August 16, 2013
Last weekend, over a coffee and some welcome winter sun at the historic North Adelaide Lion Hotel, I took part in an informal repatriation of some of the earliest photographic images of named indigenous Australians. Copies of two photographs that have been in a UK collection for well over a century, depicting James Wanganeen, formerly […]
Keep readingJuly 31, 2013
I took a break from enquiries in the last week of the South Australian History Fund grant round and headed up to Port Pirie and Whyalla to visit three museums registered in the Community Museums Program. It’s been a few years since I last visited Port Pirie National Trust Museum in their lovely old railway […]
Keep readingJuly 23, 2013
I have recently been sent some images of the work in progress for Axel Stenross Maritime Museum’s new collection store. With space at a bit of a premium the museum devised an innovative way to make storage space – by creating a room in the walkway space between two buildings. So with lots of planning, […]
Keep readingJuly 5, 2013
It was a great pleasure to return to Port Lincoln recently during the About Time History Festival to attend a very special launch that saw a part solving of the Mission Photo mystery that had begun almost two years ago. To recap, I visited Mill Cottage Museum for the first time in November 2011 and […]
Keep readingJune 7, 2013
History SA/Veterans SA’s travelling exhibition Bravest of the Brave, which tells the moving stories of the eight South Australians awarded the Victoria Cross in the First World War, is now at the City of Salisbury’s John Harvey Gallery until 3 July. Hosted by Salisbury RSL, the display was officially launched on Wednesday by the Mayor of […]
Keep readingJune 6, 2013
The South Australian History Fund (SAHF) is History SA’s annual grant fund supporting community groups to undertake small South Australian history projects. Funding up to $2,000 for projects, $3,000 for publications and $5,000 for research projects is available. In previous years the SAHF has funded oral history, archiving, digitisation, conservation and interpretation projects, along with […]
Keep readingMay 30, 2013
Fifty years ago, the PS Marion became a static museum in the Randell Dry Dock at Mannum cementing the small township as the birthplace of the paddle steamer in Australia. The Governor of South Australia, His Excellency Rear Admiral Kevin Scarce AC CSC RANR, and Mrs Scarce will be attending the 50th anniversary celebrations and […]
Keep readingMay 28, 2013
As part of the About Time South Australia’s History Festival program, Community History Programs hosted an information session on common pests affecting historical collections. What Bug is That? focused on identifying pests and simple ways to keep them at bay. Led by Anne Dineen, Senior Preventive Conservator from Artlab Australia, the information session looked at basic […]
Keep readingMay 28, 2013
Last weekend I attended the official handover ceremony at the South Australian Aviation Museum (SAAM) in Port Adelaide, of a retired F-111 jet bomber aircraft from the Australian Defence Department. It’s not every day that a museum receives such a significant item which literally dominates a collection. The 25 ton jet fighter with its iconic […]
Keep readingMay 27, 2013
The Australian Dress Register (ADR) is a collaborative online project initiated by the Powerhouse Museum to document significant and well provenanced men’s, women’s and children’s garments. The ADR was established in 2007 and was originally restricted to clothing relating to NSW. However, recently it has been opened up to include items of costume (dress) from […]
Keep readingMay 22, 2013
As part of the About Time History Festival I went to visit the Strathalbyn & District Heritage Centre who held a well-attended opening for their latest exhibition Industrial Old Strathalbyn. The event was part of the extensive 2013 About Time History Festival program. Once again the museum chose to work with designer Richard Browning to […]
Keep readingMay 9, 2013
Last week I was invited to be a part of the official opening party for the Gawler Museum’s new collection store and workroom. I think the turnout of about 70 people is testimony to the wide community support which the museum receives. I’d had a sneak peak a few weeks ago when the collection store and […]
Keep readingMay 8, 2013
History SA/Veterans SA’s travelling exhibition Bravest of the Brave, which tells the moving stories of the eight South Australians awarded the Victoria Cross in the First World War, is now at the Vietnam Veterans’ Federation SA Branch’s Club Rooms in Warradale. Affectionately known as BOB, the exhibition consists of seven double-sided pop up banners and […]
Keep readingMay 7, 2013
A crowd of around 70 guests filled the Richardson Hall Woodchester on Monday 6 May for an evening film event held as part of the About Time History Festival. The night featured five short films produced as stage one of a two-year digital storytelling project to record some ‘lost’ aspects of history or to tell […]
Keep readingMay 7, 2013
A week or so ago I was pleased to be invited back to Glenbarr, an historic property and museum at Strathalbyn, to help review the Friends of Glenbarr Inc’s strategic plan. The Friends of Glenbarr look after the day to day management of the extensive site, which is a popular group campsite and function venue, […]
Keep readingMay 7, 2013
The St John Ambulance Museum has now moved into its new home on the corner of Edmund Avenue and Rugby Street, Unley. It was officially opened on Sunday 5 May by Professor John Pearn, Priory Librarian St John Australia. Pearn is also the Emeritus, School of Medicine, University of Queensland and Senior Paediatrician of the […]
Keep readingMay 2, 2013
In May 2013 Adelaide will host two events that showcase the Australian Memory of the World register, a UNESCO program that works to preserve and promote documentary heritage in Australia. Come along to a workshop led by Roslyn Russell, Chair of the International Advisory Committee of Memory of the World and find out what the […]
Keep readingApril 23, 2013
Last week I was lucky to attend the second annual Museums Australia Victoria branch conference, held at the National Wool Museum in Geelong. I was most interested to see the museum, given that the theme is similar to the Sheep’s Back Museum at Naracoorte. The museum is divided into two main exhibition sections – one […]
Keep readingApril 23, 2013
The recent news story posted on our website about Allison Reynolds’ search for the oldest Anzac biscuit recipe, resulted in many old cookbooks coming out of the kitchen drawer. Since then this Adelaide Hills’ culinary historian’s hunt has been radio broadcast on ABC891 and FIVEaa Adelaide as well as printed in the Advertiser and the Hills […]
Keep readingApril 3, 2013
The History Council of Australia has announced a call for nominations for the 2013 South Australian Historian of the Year Awards. These annual awards honour the achievements of South Australian historians. Three awards and an essay prize recognise individuals for outstanding research and scholarship and acknowledge their broader contribution through teaching, leadership, mentoring and community involvement. […]
Keep readingMarch 26, 2013
The South Australian Heritage Council, in partnership with Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources (DEWNR) and the Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre at the University of South Australia are again holding the SA Heritage Heroes Awards in 2013. The SA Heritage Heroes 2013 Awards will recognise those individuals and groups who have made an outstanding contribution to […]
Keep readingMarch 22, 2013
The South Australian Aviation Museum in Port Adelaide has become the first in Australia to take delivery of a former RAAF F111 jet bomber. The retired jet – which can reach speeds up to two-and-a-half times the speed of sound – arrived at the Port Adelaide museum on Monday 18 March. It left Amberley RAAF Base […]
Keep readingMarch 18, 2013
A little bird told me that one of Angaston’s historic icons has just got a Facebook page. A cockatoo has become the unofficial spokes ‘person’ for the A&H Doddridge Blacksmith’s shop in Angaston, steeped in history with over 130 years of blacksmithing at this site and one of only a few operational ‘smithies’ in existence […]
Keep readingMarch 14, 2013
This week Pauline and I made a flying visit to three CMP museums, with a bouncy descent into Mount Gambier seeing us emerge onto the tarmac into a very hot early evening and a swarm of bees at the terminal door. Picking up our hire car we headed off for an evening meeting with members […]
Keep readingMarch 6, 2013
Applications for the 2013 Community Heritage Grants funding round are now open. The Community Heritage Grants (CHG) program provides grants of up to $15,000 to community organisations such as libraries, archives, museums, genealogical and historical societies, multicultural and Indigenous groups. The grants are provided to assist with the preservation of locally owned, but nationally significant […]
Keep readingMarch 5, 2013
History SA/Veterans SA’s travelling exhibition Bravest of the Brave,which tells the moving stories of the eight South Australians awarded the Victoria Cross in the First World War, has now arrived at Port Pirie. It was kindly transported from the Port Lincoln RSL Museum by a relative of the president and set up by four volunteers at […]
Keep readingFebruary 26, 2013
New interpretive displays at Scholz Park Museum in Riverton were officially opened on Sunday 24 February by the museum’s president and secretary, John Glistak before a group of enthusiastic locals. Also attending were the creative team who carried out the work, designer Peter Templeton and consultant historian Geoff Speirs; as well as History SA’s Community […]
Keep readingFebruary 25, 2013
In conjunction with this year’s Adelaide Fringe, a new display opened last night in the state dining room of historic Ayers House, the former 19th century family home of Sir Henry Ayers, distinguished politician, financier and Premier of South Australia. Frisque is a unique exhibition featuring beautiful items of corsetry, underwear and nightwear from the […]
Keep readingFebruary 22, 2013
This week Amanda and I drove the 250 km or so to the Riverland to visit Loxton Historical Village, one of the 61 museums on our Community Museums Program. We had arranged to meet with Tracy Bye, Tourism Manager for Loxton Waikerie council who is responsible for the management of this unique open air museum […]
Keep readingFebruary 13, 2013
I haven’t been to see the Gawler Museum for a few years, so it was great earlier this week to see the changes that have been made. Last time I was at the museum the section under the mezzanine floor was partitioned off and used for an uninviting work and crowded storage area and there […]
Keep readingFebruary 8, 2013
With the ANZAC Centenary 2014-2018 approaching, Australians will look back and reflect on our role in past wars and conflicts. There are many significant items belonging to families and organisations that are poignant reminders of the invaluable contributions that so many Australians made. These items, whether humble or heroic, are often in need of care […]
Keep readingFebruary 8, 2013
History SA/Veterans SA’s travelling exhibition Bravest of the Brave, which tells the moving stories of the eight South Australians awarded the Victoria Cross in the First World War, has now arrived in Port Lincoln on the Eyre Peninsula. It was packed up and transported to its new venue at the RSL Clubrooms on Hallett Place […]
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