eNewsletter
Newsletter 20 February 2025
News
The 2025 History Council of South Australia Historian Awards are now open for nominations
This year we have seven categories:
- Historian of the Year
- Emerging Historian
- Life Long Historian
- Digital Technologies Award
- Regional History Award
- Community History Award
- Oral History Excellence
Nominations close 5 April 2025.
Become a Member of the History Council of South Australia
The HCSA is the state’s peak history body, providing a representative voice on historical issues and celebrating and raising the profile of history across South Australia.
The bigger our membership base, the stronger our collective voice for history.
We invite current members to renew their membership (If you have not already done so), and our newsletter friends to consider joining the Council.
By becoming a member you help support:
- Funding for the HCSA Fellowship
- The Historian Awards and Wakefield Press Essay Prize
- The annual HCSA Regional Lecture
- The HCSA fortnightly newsletter
- Strong, non-partisan advocacy on issues related to history in South Australia.
For more information, please visit the HCSA membership page here.
Subscriptions can be paid via credit card, EFT, cheque or bank transfer, or you can choose to generate an invoice for payment.
You may also like to consider making a tax deductible donation to the HCSA, which can be done when you join, or separately by following this link.
We thank you again for your support.
Labour History Society South Australia (LHSSA) summer newsletter
The Society has released the latest edition of their newsletter.
Read it here (pdf).
Friends of the Oscar W Newsletter
The latest edition of the newsletter is now available.
Read it here (pdf).
Burnside Historical Society Annual Journal
The Society's 2024 journal is now available, featuring seven articles of local interest and the society's activities over the year.
Read it here (pdf download).
Save the Queen: The Priscilla Project
A project is underway to restore the Priscilla bus from the film 'The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert'. She was discovered on a property in rural New South Wales, having survived fire, floods, and exposure to the elements. The History Trust of South Australia is seeking donations to restore the bus and display her at the National Motor Museum in Birdwood.
Further information through the HTSA
Adelaide Museum of South Australian History
The History Trust are inviting responses to a survey about a proposed new museum: the Adelaide Museum of South Australia's History.
Find out more and have your say on the proposed museum here.
Around the country
Pompeii: inside a lost city
An immersive experience on life in the ancient city. Combines soundscapes and surrounding projections with over 90 objects including frescoes, jewellery, sculptures, and pottery. Coming to the National Museum of Australia, Canberra.
From 13 December 2024.
Further information and tickets through the National Museum website
State Library NSW Fellows announced
Celebrating the 50th anniversary of their prestigious awards program, the NSW State Library has unveiled its largest-ever cohort of fellows.
Read more on the library's website here
Lectures, exhibitions, and events
The Dutch-Australian shared histories project
The National Archives of Australia (NAA) have recently announced the completion of the project, which has digitised over 1280 Dutch migration records.
Explore some of the uncovered stories on the NAA website here
Rear Vision: The Holden Collection
Through the extensive archive of the State Library of South Australia, this exhibition explores the car maker's operations, workforce dynamics, technological innovations, and its profound impact on the national psyche.
At the State Library of South Australia (SLSA), 28 February to 22 June 2025.
Further information on the SLSA website
PHA (SA)'s History at The Historian:The Significance of Significance Assessments
'History at the Historian' is back for 2025!
Whether you’re a history enthusiast, historian, heritage professional or student, these events are a fantastic opportunity to engage with experts in the field, ask questions, and enjoy a stimulating discussion in a relaxed pub setting.
This year, we’re kicking off on Monday, 24 February with a distinguished panel of experts, including Veronica Bullock, Susan Marsden, and Geoff Speirs, who will talking about how significance assessments help determine the value and meaning of historical objects, places, and narratives.
The discussion will delve into how these assessments are done, how they can shape our understanding of history, and how they influence decision-making in the heritage and museum sectors.
Join the Professional Historians Association (SA) at The Historian Hotel from 5.45pm for a social catch up, with the talk starting at 7pm. Nibbles provided, meals available to order.
Further information here (pdf flyer)
SA Medical Heritage Society (SAMHS) General Meeting
The next general meeting will be held at 6pm on Thursday, 27 February 2025 at the Dulwich Community Centre. The meeting will feature Professor Robert Fitridge speaking on The Diabetic Foot.
Further information here (pdf flyer)
Historical Society of South Australia Speaker Program 2025
First Friday of the month, 7.30 pm, Burnside City Uniting Church, Fisher Street, Tusmore.
7 March - Jean Fornasiero: From Cîteaux to Mintaro: bringing Fourierism to South Australia in 1847
4 April - Skye Krichauff: The protection (or otherwise) of Aboriginal people's rights to land in early-colonial South Australia
2 May - Kate Pulford: The story of Prince Alfred College
6 June - Rosemary Cadden: Fact and fiction intertwine in the stories of explorer John McDouall Stuart
4 July - Cathy Conway: The history of gliding in South Australia
1 August - Rob George: “Von Loves Her Modernist”: a film about Max Harris
5 September - Jade Hastings: Single women and the law: crime and legislative change in colonial South Australia, 1836 1880
3 October - Margot Way: The History of the Hampstead Rehabilitation Centre
7 November - Paul Flavel: John Martin’s. the story of South Australia’s beloved department store
Further details on each month’s History Talk are provided in the History SA newsletter and on the Society’s website.
Check out their website here
History at the Fringe
The Adelaide Fringe is upon us, and this year's program features a variety of tours, talks, and other events with a historical theme.
Check out some of the shows here
Genealogy SA Mad March Book Sale
There will be hundreds of books from just $5, including family histories, local histories, general history books, and more.
15 March, 10am - 2pm, 201 Unley Road, Unley SA
Further information through Facebook
Genealogy SA: Getting started with your family history
Would you like to start researching your family history, but don't know where to begin?
Join us for this beginners course on how to plan, research, record and share your genealogical discoveries. The course will include practical examples of family history research, information about how to access records and tips to avoid common pitfalls. All participants will receive a range of handouts to support the course material. At the end of the session, the library will remain open for participants to use its resources.
$50 members / $95 non-members
23 March, 10am - 3pm, Genealogy SA Library, 201 Unley Road, Unley.
Further information amd registration through Trybooking
Snapshots from the past: then and now
A captivating journey through the intriguing stories of Australia's past, showcased through the rich imagery found in the national archival collection.
25 February 2025, 1pm, at the State Library of South Australia
Further information and registration through Eventbrite
Treasures of the Viking Age: The Galloway Hoard
The Galloway Hoard is the richest find of rare and unique Viking-age objects ever made in the UK. Buried around AD 900 and only discovered in 2014 in southwest Scotland, the Hoard contains a stunning variety of rare and beautiful objects and illustrates the rich history of Viking trade that stretched from Scandinavia and the Atlantic across into the Middle East and Asia.
At the South Australian Museum 8 February - 27 July 2025.
Further information and tickets through the SA Museum website
Royal Australian Historical Society Evening event: A Legacy in Print
Celebrate the storied past of the Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society, an essential outlet for Australian history since 1906. This event will be chaired by Dr. Samuel White and provide a platform for engaging discussions with some of its past contributors.
In Sydney and online via Zoom. 25 February 2025.
Further information and registration through their website here.
Radical Textiles
This exhibition celebrates the cutting-edge innovations, enduring traditions, and bodies of shared knowledge that have been folded into fabric and cloth over the past 150 years.
At the Art Gallery of South Australia, 23 November 2024 - 30 March 2025.
Tickets start at $15.
Further information through the AGSA website
Calls for papers
Call for Papers
The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History has launched a new 'Current Debates' section, edited by Dr Jonas Fossli Gjersø! If you are interested in contributing, please see the CfP for more information.
More information on H-Net
Opportunities
Expressions of interest: Aboriginal Reference Group
Set up in 2022, the Aboriginal Reference Group works with the State Records of SA and the State Library of SA to improve the availability of archival material and services relating to Aboriginal peoples and culture, and to provide advice and feedback on programs and activities relating to Aboriginal people and culture.
Nominations are now open and close 31 March 2025.
Further information on the SLSA website here.
Friends of South Australia's Archives Jack Cross Fellowships
The Friends are announcing two small Fellowships of $250, named after their former president, Jack Cross AM. These fellowships are 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 close 31 March 2025
Further information here (pdf).
