eNewsletter
Newsletter April 2026
President's message
I received a very exciting email on Wednesday – the History Festival program is out! Organised around the theme of ‘Connections’, there is an absolute wealth of events – walking tours, exhibitions and workshops for all tastes and interests. I’d urge you all to go and take a look at the program here.
For the HCSA, a highlight is certainly going to be bestowing our Historian Awards at the grand finale event. Thank you to those who nominated groups and individuals for our awards. It was fabulous to see the breadth and depth of work being done in our history community. Our judges are now hard at work deciding who will take out this year’s awards, but if you missed our cut-off dates for this round, set yourself a little calendar reminder for early next year.
I hope to see many of you at the History Festival next month! Matt
News
Advocacy News
The Australian Government is now consulting on a new National Cultural Policy, the successor to Revive: a place for every story, a story for every place. Alongside the History Councils of Victoria, New South Wales and Western Australia, the HCSA is working on a joint submission to ensure that the place of history in the cultural life of the nation has a proper weighting in the new document.
State Library of South Australia Research Library temporary closure
The State Library's Research Library will temporarily close from Monday 20 April for upgrade works and to prepare the space for the City Library. Reopening is anticipated in July 2026.
Further information through the library website here.
Swiss Researcher Seeking Letters and Diaries
Isabella Barbaric is a doctoral candidate at the University of Zurich. She is looking for letters and diaries for her research on the language of Swiss migrants to Australia 1850-2025. Isabella’s research project outline is available in German and English through the Universität Zürich website.
Isabella’s research outline also includes her email address. She would be very appreciative of assistance which HCSA members might be able to provide.
Burnside Historical Society April Bulletin
The latest edition of the Society's bulletin is now available.
The Angastonian Newsletter
The April 2026 edition of the Angaston and Penrice Historical Society's newsletter, The Angastonian, is now available.
Read it online here [PDF]
History Teachers' Association of South Australia 2026 State Conference
HTASA’s state conference will be held on Friday, May 22nd at the EDC in Hindmarsh.
Associate Professor Catherine Kevin and Rachel Perkins and will be the guest speakers. Soon the program will be released and registrations open. For further details check the HTASA’s Facebook Page.
History Teachers' Association of South Australia 2026 Competitions
National History Challenge
A free research-based competition for Australian students. This year's theme is Voices.
Closing date 28 August 2026.
Further information on the challenge website here
Simpson Prize
The Simpson Prize is a civics-based, national research competition for Year 9 and 10 students which focuses on the service of Australians in World War One and World War Two. The question for this year’s national competition is: ‘How useful are artefacts and artwork as historical sources when researching the experience of Australians who served in either the First World War or Second World War?’
Discuss with reference to either WW1 or WW2.
Submissions due 4 November 2026.
Further information on the prize's website here
Premier's Anzac Spirit School Prize
Students who are awarded the prize are invited to participate in a commemorative study tour. Open to South Australian students in year 9 and 10.
Entries open 27 April 2026 and close 3 July 2026 at 5pm.
Further information on the department for education website here
Storage needed for John McDouall Stuart artefacts
The John McDouall Stuart Society is on the lookout for storage space for its collection. The society’s artefacts are held in ten boxes requiring about five square metres of secure storage space. The society’s display cabinets (currently dis-assembled) need an additional 10sqm of space. Ultimately, the goal is to have the collection located in a safe, secure space, open at times for general public viewing.
For further information or to assist, please contact society Co-President Tim Moore on [email protected].
New website for the Federation of Australian Historical Societies
The latest quarterly edition of the Federation of Australian Historical Societies newsletter is out now, celebrating the launch of the new FAHS website (www.history.org.au), new associate member benefits, preparations for the society’s upcoming 50th anniversary and Australia Day Honours history recipients from around the nation.
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.
Lectures, exhibitions, and events
SA Medical Heritage Society (SAMHS) April meeting
Welcoming Dr. Skye Krichauff, who will be presenting 'The South Australian Frontier and its Legacies project: uncovering and understanding colonial settler-Aboriginal violence.'
23 April, 6pm start, at Dulwich Community Centre, 14 Union Street, Dulwich.
SA Great History Quiz!
Professional Historians Association (SA) and the State Library of South Australia present the SA Great History Quiz with SA’s own History Advocate Kiera Lindsey as quizmaster.
Gather your most knowledgeable friends and book a table of five players for three rounds of questions, each exploring one of the State Library’s celebrated collections. The highest scoring team will win a fabulous prize and full bragging rights!
Booking fee: $50 for a table of 5
Event details:
Monday, 25 May 2026
6:30pm to 8:30pm
Hetzel Lecture Theatre, Institute Building, cnr North Terrace and Kintore Avenue, Adelaide
2026 History Teachers Association of South Australia State Conference: "Accepting History"
When: Friday 22nd May, 2026
Where: The Education Development Centre, Hindmarsh
Time: 8.15am - 4.00pm.
Keynote speakers will include Catherine Kevin (Flinders University) and Rachel Perkins (Culture is Life)
Workshops will be presented by Secondary, Middle and Primary Years Teachers, as well as industry experts, on the effective teaching of historical skills of enquiry, SACE Subject Renewal and the SA Curriculum for Public Education.
Workshop overviews available here [PDF]
Further information and registration through Humanitix
Lutheran archives — 100 Years?
Speaker: Bethany Pietsch
Thursday 26 March at 7.30pm *** AGM 7pm ***
139 Archer St, North Adelaide SA 5006
Join archivist Bethany Pietsch as she unravels the origin and history of Australian Lutheran synodical archives. Find out why 1926 has been determined as the pivotal year, and exactly who has been responsible for the collections, where they have lived, and why they existed in the first place.
LIVESTREAM on FoLA YouTube channel
$5 Donation, supper & ALL welcome!
Sincere apologies for the poor live-streaming reception of the February meeting – something that was totally beyond our control.
History AI & Family History: Practical Applications
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly changing how we research, analyse, and share family history, but what does that actually mean for genealogists? Learn all about the practical applications of AI in this online Education Evening!
Monday 20 April at 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm
$49 Genealogy SA members / $99 non-members
Further information and registration through Trybooking
Getting Started with your Family History
Would you like to start researching your family history, but don't know where to begin? Join Genealogy SA’s in-person beginners course on how to plan, research, record and share your genealogical discoveries.
Sunday 26 April at 10:00 am to 3:00 pm
$49 Genealogy SA members / $99 non-members
Further information and registration through Trybooking
A Tale of Two Cities: Long-run social and economic mobility in Australia
Join Professors Hamish Maxwell Stewart and Martin Shanahan as they discuss the challenges and insights surrounding their nationally funded project ‘A Tale of Two Cities’.
Wednesday 6 May at 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm
Free as part of South Australia’s History Festival.
Further information and registration through Trybooking
Genealogy SA Library Tours
The Genealogy SA Library is a treasure trove for historians! Whether you're starting your family history, researching your local area, or digging into SA's history, we have resources to help you. Tour our library's fantastic collections, including BDM indexes, newspaper notices, subscriptions, family & local history books, journals and much more!
Saturday 9 May, 2:00 pm or Tuesday 26 May, 11:00 am
Free for Genealogy SA members / $10 non-members as part of South Australia’s History Festival
Further information and registration through Trybooking
Sharpen your Research Skills (Online)
Are you ready to take the next step in your family history journey? Learn how to sharpen your research skills and take yourself from a hobbyist family historian to the next level of genealogy with these online workshops.
Workshops start Sunday 17 May at 10:00 am to 2:30 pm
$79 Genealogy SA members / $129 non-members
Historical Society of South Australia speaker program 2026
The society have released their speaker program for the year.
View the full schedule and further information through their website
The next talk is May 1 Ian Smyth - Celebrating 100 years of broadcasting in South Australia
Burnside City Uniting Church, 384 Portrush Road, Tusmore. Visitors are welcome but are asked for a $5 donation.
Book releases
The sixth edition of the Oral History Handbook
Beth M Robertson has published the Sixth Edition of the Oral History Handbook: Preserving Voices and Memories for the Historical Record.
The First Edition of the Oral History Handbook was published in 1983 as an A5 booklet by the committee of South Australia’s Oral History Association, of which Beth was a member. She has authored the expansion and transformation of the title through five subsequent editions, during which it became recognised as the national standard for oral history practice in Australia.
The Oral History Handbook provides clear, concise and current information about the purpose, value, and reliability of oral history; the ethical and legal foundations of best practice; how to plan and manage an oral history project or whole-of-life interview; adaptable interview structures; the technology and practices required to achieve high-quality recordings; the skills needed to conduct effective interviews; and undertaking accurate transcription in an AI environment.
It summarises cutting edge scholarship about memory and remembering and, in a departure from previous editions, focuses on ways in which interviewers, project managers and researchers can support the ethical use of oral histories. This is presented through three lenses: ways of evaluating the reliability and validity of interviews, preparing archive-ready descriptive metadata and interview summaries, and editing oral histories. The new book also includes a comprehensive index.
The book is self-published under the auspices of Oral History Australia and is available via the sales website. RRP: $40.00 plus postage ($8.50 for single orders).
Nooks and Crannies, by the History Council of South Australia
South Australian historical groups and museums keen to boost their income are invited to order copies of the History Council of South Australia’s new publication Nooks and Crannies at wholesale price from publisher Wakefield Press.
Nooks and Crannies: Stories of South Australia is an eclectic collection of short essays on South Australian inventions, migration, industry, heritage, museums and associations, both new and old, Indigenous and settler. RRP: $39.95.
For more information or to order, contact Michael Bollen at Wakefield Press at [email protected]
Please note: wholesale is 40% off the RRP (or $23.97) with free delivery for orders over $100!
Calls for papers
Oral History Australia Biennial Conference call for presentations
Proposals are now being accepted from those wishing to present at the 2026 OHA Biennial Conference to be held in Tardanya/Adelaide, South Australia. The conference theme is: 'Human Voices, Modern Technology: Oral History & Authenticity'.
Deadline: 11 May 2026
Further information through the OHA website here.
Visit the conference home page here.
Opportunities
Bernadette Bean SA Records Management Award 2026 nominations
Nominations are now open for the 2026 award, providing an opportunity to recognise the unsung champions of records, information and archives management - and related fields.
Nominations close 8 July 2026
