It’s spring! Time to dust off our togs, thongs, hats and all the things that make us comfortable at the beach. This year, beach-going historians will have the perfect reading material. PHA (NSW) member Caroline Ford’s new book has just come out – Sydney Beaches: A History. Caroline offers her reader a fascinating analysis … Read more
Bruce Baskerville, PHA NSW & ACT Chair, posts some ideas about pathways between Professional, Associate and Graduate membership of the association. I flagged the question of pathways between different levels of membership in the PHA NSW/ACT in my annual report. Now, I would like to encourage more discussion among members to assist the committee in … Read more
Last August, Tony Abbott said at the launch of an exhibition at the National Museum of Australia: ‘Australians are encouraged to reflect on our remarkable history and contribute to the selection of the 100 moments that have defined Australia’. The Prime Minister used the passive voice, leaving unanswered the question ‘by whom’? It’s not … Read more
During the week I am the North Sydney Council Historian which means I have a professional interest in all things historical and heritage related in the North Sydney area. This entails research work, reports to fellow Council employees, drafting interpretative signage, mounting exhibitions, writing monographs, managing the cultural and heritage collections, leading historical tours … Read more
What is your current position/area of historical interest? I have worked as a curator at Hurstville Museum & Gallery since 2012. In my role, I develop social history exhibitions with a focus on the St George area. I am currently preparing a WW1-related exhibition for the Anzac Centenary 2015. Another recent project I really … Read more
The year 2014 represents the 50-year anniversary of the Committee on the Future of Tertiary Education report. The Martin Report[i] led to the introduction of the binary policy of tertiary education in Australia, made up of universities and colleges of advanced education. Francesca Beddie looked back at the binary system and its replacement by … Read more
Nathan Stormont, winner of the 2013 Public History Prize, puts the Ukrainian political crisis into historical perspective… On a chilly evening in late November, 2013, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians converged on the Maidan Nezalezhnosti—the Independence Square—in the centre of Kyiv to protest the unpopular regime of Viktor Yanukovych. In the wake of a rejected … Read more
This year the Australian Historical Association (AHA) Conference was held at the University of Queensland’s campus in Brisbane. The theme of the AHA’s 33rd annual get together, held in the week of 7-11 July, was ‘Conflict in History’. The setting of the conference, in rooms within the sandstone buildings that make up the university’s … Read more
Bruce is an independent public historian, who works on small contracts (mainly in the heritage field). He is currently working (on his longest-running contract, that is more than 6 months!) with the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority, reviewing and writing conservation plans (with an emphasis on history) for public domain spaces around The Rocks. See … Read more
What is your current position/area of historical interest? I work as a Public Historian in all sorts of places including, as you can see in this photo, Kandos, the gateway to the Wollemi National Park. I am currently employed as Historian and Senior Heritage Consultant for GML Heritage. http://www.gml.com.au/ What made you decide to … Read more