eNewsletter
Newsletter 17 March 2023
News
The HCSA Historian Awards and Wakefield Press Essay Prize are now open
The HCSA Historian Awards seek to recognise the outstanding achievements of an individual or group who have made a major contribution in the field of history in South Australia. Submissions due 7 April 2023.
Further information here.
The Wakefield Press Essay Prize is awarded for the best essay on a topic relating to the history of South Australia. Submissions due 7 April 2023.
Further information here.
HCSA Fellows Lecture Night 2023
Come and join us for a free lecture night on Monday 27 March from 5:30pm @ Hetzel Lecture Theatre, North Tce, delivered by our two Fellows, Dr Heidi Ing (2022 Fellow) and Margaret Boult (2023 Fellow). The two presentations will explore their research projects, which both focus on key aspects of South Australian history and heritage.
Further information and registration via Eventbrite
Read Margaret Boult's abstract and Judge's citation here.
Read Dr. Heidi Ing's abstract from 2022 here.
Significant collection sees the light of day
The State Library of South Australia recently acquired a collection of photographs by famed SA commercial photographer, Douglas Darian Smith. Thsi collection features extensive aerial photographs of Adelaide and regional South Australia. The library recently welcomed Ron Kandelaars from Channel 7 to do a story on the recent acquisition.
You can view the story here (facebook).
The ruined medieval manuscript - and its digital rebirth
Four rarely-shown original medieval manuscript fragments from the State Library's collection are now on display for a short time only.
These fragments are single manuscript pages that were removed from the original whole works during a monumental change in the evolution of the book. Digital copies of the fragments now feature in the international online research laboratory Fragmentarium - a project collating digital copies of fragments from medieval manuscripts.
Read more about the project on the SLSA website here.
Read more about the display here.
Wanted: Adelaide Festival and Adelaide Fringe promotional material
The State Library has been collecting ephemera from Adelaide's iconic festivals since the 1960s. If you have acquired a collection of promotional materials from Festival and Fringe events, send them to the State Library.
Find out how on their website here.
National Library's treasure Trove under threat from budget cuts
The National Library of Australia is facing a massive cut to its operating budget from July 2023. Without dedicated and sustainable long-term funding, Trove will cease to exist.
Read the Sydney Morning Herald article here.
The President of the Federation of Australian Historical Societies has written on the matter in their eBulletin.
ALIA has also compiled a list of resources to support advocacy for Trove here
The Vickie Chapman Kangaroo Island Controversy: Amended Statement of Constitutional Principles
In our 29 March newsletter last year was included an item on the controversy and a statement regarding the constitutional principles applicable to her actions.
You can read the original item in the newsletter here.
As of 17 January 2023, the statement has been updated with an amendment.
You can view the updated statement here (pdf).
State Records SA Strategic Plan 2023-2026
State Records SA has now released their Strategic Plan 2023-2026.
You can view and download a copy of the plan on their website here.
Magill self-guided historical walk and historic Wesleyan Cemetery guide
Last year Burnside Historical Society completed brochures for two self-guided historical walks in the Magill area.
The Historic Self-guided Magill Walk covers some parts of both the City of Burnside and Campbelltown City Council around the Magill Village area and just beyond.
View the Magill walk map here (pdf).
The Historic Magill Wesleyan Cemetery Guide covers the heritage-listed cemetery.
View the Historic Magill Wesleyan Cemetery guide here (pdf).
These new walks are two parts in a series developed by Burnside Historical Society from the 1980s.
View the society's full collection of historical walks on their website here
Friends of the PS Oscar 'W'
The friends of the PS Oscar W are a group of volunteers who maintain, operate, and crew the paddle steamer in Goolwa. They have just released their February newsletter.
You can download and view it here (pdf)
Petition: Save the Historic and Heritage-Listed Thebarton Police Barracks
The State Government of South Australia has announced its intention to build a new Women's and Children's Hospital upon a site belonging to the Heritage-listed Thebarton Mounted Police Barracks - a complex of Historic buildings located alongside the Old Adelaide Gaol.
View and sign the petition here.
Read about the project on InDaily here
Lectures, exhibitions, and events
Historical Society of South Australia
On Friday 14 April, Carol Grbich will talk about Accidental Heiress: journey of a Glencoe squatter’s daughter, researched and written by John Berger and herself.
Glencoe Station, near Mount Gambier, was established by the brothers Edward and Robert Leake in 1844. Letitia Sarah Leake, ‘The 7-year-old girl, who became the heiress to her father’s fortune of approximately $25 million in today’s money - made from farming sheep on South Australian land - would have been very surprised had anyone suggested that she might one day be using that wealth in another country for the comfort and care of over 50,000 Australian servicemen wounded in World War One.’
Place: Burnside City Uniting Church, 384 Portrush Road, Tusmore, 7.30 pm. All are welcome. Non-members $5.
Webinar: More than a story: Family History 2023 - Food and Families
Join Carla Pascoe Leahy in conversation with food historians Lauren Samuelsson and Alison Vincent as they discuss the intimate connections between family history and food history. 29 March, 6pm via Zoom.
Further information and registration here.
Online Seminar: A National Disgrace: The (Long) History of Violence against Women in Australia
In this Zoom seminar Zora Simic, Lisa Featherstone, and Alana Piper will discuss their current research projects charting the history of violence against women in Australia. 30 March, 5pm, via Zoom.
Further information and registration here.
A Ticket to Paradise: Migrant Selection Documents
Hosted by the National Archives of Australia. Learn about the rich history that emerges from the documents completed by or for migrants applying to migrate to Australia.Held at the State Library of South Australia, 28 March 2023, 12 - 1pm.
Further information and booking via Eventbrite
Flinders History Research Seminars
They are back on again for 2023, held Fridays at 11.15 am in Social Sciences South 145 (Bedford Park Campus) and via Microsoft Teams.
The next presentation will be Julie Marcus speaking on 'Sex, Savagery and Histories in Colonial South Australia'. Join on Zoom by entering meeting ID 415 337 727 596 and passcode: Yq7pZe
The Pioneer's Association of South Australia in March
The association has released their calendar of events for 2023.
Marion Village Museum and Heritage Walk
Tour the Marion Historic Village Museum and outbuildings before settling down to watch the ‘virtual’ Marion Heritage Walk in the historic Wesleyan Chapel. The tour wraps up with morning or afternoon tea in the Church Hall. Groups are limited to 20 people, so two tours have been arranged from either 10am or 1.30pm.
Monday 20 March, 10am or 1.30pm, 9 Township Road, Marion.
Book an event by emailing your details to [email protected]. Please include the event code i.e. (E23-02)
For further information, including payment details, view the events page on their website here.
Colonial South Australia and Beyond: A Musical Exploration with James Huon George (piano) and Gemma Vice (flute). Sunday 19 March, 2.30pm at Urrbrae House, 12 Walter Young Ave, Urrbrae.
Gillian Dooley is collaborating on this combined lecture and recital with James Huon George, who will be playing the piano, and flautist Gemma Vice, with historical background from Judith Francis. The program includes songs with links to Matthew Flinders, to prominent 19th century SA colonial figures, and, for something a bit different, Shakespeare settings by SA composers. Tickets $35.
Bookings via Trybooking.
Ahlan wa Sahlan (welcome): Hospitality in Arabic Culture
This new exhibition at the Migration Museum features the inviting and vibrant traditions of Arabic speaking cultures. 4 February - 31 July 2023.
Further information on the Migration Museum website.
Copper Coast Cornish Festival Kernewek Lowender
Being held May 15-21 in Kadina, Moonta, and Wallaroo.
Visit the website here.
Book releases
Business, Charity and Sentiment: the South Australian Housing trust 1936-86 by Susan Marsden
This history of the SA housing trust has now been republished and is available.
Check it out on Booktopia here.
Helpem Fren: Australia and the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands 2003-2017 by Michael Wesley
The book celebrates the 20th anniversary of the mission launch. The Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) was a Pacific-wide intervention led by Australia to prevent the collapse of that state during a period of violence and unrest.
Further information and preorder through Melbourne University Press


She's a Beauty! The story of the first Holdens by Don Loffler
Back in print, with a difference. Now in two volumes, this illustrated first volume documents the Holden story from 1934 to 1948. Rich with new stories, photographs, and facts, includes material from the 2006 enlarged edition of She's a Beauty! as well as relevant material from its sequel, Still Holden Together.
Further information and purchase through Wakefield Press
Trusted: children and Aspirin, a deadly dance of science, business, and politics by Karen Starko
Trusted is a non-fiction, memoir-expose of Karen Starko's discovery of aspirin as the cause of Reye's syndrome, a devastating and mysterious illness that struck down thousands of perfectly healthy children.
Further information and purchase via Wakefield press.
Calls for papers
"Royal Spectacle and Court Performance" Workshop
Hosted by the University of Adelaide and the Society for the History of Emotions, this workshop explores royal spectacles and court performances in the medieval and early modern world. To be held at the University of Adelaide, 21 September 2023. Proposals due 30 April 2023.
Further information here.
Australian and New Zealand Society of the History of Medicine (ANZSHM) Conference 2023: Second Opinions
To be held in Adelaide, 12-15 July 2023. Abstracts on any topic related to the history of health and medicine in any period or region are encouraged.
Further information available on the conference website here.
The Conference is also currently seeking sponsors.
Further information available here (pdf flyer)
Journal of Australasian Mining History CFP
Submissions due 1 July 2023
Further information available here.
Fourth World Congress of Environmental History Call for Panels
19-23 August 2024, Oulu, Finland. This conference aims to emphasize both the arc of time and the importance of bringing diverse approaches to bear on contemporary problems. Panel Proposals due 3 April 2023.
Further information available here.
Opportunities
National Library of Australia Fellowships 2024
Applications for the 2024 National Library of Australia Fellowships are now open. Up to six funded fellowships are available in the 2024 round: three on any subject, two in the field of Japan studies, and one for research on Australian literature. Applications due 26 April 2023.
Further information here.
NSW Premier's History Awards
There are prizes in several categories on offer. All works must be first published, screened, broadcast, or made publicly available between 1 April 2022 and 31 March 2023. Submissions close 6 April 2023.
Further information and entry via the State Library of NSW website
Lizzie Russel Oral History Grant Scheme
For financial members of Oral History Australia SA/NT, this grant aims to foster small oral history initiatives in South Australia or the Northern Territory. Applications close June 30.
Further information on the Oral History Australia SA/NT website
ACHS James MacGinley Award for Australian Catholic History
Submissions may be a biographical, social, cultural, institutional, or political study of Australian Catholic history, which demonstrates originality, excellence in addressing its subject, competence in the use of primary source materials, and clarity of expression. The paper must not have been submitted for publication. Applications close 31 March 2023. Further information available on the ACHS website
Historical Society of South Australia Grants
Applications for HSSA grants towards researching, publishing or otherwise promoting history are now open for 2023 and close on 31 March 2023. Successful applicants will be notified in May 2023. Assistance is given to historians, tertiary post-graduate students, local historians and museums, and school teachers and others. For further details and a downloadable application form, please go to the HSSA website here.
Friends of South Australia's Archives Jack Cross Fellowships
Awarded annually to small history projects or to support students of South Australian history, who are pursuing a dedicated program of historical research in archives and history, with a focus in the use of South Australian archival resources. Applications due 31 March 2023
Further information here.
Biennial Australian Maritime History Awards
Sponsored jointly by the Australian Association for Maritime History and the Australian National Maritime Museum, there are two awards being offered:
The 2023 Frank Boeze Memorial Maritime History Book Prize
To be awarded for a non-fiction book treating any aspect of maritime history relating to or affecting Australia, written or co-authored by an Australian citizen or permanent resident, and published between 1 January 2021 and 31 December 2022.
Download the nomination form here.
The 2023 Australian Community Maritime History Prize
To be awarded to a regional or local museum or historical society for a publication (book, booklet, educational resource kit, DVD, film or other print or digital media, including websites, databases and oral histories) relating to an aspect of maritime history of that region or community, and published between 1 January 2021 and 31 December 2022.
Download the nomination form here.
Nominations for both close 30 March 2023
Further information and criteria for both awards available here.