: SA's Athens of the North
A free lecture featuring a slideshow of photographs, newspapers, maps, and other collection items. Tuesday 15 February, 11am to 12pm, Hetzel Lecture theatre.
Book your place through the State Library website here.
South Australia illustrated: the Art of George French Angas
Featuring the beautiful colour images of artist George French Angas, which are some of the earliest views of South Australia by a European.
On now, free entry.
Further information including opening times at the State Library website here.
Songs of Pilgrims and travellers
Renaissance songs about the quest for love, 12th century pilgrim cantigas, romantic dreams of escape, ghostly late romantic songs, Australian and Irish folksongs, and music of contemporary composers, to take you on a spellbinding musical journey. Saturday 26 February, 3 to 4pm, Hetzel Lecture theatre, $25 per person.
Further information and bookings on the State Library website here.
Book releases
Four Years in a Red Coat: The Loveday Internment Camp Diary of Miyakatsu Koike by Miyakatsu Koike, Hiroko Cockerill, Peter Monteath, Yuriko Nagata
The publication of Miyakatsu Koike's personal diaries he kept as an internee of four years at Loveday internment Camp.
Further information through Wakefield Press here.
Opportunities
2022 Alfred Deakin Institute Research Fellowship two research fellowships are being launched for early career researchers in areas of humanities and social sciences. Applications due 23 January 2022.
Further information on their website here.
Public Environmental History Prize awarded by the Australian and Aotearoa New Zealand History Network. Applications due 1 February 2021.
Further information on their website here.
Mike Smith Student Prize for History of Australian Science or Australian Environmental History. Applications due 17 January, 2022.
Further information here.
Trove trial
Thanks to Commonwealth government funding, Trove is offering a free trial to Australian galleries, archives, museums, and historical societies that would like to reach a vast audience and see their collection in a national context. The trial period ends 30 June 2022.
Further information here.
Donna Coates Book Prize for a monograph published by an Early Career Researcher and/or someone who has published their first book in 2021, that examines at least two countries out of Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. Applications due 31 December 2021.
Further information here.
Calls for papers
Urgent Histories: The 39th Australian Historical Association (AHA) Conference on the uses and usefulness of the past in pressing contemporary public debates, disputes, and narratives. Abstracts due 28 February 2022.
Further information on the Deakin University website.
Ngā Pūtahitanga/Crossings is a joint conference between the Society of Architectural Historians, Australian and New Zealand, and the Australasian Urban History/Planning History Group. They are seeking papers that examine historical moments of overlap, collaboration, tension, or dispute between built environment disciplines. Abstracts due 28 February 2022.
Further information on their website here.