National Library of Australia

What do you expect when graduating with a science degree? To disarm militia in war-torn Mogadishu? To search out Iraq’s elusive weapons of mass destruction? Do you wonder what a spy does? Join former Australian intelligence officer and author Rod Barton in conversation with ABC journalist and author Michael Brissenden, as Rod discusses his new memoir, The Life of a Spy. Rod Barton is a former Australian intelligence officer. After starting his career with the Australian Government as a junior scientist, he led an extraordinary life of espionage, working with the UN and several spy agencies, searching for illegal weapons and Iraq’s Weapons of Mass Destruction

“For generations my family wanted to conceal their Aboriginal roots. Our darker complexions, I was told, harkened back to Spanish sailor shipwrecked near Scotland, or invading Moors…The lie was only a few generations back, but it took me almost twenty years to uncover”. Dr Judith Crispin, the 2020 Honorary National Library Creative Arts Fellow for Australian Writing, shares her journey to uncover the truth about her ancestry, and the Hidden Generations. Join us as Judith reveals how she came to write an imaginary biography in honour of her Grandfather’s Grandmother, Charlotte, informed only by entries in a ledger, a single photo, and the drawings of Charlotte’s countryman, artist Tommy McRae. Dr Judith Crispin is a poet and visual artist with a background in music. She has two published poetry collections, The Myrrh-Bearers (Sydney: Puncher & Wattmann, 2015) and The Lumen Seed (New York: Daylight Books, 2017). Judith founded the poetry reading series at Manning Clark House and is currently poetry editor for The Canberra Times. Much of Judith’s writing is centered around the experience of searching for her Bpangerang ancestry, and her long-term friendship with Warlpiri people.

The colonial heritage of Norfolk Island is little known to most Australians. 2020 NLA Fellow, Alisa Bunbury’s recent research comprises a careful and structured examination of visual imagery created during the various stages of its settlement during the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. These images show the difficulties of contact and communication with its steep cliffs and dangerous reef; the clearing of the land for agricultural purposes; the indigenous flora and fauna, including rare documentation of species driven to extinction; and the built environment, including the long-demolished first settlement and the later penitentiary buildings, the ruins of which are now World Heritage listed. Written records and recollections complement the visual material, ranging from diaries, letters and naval journals to published accounts of visits, official appointments or the horrendous treatment endured by convicts imprisoned there. Alisa’s research aims to bring the numerous stories of this tiny island to light in time for the 250th anniversary of the Resolution's crew sighting Norfolk Island in 2024.

Trisha Dixon is joined in conversation by Fleur Flanery, Philip Cox and Max Bourke to discuss the enigma of 'spirit of place' and it's place in the world of landscape design. The panel discussion was facilitated by Alex Sloan

Over 400,000 men enlisted in the Australian Imperial Forces to fight in World War I. Nearly one in every five of them was never to return. As every strata of society searched for meaning amidst such cataclysmic loss, many turned to Spiritualism — a fringe religion built on the belief that “death is not a cessation of life but a mere change in condition” and that those who had passed on could communicate with the living. Why did so many rational men and women place their faith in Spiritualism? How did spirit mediums convince them that communication with the dead was possible? And what was the impact of Spiritualism on the Australian experience of the Great War? Author Nadia Bailey is drawing from her research in the Library's collections for her historical novel in progress. Nadia Bailey is a Melbourne-based author, journalist and editor. She was the 2019 UNESCO City of Literature Creative Resident in Kraków, Poland, and a 2018 Midsumma Futures Fellow. Her essays, short fiction and poetry have been widely represented in anthologies and journals, and she has published several books on popular culture with Smith Street Books.

Jack Waterford AM delivers the 2021 Canberra Day Oration, Canberra: Part of the Nation's Capital, presented by the Canberra & District Historical Society. From its foundation in 1953, the Canberra & District Historical Society has promoted the annual observance of Canberra Day on 12 March. In the years that follwed, the Society celebrated Canberra Day in a variety of ways, including Pioneer Gatherings, exhibitions, essay competitions, orations and commemorations at the Commencement Stone. In 2002 the Society re-introduced the Canberra Day Oration, with Professor Don Aitkin as the first orator. Since then the Canberra Day Oration has been an annual event, held on 12 March. Image: Valentine & Sons. (1910). Canberra the capital of Australia, sketch view looking west Retrieved January 27, 2021, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-153091444

2021 Creative Arts Fellow for Australian Writing, Dr Jordie Albiston, discusses her research process at the National Library for her new poetry project ‘Frank’. ‘Frank’ comprises of poems based on the diaries of James Francis Hurley from two Antarctic expeditions (under Mawson, and then Shackleton) and his subsequent picture-show tour. Approximately 120 poems offer a poetic mosaic of Hurley's experiences as man and Antarctic photographer, at the end of the heroic age of exploration. Individual diary entries will be redacted to poetry while honouring the unique specificities — vocabulary, rhythm, tone — of Hurley's voice. This transformative shift aims to generate a fresh viability for such documents, enabling a contemporary audience to interact with, and appreciate archival accounts on a completely new range of levels: from the formal and literary level of 'text', to the universal and philosophical level of what it means to be human. Image: Hurley, Frank (1910), [Frank Hurley photographing from the tip of the jib-boom of the Discovery, Banzare, 1929-1931] [Antarctica], (detail), nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn92416

Learning Webinar 2021 Audio

NLA Fellow, Dr André Brett uses the development of railway networks to interrogate the strong and enduring linkages between economic growth and environmental change.

Inspired by the folk traditions and the unique socio-cultural identity of his home in the Northern Rivers, 2020 National Folk Fellow, musician Luke Byrnes, has been investigating the musical heritage and folklore of the region – searching the National Library’s oral history and folklore archives to find songs, yarns, tunes, poetry, dance, craft and folk stories collected from the region over the last 80 years. Rediscovered Northern Rivers songs and tunes from the Library’s collections have revealed a colourful and complicated history defined by a diverse range of people’s relationship to place. From the experiences of the many peoples of the Bundjalung nation; to the first waves of colonisation by squatters and cedar-getters in exploitation of land, people and timber; to the legacy of the Terania Creek Protests and the regions ongoing environmental struggles – Luke’s attempt to ‘tell’ a neat conclusive narrative of the Northern Rivers through music proved as impossible as an attempt to bail out the Clarence with a bucket. Instead, Luke’s fellowship presents many different pails from the never-ending stream of Northern Rivers stories in hopes of inspiring a richer appreciation for the region’s complex history. Stylistically Luke has reinterpreted source recordings of solo singers, box-players and fiddlers into contemporary compositions arranged for a new 7-piece ensemble: The Big Scrub Revival Band.

‘Just one scribbled note from Marcie Muir led us to this amazing discovery … If we hadn’t had that serendipitous moment where Belinda [Murrell] was discovering in one book that Charlotte [Waring Atkinson] had written more than one published work, and then I almost simultaneously found this note, we would never have put the two things together and made that amazing discovery … It was a series of astonishing, serendipitous findings that led us to many of our most exciting insights.’ - Kate Forsyth. Join bestselling authors Kate Forsyth and Belinda Murrell for the second installment of their pre-recorded, two-part author talk – a discussion about researching and finding collection material at the National Library, as they had to do when writing their new book, ‘Searching for Charlotte’.

In Conversation with Michelle Grattan 2020: The Year That Changed Us

Monday 16 November 2020 — the Anniversary of the apology to the 'Forgotten Australians' and Former Child Migrants—join The Australian National University Lecturer and author of Goodna Girls, Adele Chynoweth, and National Library of Australia Director of Indigenous Engagement, Marcus Hughes, as they reflect on the lives and stories of the women of Goodna and the role of cultural institutions in preserving the stories and experiences of marginalised communities. Goodna Girls tells the story of children incarcerated in Wolston Park Hospital, an adult psychiatric facility in Queensland. It contains the personal testimonies of women who relate—in their own no-holds-barred style and often with irreverent humour—how they, as children, ended up in Wolston Park and how this affected their adult lives.

Kate Forsyth and Belinda Murrell are the sisters behind the latest NLA Publishing title, ‘Searching for Charlotte’. Join the bestselling authors as they discuss the process of writing a book and what ‘Searching for Charlotte’ means to them in part one of this two-part author talk.

On the anniversary of Walter Burley Griffin’s 1913 appointment as Federal Capital Director of Design and Construction, join Peter Graves and Liz Lea for an online talk connecting the Griffins’ design of Canberra, with Indigenous dance, and traditional Indian dance.

Join Peter Freeman and Dr Rachael Coghlan as they explore the lives of early Canberra architects Malcolm Moir and Heather Sutherland – their work, their impact on the developing city, the times in which they lived, and the legacy that remains. Peter Freeman is an author and Conservation Architect. His new book, 'THOROUGHLY MODERN: Moir + Sutherland Architects', studies the life and work of these two architects pivotal in the development of Canberra. Peter will be launching his book on Friday 20 November at the DESIGN Canberra Festival. More information about the book launch can be found online at: https://designcanberrafestival.com.au/ Dr Rachael Coghlan is CEO of Craft ACT: Craft + Design Centre, and Artistic Director of the DESIGN Canberra Festival. This partnered online event has been produced by the National Library in association with Craft ACT: Craft + Design Centre, and the Design Canberra Festival.

Join National Library Exhibition Curator Dr Grace Blakeley-Carroll, and Director of Exhibitions Dr Guy Hansen, for an online tour of our latest exhibition, Birds of Paradise: Ellis Rowan in New Guinea. Best known for her striking wildflower paintings, Ellis Rowan also had an interest in birds and produced a stunning collection of New Guinea's Birds of Paradise (Paradisaeidae) in circa 1917. This must-see exhibition is on now and also viewable online, showcasing 13 of Ellis Rowan’s most exquisite watercolour paintings of Birds of Paradise. Also on display are a selection of plate designs featuring smaller representations of the Birds of Paradise and other biographical items relating to Ellis Rowan.

Stalin's Wine Cellar is billed as 'the Raiders of the Lost Ark of wine'. Join authors John Baker and Nick Place, in conversation with Genevieve Jacobs, and uncover the search for a cellar full of wine believed to be that of former Georgian revolutionary and Ruler of the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin.

Did you know the National Library has a board games collection? Not only do we have hundreds of board games dating as far back as the 1700s, the National Library is also home to the world's LARGEST board game, 'World in Flames'–we have the Guinness Book of World Records certificate to prove it! Join board game enthusiasts Stuart Baines and Aaron Minehan, with illustrator and game designer Sam Milham Art, as they take a look at some of the unique board games hiding away on the shelves at the National Library.

Australia is home to breath-taking landscapes, as rugged as they are beautiful. Some are driven to explore these places on foot, some from the air, but this book tells the story of the courageous men and women who explored this beautiful country on two wheels. Grab your helmet and join long-time cycling enthusiast Daniel Oakman alongside National Library curator Susannah Helman as they talk about Daniel’s latest book, Wild Ride: Epic Cycling Journeys Through the Heart of Australia, and the collection material that tells the stories of the people behind these great cycling adventures.

Join father and daughter, and Gamilaroi and Dunghutti people, Rod and marlee.silva (Co-Founder of Tiddas 4 Tiddas) as they share their hopes for the future of Indigenous Australia with reference to their own experiences, stories and dreams. Marlee and Rod explore the importance of truth-telling in fostering cultural understanding and the cultural shift being driven through the Black Lives Matter movement. Although National NAIDOC week has been moved to 8-15 November 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Marlee and Rod also touch on the 2020 NAIDOC theme of 'Always Was, Always Will Be'.

“The more we are taking care of nature, the more we are taking care of ourselves.” Last summer’s bushfires left Australia profoundly changed. Lives and homes were lost; almost 13 million hectares of bush was incinerated. Food and fuel systems broke down, and city-dwellers choked on toxic smoke. From this tumult and devastation, what new vision will emerge? How have the fires forced us to rethink ourselves, our communities and our relationships with nature? Join social scientist Petra Buergelt, animal ecologist Dale Nimmo and planning expert Barbara Norman – whose family sadly lost a home in the fires – as they explore what will rise from the ash in the months and years ahead. Chaired by Nicole Hasham, Environment + Energy Editor at The Conversation. Presented by The Conversation, the world's leading free, fact-based news source written by academics and edited by journalists and The National Library of Australia.

Join author of The Catch: The Story of Fishing in Australia and avid fisher, Anna Clark, and senior lecturer at Macquarie University, Dr Leigh Boucher as they discuss the role of fishing throughout Australian history, from indigenous innovations and practices through to fishing for sport and recreation today.

From traditional print news to social media, television to blogs—modern media operates in a complex and hyper-connected environment, and it plays a huge part in our lives every single day. Michelle Lipkin and Gavin Sundwall examine the many ways—positive and negative—that media consumption and digital citizenship affect our lives, and discuss how we can become more literate media users. Michelle Ciulla Lipkin is the Executive Director of the National Association for Media Literacy Education and an adjunct lecturer at Brooklyn College in media criticism and media literacy. She launched the first ever Media Literacy Week in the U.S. in 2015 and has developed strategic partnerships with media companies including CNN, NPR, The New York Times, Al Jazeera English, Nickelodeon, and Twitter. Gavin Sundwall has worked throughout his career to deliver the State Department's mission to new audiences in the U.S. and internationally. He has driven media coverage by publications including VICE News Tonight, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Daily Beast, and Vogue, and managed the first-ever documentary television series about the work of a U.S. ambassador and embassy. I am the Ambassador won the Danish equivalent of an “Emmy” in 2014 and became a Netflix and iTunes feature.

Join us as we celebrate the release of internationally bestselling author Kate Grenville’s first novel in nearly a decade - A Room Made of Leaves. In this special online event, Kate Grenville appears in conversation with award winning historian, author, broadcaster and public commentator Professor Clare Wright OAM. This event is delivered in partnership with Text Publishing.

What is the Australian dream, and does it mean the same thing to us all? Join us as cross-cultural consultant and author Tasneem Chopra OAM leads a thought-provoking discussion between writer and appearance activist Carly Findlay OAM, founder of YARN Australia Warren Roberts, and writer, gender equality and mental health advocate Tarang Chawla, on what the Australian Dream looks like for people from diverse cultural backgrounds and life experiences.

First woman to head an Australian state or territory government, and first ACT Chief Minister, Rosemary Follett AO, has had a diverse career in both politics and the public service. Following the dismissal of the Whitlam government, Rosemary became President of the ACT ALP. Her negotiation skills proved of great use during the transition to ACT self-government, where she served two terms as Chief Minister: 1989-1990 and 1991-1995, and as ACT Discrimination Commissioner from 1996 to 2004. Not only has Rosemary served as Vice Chancellor at the University of Canberra, and Chair of the ACT Board of Senior Secondary Studies, she was also instrumental in bringing Nara as Canberra’s twin city and led a trade mission to Japan. Image: Greg Power, Portrait of Rosemary Follett during an Oral History Interview at the National Library of Australia, Canberra, 28 February, 2012, nla.cat-vn6186349

We often don’t realise we’re living through a major historical moment until the time has passed. The pandemic we find ourselves in now is one such historical moment. Dr Chris Wallace and Professor Frank Bongiorno AM talk about why it’s so important to document everyday life during irregular times. Learn about what you can do now to help the historians of the future piece together what it was like to live through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Are you still a liar? From its first icy scenes in the Arctic Circle, Felicity Volk’s new novel tells an epic story of a compulsive, unconventional love that spans decades and crosses continents. Desire Lines sets its exploration of truth and lies against society’s uneasy relationship with its own truth-telling in history, war and politics. Canberra’s coming of age, the construction of its institutional landmarks and milestones in Indigenous relations are the backdrop for the novel’s moving reminder that even truths that seem lost forever can find their way home. Join award-winning author Felicity Volk and Karen Viggers for the launch of Volk’s latest novel, Desire Lines.

Join Paul Sharrad as he explores some of the delights found while researching Thomas Keneally's papers, including the forgotten highlights from his career. Paul will explore the conditions under which writers in the 1960’s and 1970’s worked to survive, and how writers fit within the drive to create a national culture. How does a writer attempting to create a living from his work assemble a long-lasting career in negotiations with editors, agents, reviewers and markets? He will also question what the place of the writer who becomes a public celebrity is, and how 'middlebrow' writing is valued. Image: Robert McFarlane, Author Tom Keneally back stage at the Nimrod Theatre, Sydney, 1980 nla.gov.au/nla.obj-152397918

Join Chet Van Duzer, Cartographic Historian and Board member of the Lazarus Project at the University of Rochester, as he explores the early modern belief that there had to be a substantial landmass in the south to counterbalance the continents in the north. This hypothetical landmass was depicted on many maps beginning from c.1508, when such a continent appeared on a world map by Francesco Rosselli. Rosselli’s map showed a very large island at the South Pole, yet many maps from the sixteenth century illustrate a remarkable variant of this geographical myth: a continent-sized landmass that forms a ring of land around the South Pole, with open water at the pole itself. Chet will discuss the sources of this unusual view of the Southern Polar Regions found in classical, medieval, and Renaissance hydrographical theories and geographical texts. Image: Urbano monte world map 1587 David Rumsey Collection Stanford

The need for a grand narrative in the life and obsessive collecting of Rex Nan Kivell is telling. His collecting stories, invented or elaborated, are engaging and, when examined, often untrue. Without doubt however, was the significance of the items he collected and frequently ‘boosted’ through imaginative tall tales. Examining key acquisitions made over decades, this illustrated lecture will test the stories surrounding them and what this can tell us today. A Treasures Gallery Access Program, supported by National Library Patrons.

Join Professor Lyndall Ryan, AM FAHA, from the University of Newcastle, as she discusses her continuing work on documenting the frontier massacres across colonial Australia. Her project includes mapping these sites, to create a historically accurate record of the Frontier Wars (1788-1930).

Join two world-class writers and old friends, Garth Nix and Felicity Packard as they discuss their childhood and University years growing up in Canberra, to their most recent venture together, working on a pilot adapted from Garth’s Old Kingdom books for Amazon Studios. Having sold more than five million books around the world, you will often see Garth Nix books listed in the New York Times bestseller lists, the Guardian and the Australian, with his work being translated into forty languages. His award-winning fantasy novels for young adults include Sabriel, Lirael, Abhorsen and Clariel, Shade’s Children, A Confusion of Princes and Newts Emerald. Garth has been a full-time writer from 2001, having previously worked as a literary agent, book editor, book publicist, bookseller and part-time soldier in the Army Reserve. Felicity Packard is a freelance screenwriter, script editor and producer with her name frequenting Australian screens. Felicity was one of the creators and writers of the true-crime drama franchise Underbelly, wrote and associate produced Wolf Creek season one for Stan, and most recently created and wrote for the Netflix political spy miniseries Pine Gap. She has won the Queensland Premier’s Literary Award for screenwriting and has won five-Australian Writers’ Guild Awards. Over her career spanning more than two decades, she has written hundreds of hours of Australian television drama for shows including Janet King, MDA, G.P. Blue Heelers and Home & Away.

Join award-winning author Helen Ennis as she shares her experience with Alex Sloan about writing the moving and powerful biography of modernist photographer, Olive Cotton. Olive Cotton was a significant artist and pioneer whose talent was recognised as equal to her first husband's, Max Dupain. Olive and Max could have been Australia's answer to Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, but in the early 1940s, Cotton quit their marriage and Sydney studio lifestyle to live with second husband, Ross McInerney and raised their two children in a tent on a farm near Cowra. Despite the barriers of this new lifestyle and not having access to a dark room, Olive continued her photography away from the public eye until she was shot back to fame in 1985 by a landmark exhibition in Sydney, and a major retrospective at the AGNSW in 2000. A moving story about talent and creativity, Emeritus Professor Ennis explores the life of Olive Cotton and what it means for an artist to manage the competing demands of art, work, marriage, children and family. Helen Ennis won the Victorian Premier's Literary Award for Non-Fiction for her biography Margaret Michaelis: Love, loss and photography, which was also judged Best Book by the Art Association of Australia and New Zealand. Her research on Olive Cotton has been supported by the Australia Council Literature Board, a Peter Blazey Fellowship, and the ABR/George Hicks Foundation Fellowship. Formerly Curator of Photography at the National Gallery of Australia, Helen went on to become Director of the Centre for Art History and Art Theory and Sir William Dobell Chair of Art History at ANU School of Art & Design. Since 2000 she has curated eight major exhibitions for the National Library of Australia, National Portrait Gallery, National Gallery of Australia and other cultural exhibitions. Now Emeritus Professor, Helen is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Humanities. Alex Sloan AM has been a journalist for 30 years, including over 27 years as a broadcaster with the ABC. An award-winning journalist, Alex is highly regarded as an MC, interviewer and facilitator including: The ANU Meet The Author events, The National Library, National Museum of Australia, National Gallery of Australia and National Portrait Gallery. In 2017 Alex was named Canberra Citizen of the Year and is a member of the ACT Architects Board. At the national level, Alex is a director of The Australia Institute and The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust.

Anyone who has a book collection and a garden wants for nothing.” – Cicero Bibliophile Rex Nan Kivell agreed with Cicero. He spent his life collecting rare books now generously shared with Australians through the Library, and he gardened at his a mansion El Farah, in Tangier. Hear about some of the exceptional books and printed items acquired by one of the greatest collectors of the 20th century and his gardening interests. A Treasures Gallery Access Program, supported by National Library Patrons.

Join us as Morris Gleitzman outlines why young people need stories now more than ever. Stories to delight, stories to beguile, stories to inspire, stories to move deeply. And through these experiences, stories that equip young readers to embrace an often dark and uncertain world with optimism, resolve and creativity. Stories have always been at the centre of our discourse. They help us explore what is it to be human, and what might be possible in our lives. Our young people face many challenges in the decades ahead as they explore what is possible for our human enterprise. Central among the things that will help equip them for this journey are stories. Morris Gleitzman has been a bestselling Australian children’s author for more than thirty years and is the current Australian Children's Laureate. His books explore serious and sometimes confronting subjects in humorous and unexpected ways. His titles include Two Weeks With The Queen, Grace, Doubting Thomas, Bumface, Toad Rage, Give Peas A Chance, Extra Time, Loyal Creatures, Help Around The House, and the series Once, Then, Now, After, Soon and Maybe. Morris lives in Brisbane and Sydney, and his books are published in more than twenty countries. Supported by the Ray Mathew and Eva Kollsman Trust

Think about the children’s books that you see on the selves of Australian bookstores. How many of these books provide insight into non-Western cultures? How many are translations? Multicultural books are important because they can provide windows into other cultures and introduce readers to new ideas. They can also help readers from under-represented groups see themselves reflected in literature. This talk will highlight a range of multicultural picture books that celebrate cultural diversity, focusing on the relationship between word and image and how the verbal and the visual elements work together to produce a dynamic story.

In conversation with writer Chris Hammer, internationally best-selling crime writer Michael Connelly brings to life - once again - Harry Bosch and LAPD Detective Renee Ballard in the impalpable case of The Night Fire. In association with Allen & Unwin.

Burbang is the Wiradjuri word for Ceremony. In a ceremony, the ritual repeats unchanged, however, the participant arrives each time with greater wisdom and hierarchical standing and can 'peel back' the significance of the ceremony's embedded knowledge. Independent choreographer and dancer, Joel Bray, will share his research into traditional Indigenous ceremonial practices and how it will inform his new project, Burbang, a work of immersive dance-theatre. Joel Bray is the National Library’s 2019 Creative Arts Fellow. He a choreographer, a performer with CHUNKY MOVE, a NEXT GEN creator of BlakDance, and a proud Wiradjuri man whose work and performances have been seen and toured nationally and internationally. The 2019 Creative Arts Fellowship is generously supported by the Friends of the National Library of Australia Inc.

We are despised, yet we grow. We are tortured and crucified and yet we flourish. We are hated and still we multiply. Why is that? You must wonder, how is it we survive?' Christos Tsiolkas' stunning new novel Damascus is a work of soaring ambition and achievement, of immense power and epic scope, taking as its subject nothing less than events surrounding the birth and establishment of the Christian church. Based around the gospels and letters of St Paul, and focusing on characters one and two generations on from the death of Christ, as well as Paul (Saul) himself, Damascus nevertheless explores the themes that have always obsessed Tsiolkas as a writer: class, religion, masculinity, patriarchy, colonisation, refugees; the ways in which nations, societies, communities, families and individuals are united and divided - it's all here, the contemporary and urgent questions, perennial concerns made vivid and visceral. In Damascus, Tsiolkas has written a masterpiece of imagination and transformation: an historical novel of immense power and an unflinching dissection of doubt and faith, tyranny and revolution, and cruelty and sacrifice.

Dr Laura Millar, independent consultant and scholar in records, archives, and information management, discussed her new publication A Matter of Facts: the Value of Evidence in an Information Age. The safeguarding of authentic facts is essential, especially in this disruptive Orwellian age, where digital technologies have opened the door to a post-truth world in which “alternative facts” can be so easily accepted as valid. As Dr. Millar argues in her book, because facts matter, evidence matters. In her talk, she made the case that authentic and accurate records, archives, data, and other sources of documentary proof are crucial in supporting and fostering a society that is respectful, democratic, and self-aware. Dr Millar has consulted with governments, universities, professional associations, and other agencies around the world, from advising national governments on electronic records management to consulting with aboriginal communities on the preservation of indigenous sources of evidence. She is the author of several award-winning publications and has taught in several universities in Canada and internationally.

Kerry Reed-Gilbert, Wiradjuri woman, writer, artist and activist, passed away on July 2019 shortly before her memoir and final piece of writing was published. Fellow writers and activists, Yvette Holt and Samantha Falkner, joined us to pay their respects to Aunty Kerry. Reflecting on and celebrating her life and writing, they spoke to Kerry’s latest and final piece of work The Cherry Picker’s Daughter. The Cherry Picker’s Daughter explores Kerry’s story of love and loss, repeated dislocation, dispossession and the impact of life as an Aboriginal state ward living under the terror of Protection laws. During her childhood, fruit-picking meant the difference between going hungry or having a roof over your head. Kerry’s final piece of writing encompasses her early life, leading us through memories of losing her mother, her father imprisoned for her the murder of her mother, and the vital strength of family ties in Aboriginal communities while surviving the White Australia Policy and everyday racism. Kerry Reed-Gilbert was a Wiradjuri woman, writer, artist and activist and the inaugural Chairperson of the First Nations Australia Writers Network (FNAWN). She was a member of the ACT Us Mob Writing (UMW) group and was FNAWN co-editor for the Ora Nui Journal collaboration between First Nations Australia writers and Maori writers. Kerry conducted writing workshops nationally and internationally and her poetry and prose have been published in many journals and anthologies internationally. Yvette Henry Holt is a national multi-award-winning poet, academic, serial photographer and habitual hiker, heralding from the Yiman, Wakaman and Bidjara Nations’ of Queensland. Her poetry has been widely published, translated and anthologised in both in print and online. In 2005 Yvette was awarded the Queensland Premier’s David Unaipon Award for her manuscript, anonymous premonition (UQP), the Victorian Premier’s Literary for Indigenous Writing in 2008, Scanlon Poetry Prize NSW 2008, Kate Challis RAKA Award 2010. Samantha Falkner is the current Chairperson for US Mob Writing Group of which Kerry was a member. Samantha is a Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal woman from the Wuthuthi / Yadhaigana peoples, Cape York Peninsula and Badu and Moa Islands, Torres Strait. She is the author of Life Blong Ali Drummond: A Life in the Torres Strait, published in 2007 by Aboriginal Studies Press. She has performed at several festivals and conferences and has had poetry and prose published: locally and nationally.

Why did Mr Chicken go to Paris? Why do two blankets change the way we see the world? Why do animals give us insights into ourselves? Join our star-studded panel as illustrators Freya Blackwood, Leigh Hobbs and Alison Lester discuss the ways in which characters are created and go on to warm the hearts of children and readers worldwide. As children, the ways in which we see the world are often shaped from our favourite children’s books and characters, leaving us with a nostalgic vulnerability well into adulthood. Take the opportunity to hear about the creative process from three industry leading illustrators. Image 1. Leigh Hobbs at Drawing board, photo by Robert Littlewood

NAIDOC Week celebrations (NAIDOC originally stood for ‘National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee’) on 7-14 July are held across Australia each July to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. NAIDOC is celebrated not only in Indigenous communities, but by Australians from all walks of life. The week is a great opportunity to participate in a range of activities and to support your local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community. We were joined by Dr Lynette Riley, Aunty Diane Riley-McNaboe and Shannan Dodson for part two of our NAIDOC Week event. They discussed the struggles of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in campaigning for their rights and recognition of their cultures.

NAIDOC Week celebrations (NAIDOC originally stood for ‘National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee’) on 7-14 July are held across Australia each July to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. NAIDOC is celebrated not only in Indigenous communities, but by Australians from all walks of life. The week is a great opportunity to participate in a range of activities and to support your local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community. Join Dr Elizabeth Burrows in part 1 of this presentation as she discusses her research. Carry on to Part 2 with Shannan Dodson, Lynette Riley and Diane Riley-McNaboe for a seminar about the struggles of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in campaigning for their rights and recognition of their cultures.

Public Life, Private Man: Writing the Biography of Alfred Deakin The core challenge of political biography is to answer the question, ‘why politics?’. What inner need did it fulfil, and what emotional and psychological resources were mustered for its accomplishment? These questions are harder to answer for Alfred Deakin than for less complex political leaders. Deakin was a gifted orator and successful politician who was a father of federation and Australia’s most significant prime minister until the Second World War. Yet he was also a deeply private man, with an intense intellectual and spiritual life, who wondered often if politics was the right path for him. The 2019 Seymour Biography Lecture was delivered by emeritus professor and political historian Judith Brett, who will discussed the tensions and synergies between Deakin’s public and private lives. In 2017, Brett published The Enigmatic Mr Deakin, the final addition to her trilogy of books on the history of Australian Liberals. The first full-length study of Deakin in more than 50 years, The Enigmatic Mr Deakin went on to win the 2018 National Biography Award. Brett’s prior publications include Robert Menzies' Forgotten People, Australian Liberals and the Moral Middle Class: From Alfred Deakin to John Howard and this year’s From Secret Ballot to Democracy Sausage: How Australia Got Compulsory Voting. The Seymour Biography Lecture is supported by Dr John Seymour and Mrs Heather Seymour AO.

In this passionate and timely account, Emily Maguire charts a course through the history of Australian feminism—from the First Wave to the Fourth, from suffragists to Riot Grrrls, from equal pay to #metoo. Along the way, she pays tribute to those who’ve spoken up and taken action in the face of ridicule, dismissal and violence. This Is What a Feminist Looks Like shows us how we got to where we are today—and reminds us that some battles must be fought over and over again. Author, Emily Maguire and Zoya Patel joined us in conversation to further investigate these themes. Emily Maguire Emily Maguire is the author of five novels, including An Isolated Incident which was shortlisted for the Stella Prize, the ABIA Literary Fiction Book of the Year and the Miles Franklin Literary Award. Her 2008 non-fiction book Princesses and Pornstars: Sex, Power, Identity was a frank, personal examination of what it meant to be young and female in Australia. A Young Adult version of this book titled Your Skirt’s Too Short: Sex, Power, Choice was published in 2010. Emily works as a teacher and as a mentor to young and emerging writers and was the 2018 Writer-in-Residence at the Charles Perkins Centre at the University of Sydney. Zoya Patel Zoya Patel is a writer, editor and communications professional, based in Canberra. Her debut book, No Country Woman, a collection of memoir essays on race, identity and the diaspora is out now through Hachette Australia. In 2015, Zoya was named ACT Young Woman of the Year for her commitment to raising the profile of women’s voices in the media. She is the founder and editor of Feminartsy, an online feminist arts and literature journal, and is the former Editor-In-Chief of Lip Magazine. She has written for a number of publications, including The Canberra Times, Right Now, Junkee, Women’s Agenda, and more.

On 24 September 1989, the Canberra Raiders defeated the Balmain Tigers in the grand final of the New South Wales Rugby League Premiership. In the days following the win Canberra was flooded in a sea of green celebration. On the 30th anniversary of this memorable game, the Library’s Director of Exhibitions, Dr Guy Hansen, discussed how success on the sporting field added a new dimension to Canberra’s identity and changed how the city was seen beyond its borders.

Join us for a special event to celebrate the many achievements of Alexander von Humboldt – a polymath, geographer, naturalist and explorer, and the first person to describe the phenomenon and cause of human-induced climate change. On the 250th anniversary of his birth, the National Library of Australia will host a discussion with expert scientists to discuss von Humboldt’s impacts on the world of science and how they are still effecting leading experts today. Professor Gabrielle McMullen AM, President of the Australian Association of von Humboldt Fellows, will introduce us to the life and work of von Humboldt, before our panel discusses the impacts of his work more widely. On our panel: Dr Judith Reinhard (Head, Science and Innovation - Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Australia) Emeritus Professor Hans Bachor (Research School of Physics, Australian National University) Professor Timothy J Entwisle (Director and Chief Executive of Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria) Facilitated by Lish Fejer (ABC Radio Presenter and Science Communicator)

‘Migrant rights’ was a familiar term in the 1960s and 1970s before the introduction of a state multicultural policy. At the forefront were groups within the Italian and Greek communities that worked with trade unions to lobby for better pathways to citizenship, housing, community services and workplace conditions. Dr Alexandra Dellios will be discussing the rich community memory of migrant rights activism. Dr Alexandra Dellios is cultural historian in the Centre for Heritage and Museum Studies and is a National Library of Australia Fellow.

Curator Grace Blakeley-Carroll offers a behind-the-scenes look at the development of the exhibition Story Time: Australian Children’s Literature. Hear about how she brought together material from the National Library, the National Centre for Australian Children’s Literature and other important collections. She will also explore some of the key themes and books featured in Story Time.

R. G. Casey, the Bengal Famine and Australia-India Diplomacy R. G. Casey’s Governorship of Bengal (1944-1946) was a short wartime appointment in a province troubled by famine, the threat of invasion, and rising communalism, prior to its partition in 1947. Drawing on the diaries of Casey and his wife Maie, Associate Professor Kama Maclean will focus on Casey’s attempts to ameliorate the effects of the famine, which included working with Australian civil society organisations who lobbied to raise funds for famine relief. Kama Maclean is an Associate Professor of South Asian and World History at the University of New South Wales, author, and editor. Kama is a 2019 NLA Fellow supported by the Harold S Williams Trust.

In his stunning new book, World Heritage Sites of Australia, a tribute to nature and cultural heritage, Peter Valentine captures the majesty and panorama of Australia’s 19 world heritage sites. Don’t miss this chance to hear Peter discuss this ambitious project, with one of Australia’s most celebrated and dedicated environmentalists, former Greens’ leader Bob Brown. This new book is a celebration of the exceptional contribution Australian sites make to humanity’s collective legacy, and an entreaty to preserve them for future generations.

Anne-Louise Willoughby worked as a journalist in a career that spanned thirty years in Western Australia, first training as a newspaper cadet in the 1970s before moving to magazine publishing with Australian Consolidated Press. As a freelance journalist, she was a feature writer for Australian newspapers and contributing WA editor to Belle Magazine. Anne-Louise has worked as a lecturer and tutor in creative writing at the University of Western Australia with a particular interest in memoir and biography. About Nora Heysen: A Portrait The life of artist Nora Heysen was defined by an all-consuming drive to draw or paint. The first woman to win the Archibald Prize, and Australia’s first female painter to be appointed an official war artist, Heysen’s post-war portraiture and still lifes sustained a lifelong career. In 1989, aged 78, after years of artistic obscurity, she re-emerged on the Australian art scene, and the nation’s major art institutions restored her position as a significant Australian artist. Extensively researched, and containing artworks and photographs from the life of Nora Heysen, this story of a driven, optimistic and resilient painter is a celebration of that restoration.

Matthew is a former chef and now farmer, so uniquely placed to write about where our food comes from, and the ethics around eating meat. A hugely emotive topic, that is hitting headlines at the moment, but Matthew manages to convey all angles and sides to this complex issue with empathy, wisdom, and objectivity, while still maintaining his core message that ‘Meat eaters need to confront the reality that something dies in their name, and that they should be comfortable with the way it’s done. But that non meat eaters need to reconcile the fact that more suffering happens outside the farm gate than inside.’ Utterly compelling this is an extraordinary book and one that is sure to spark intense conversation and debate.

In this year’s Kenneth Myer lecture, Professor Peter Greste draws on his own experience of imprisonment in Egypt to examine the global political forces that have undermined press freedom both abroad and here in Australia. He considers how we got the laws that created the problem, the media’s own role in getting us there and how we might be able to fix it. Professor Peter Greste is UNESCO Chair in Journalism and Communication at the University of Queensland. He came to academia after a 30-year career as a foreign correspondent for the BBC, Reuters, CNN and Al Jazeera. He is best known for being charged with terrorism offences in Cairo while he worked for Al Jazeera. Their case became a fight for press freedom and since his release in 2015, he has become an advocate for journalists worldwide. His campaigning earned him numerous human rights awards and in 2017, with two colleagues, he established the advocacy group, the Alliance for Journalists’ Freedom. This event is generously supported by The Myer Foundation.

Librarian Margy Burn shares experiences acquiring rare and unique collections during her career at the National Library and other great Australian research collections. Margy Burn recently retired as the National Library’s Assistant Director-General, Australian Collections & Reader Services. Before joining the National Library, she held senior positions working with Australiana collections at the State Libraries of New South Wales and South Australia. Margy began working with archives and special collections at the University of Adelaide Library. Her first ‘field work’ was a series of visits to Mary Clark, the daughter of Federation advocate Sir Josiah Symon, to sort Mary’s large collection of papers documenting work in England and Australia with touring ballet and theatre companies. The octogenarian Mary told stories of nursery life in an Adelaide hills mansion; served a homemade lunch she had cooked on a wood stove, presented on ceramics made by her friend, the influential British potter Bernard Leach, while her cat Fleance prowled hopefully under the table. Margy was hooked. Since those early days, Margy is proud to have played some role in the acquisition of papers of women including P.L Travers, Eva Cox, Dale Spender, Helen Caldicott, Kay Cottee, Meryl Tankard, Dymphna Clark, Drusilla Modjeska and Anne Summers, to name a few. Margy has been involved with the Australian Women’s Archives Project since its inception nearly 20 years ago. In retirement she is enjoying having time to read many more books. In association with the Australian Women's Archives Project. Image: Margy Burn, image supplied.

Sam Lebovic will explore the transnational history of media deregulation in the age of cable and satellite television, focusing particularly on the intertwined histories of Australian, British and U.S. media politics in the 1970s and 1980s. Understanding the history of those decades, he will suggest, is the key to understanding the rise of the chaotic and fractured media landscapes of our present moment. Sam Lebovic is Associate Professor of History at George Mason University, and is a 2019 National Library of Australia Fellow, supported by the Minerals Council of Australia.

With the recent boom in family history research, many Australians are discovering that long-held family myths and mysteries can cover hidden truths about our past. Ashley will talk about her work mapping and analysing the Library’s collection of self-published family histories and examine how families use inherited secrets, stories, and memories to both reproduce and challenge silences about Australia’s colonial history. Dr Ashley Barnwell is a Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Melbourne and a 2019 National Library of Australia Fellow, supported by the Stokes Family.

Using examples of cartoons displayed in the Inked exhibition, Dr Guy Hansen will provide a short history of Australian cartooning over the last 200 years. Guy will discuss examples of satirical prints from 1780s, cartoons during colonial Australia from The Bulletin and the emergence of cartoonists as social commentator in the twentieth century. Guy will reference works from a range of cartooning superstars including Livingston Hopkins, Phil May, David Low, Stan Cross, Bruce Petty , Ron Tandberg, Michael Leunig, Geoff Pryor, Alan Moir, Cathy Wilcox and Judy Horacek.

NAIDOC Week celebrations (NAIDOC originally stood for ‘National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee’) on 7-14 July are held across Australia each July to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. NAIDOC is celebrated not only in Indigenous communities, but by Australians from all walks of life. The week is a great opportunity to participate in a range of activities and to support your local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community. Join Dr Elizabeth Burrows, Dr Lynette Riley, Aunty Diane Riley-McNaboe and Shannan Dodson as they discuss the struggles of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in campaigning for their rights and recognition of their cultures.

Join Professor Marcia Langton, Dr James Rose and Dr Len Smith as they discuss Digital Curation in the Indigenous Data Network. Based at the University of Melbourne, the Indigenous Data Network was created in 2017. Its dual purpose is to strengthen local Indigenous communities’ agency in managing their data and to strengthen policy and decision making. The Network aims to archive orphan data sources and increase visibility of existing data; work with government agencies and non-government organisations to ensure Indigenous communities’ access and ownership of data; ensure that official data collection reflect Indigenous priorities; and coordinate educational programs to ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have expertise in data science. Joint event with Digital Preservation and AIATSIS.

We have always shared our cities with nature – from magpies and remnant bushland to the fish in urban rivers. In this talk A/Prof Andrea Gaynor will illuminate the changing role of urban nature in Australian children’s experience and education from the mid-1960s to the 1990s, using oral history interviews, works and papers of environmental advocates, and evidence from children themselves. Associate Professor Andrea Gaynor is an environmental historian at The University of Western Australia, and a 2019 National Library of Australia Fellow.

Meghan Oldfield, Executive Group Manager, Light Rail City to Gungahlin, reflects on life before Canberra, family and being a woman in the rail industry. In association with the Australian Women's Archives Project.

Beginning with Poems of the Atomic Bomb by Sankichi Tōge in 1951, Japan continues to produce literary and pictorial narratives of Hiroshima and Nagasaki - preserving memories of the catastrophe so it wouldn't be repeated. Join Dr Yasuko Claremont as she explores responses to atomic bomb literature, including the work of Professor John Whittier Treat, author of Writing Ground Zero. 2019 National Library of Australia Fellowship in Japan Studies supported by the Harold S Williams Trust. Image: Poems of the Atomic Bomb by Sankichi Tōge. Cover detail by Gorō Shikoku (reproduced with permission)

Between them, Geoff Pryor and David Pope have over 50 years of cartooning experience. In this conversation, they will discuss their experiences in editorial cartooning at The Canberra Times. Facilitated by Inked: Australian Cartoons curator Dr Guy Hansen, Pryor and Pope will also turn their keen satirical eyes to politics and the changes they have seen in Australia’s newspaper industry. Geoff Pryor was the editorial cartoonist for The Canberra Times from 1978 to 2008. During his 30-year career, Pryor often drew seven cartoons each week for the newspaper. Pryor was also cartoonist for The Saturday Paper until his ‘second retirement’ in December 2018. David Pope replaced Pryor at The Canberra Times in 2008, a position he still holds. Before this, he worked as a freelance cartoonist and illustrator for many years. Image: David Pope (b.1965), How Your Weekly Cartoon Is Produced (detail) 1997. Courtesy David Pope

How might we best catalogue historical maps featuring words from both Aboriginal languages and English? What does it take to decolonise our view of historical maps? Spatial scientist and researcher from the University of Sydney, Dr Bess Moylan shares her research into how historical maps can be reviewed to give them a wider audience, and make them more useful when investigating Aboriginal cultural landscapes. Dr Moylan is the 2019 Fellow in Curatorial Research supported by the Patrons and Supporters of the Library’s Treasures Gallery Access Program.

Throughout the twentieth century, many gay Australian writers and artists left Australia—some of them would never return. Literary scholar Dr Ellen Smith explores the relationship between expatriatism and queer identity in mid-twentieth-century Australian writing through a number of case studies of writers whose decision to leave Australia can be linked to their sexuality. About Dr Ellen Smith Dr Ellen Smith is a literary scholar interested in the global contexts of Australian literature, and a lecturer in Gender Studies and Australian Literature at Deakin University. Dr Smith is the 2019 Fellow supported by the Ray Mathew and Eva Kollsman Trust for Research in Australian Literature.

Already optioned for a film, Meg Keneally's first solo novel, Fled - based on the extraordinary life of convict Mary Bryant - tells the historical adventure of the only female convict to successfully escape the colony. About the book, Fled Jenny Trelawney is no ordinary thief. Forced by poverty to live in the forest, she becomes a successful highwaywoman – until her luck runs out. Transported to Australia, Jenny must tackle new challenges and growing responsibilities. When famine hits the new colony, Jenny becomes the leader in a grand plot of escape, but is survival any more certain in a small open boat on an unknown ocean? In partnership with Echo Publishing Melbourne Australia.

Join Alasdair McGregor and Simon Nasht for a dinner discussion on the life and work of Frank Hurley, including his work in the Antarctic and his stunning visual archive of major events both at home and overseas. The National Library has re-issued the book Frank Hurley: A Photographers Life, written by McGregor, portraying the life and career of Australia's first internationally recognised photographer and highlighting the sacrifices and risks to obtain the 'perfect' photo.

On what would be art dealer and collector Rex Nan Kivell's (1898 1977) 121st birthday, Treasures curator Nat Williams will reveal new insights into the Library's collection. This lecture will discuss the collector’s life and examine some of the fascinating natural history items he collected. A Treasures Gallery Access Program, supported by the National Library Patrons. The Treasures Curator is supported by the Australian Governments Catalyst - Australian Arts and Culture Fund.

Using examples of cartoons displayed in the upcoming Inked exhibition, Exhibition Curator Dr Guy Hansen provides a short history of Australian cartooning over the last 200 years, sifting through examples of satirical prints from the 1780's, cartoons from the colonial period and the fleeting commentaries of the digital age. Dr Guy Hansen will reference works from a range of cartooning superstars including Stan Cross, Livingston Hopkins, Judy Horacek, Michael Leunig, David Low, Phil May, Alan Moir, Bruce Petty, Geoff Pryor, Ron Tandberg and Cathy Wilcox.

In her new book, You Daughters of Freedom, historian Associate Professor Clare Wright brings to life a time when Australian democracy was the standard bearer for progress and the envy of the world. In conversation with Genevieve Jacobs, Wright will tell the story of that victory—and of Australia’s role in the subsequent international struggle through the eyes of five remarkable players: the redoubtable Vida Goldstein; the flamboyant Nellie Martel; the indomitable Dora Montefiore; the daring Muriel Matters, and the artist Dora Meeson Coates, who painted the controversial Australian banner carried in the British feminist activist marches of 1908 and 1911. In association with Text Publishing Co.

The first professional woman writer in English, Aphra Behn, was a successful London playwright in the 1670s and 1680s. Professor Elaine Hobby shares how Behn's rare and precious books give insight into her life and writings.

This event will be host to author Bruce Gaunson and a lecture based on his book Fighting the Kaiserreich: Australia’s within the Great War. The book explores World War 1 and Australia’s struggle with Imperial Germany during the Great War. After some years as a teacher and academic, Bruce Gaunson became the West Europe political analyst at the Office of National Assessments (Canberra) during the Cold War’s final outcomes. His teaching career culminated in thirteen years as Head of History at Sydney Grammar School. Fighting the Kaiserreich is his third book. The Estaminet Group is an interest group initially created by Great War researchers/specialists associated with The Australian War Memorial and ADFA. It provides a forum based on lectures around the broad topic of Australia’s involvement in world wars; commencing with WW1. The Estaminet itself is affiliated with the Western Front Association in the UK – one of the largest military history organisations in Europe.

The lifelong adventurer and famous photographer Frank Hurley travelled around the Middle East and North Africa from 1941 to 1946. His official mission was to Australian service members during the desert campaign of the Second World War. The talk will focus on how Hurley was entranced by the local cultures, architecture and landscape of the middle east and will be delivered by the NLA curator, Rosalind Clarke.

Australia has always punched above its weight in the brilliance of its cartoonists. Cartoonist (and one-time Canberra resident) Judy Horacek gives her perspective on Inked, the NLA’s new cartoon exhibition – what she loves about cartoons and the cartoons she loves. She will give some insights into her own work, and how the profession has changed in the three decades she has been in it, and her musings about whether the medium will survive in this new age. Judy’s work has been published in all over the world. At different times she has had regular gigs in The Age, the Australian and the Canberra Times. She is currently published two days a week in the Age. Judy also makes children’s picture books, both on her own and with Mem Fox.

Feminist, social activist, public servant and journalist, Marie Coleman was the first woman to head an Australian national statutory authority, the National Social Welfare Commission. She has spent over 60 years campaigning against the gender pay gap and other social injustices. A founder of the National Foundation for Australian Women she was instrumental in establishing the Australian Women’s Archives Project and lobbied for the Commonwealth paid parental leave legislation. Marie has been awarded the Order of Australia, the Public Service Medal, the Centenary Medal of the Public Service Institute, and an Edna Ryan award in government. She was inducted into the Victorian Honour Roll of Women and chosen as 2011 ACT Senior Australian of the Year.

Internationally bestselling author of The Rosie Project, The Rosie Effect and The Best of Adam Sharp, Graeme Simsion in conversation with former ABC Journalist and Announcer, Alex Sloan as they launch the hilarious and thought-provoking new book, The Rosie Result. About the Rosie Result: Don and Rosie are back in Melbourne after a decade in New York, and they’re about to face their most important challenge. Their son, Hudson, is struggling at school: he’s socially awkward and not fitting in. Don’s spent a lifetime trying to fit in—so who better to teach Hudson the skills he needs? The Hudson Project will require the help of friends old and new, force Don to decide how much to guide Hudson and how much to let him be himself, and raise some important questions about his own identity. In association with Text Publishing.

Welcome to Country Paul House Ngambri-Ngunnawal Custodian National Library Welcome The Hon. Dr Brett Mason Chair, Council of the National Library of Australia Introducing the 2019 International Year of Indigenous Languages Sue Moore Secretary-General Australian National Commission for UNESCO SESSION 1: KEYNOTE ADDRESS A Voice in the Smoke Professor Kim Scott Aboriginal languages might be regarded as major denominations in the currency of identity and belonging. Professor Kim Scott will speak about his involvement in efforts to return archival Aboriginal (Noongar) language material to its home community and landscape, and to empower members of that community through control and sharing of their heritage of story and song

The United Nations has designated 2019 as the International Year of Indigenous Languages. This panel will explore why language revival is vital to the future of Indigenous communities. Chair: Dan Bourchier Panel: Professor Nicholas Evans, Professor Rawinia Higgins and Professor Jakelin Troy Closing Remarks- Dr Marie-Louise Ayres Director-General, National Library of Australia

Language records are often buried within archival collections, creating many challenges for Indigenous communities in locating and accessing them. This session studies the ways that archive keepers can improve access to their extraordinary resources. PARADISEC Digital Archive (15 mins) Professor Linda Barwick This talk reports on the Pacific and Regional Archive for Digital Sources in Endangered Cultures (PARADISEC), a collaborative digital archive for research recordings in the Asia Pacific region. Linda will show how PARADISEC makes recordings available to those recorded—and their descendants—through partnerships with local communities, and share examples of how PARADISEC’s work is used in the revitalisation of Indigenous languages. Returning Culture to Country (15 mins) Rebecca Bateman In consultation with community leaders, the National Library has been returning cultural information found in archival records to Indigenous communities. This work requires the development of new protocols and understanding. Rebecca explores what the Library has learned through its work in this space. Discovering First Nations Content in Trove (15 mins) Allison Lubransky-Moy Trove is a place to discover and engage with the many voices that make up our Australian community. In 2019, Trove will introduce a number of significant enhancements to support discovery and access to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander material and ensure the best experience in Trove for First Nations peoples. Q&A (15 mins)

European explorers generally mapped placenames from afar. Re-placing examines what happens when Indigenous knowledge and naming is put back on the map. Using Historical Maps to Identify European Recordings of Aboriginal Language in the Illawarra Region (15 mins) Dr Elizabeth Moylan Early explorers of Australia generally mapped placenames from afar while on their boats. Later, surveyors were directed to map Indigenous placenames, supporting the efficient re-establishment of locations. How placenames are recorded on historical maps reveals the level of interaction between the person recording placenames and those who lived there. Contemporary Communities and Nineteenth-century Archival Materials (15 mins) Associate Professor Helen Gardner We cannot now research colonial and settler histories about Indigenous Australians without the support of the contemporary Indigenous communities that are the descendants of those represented in archives. This presentation will focus on community interest in language and the partnerships engendered through Helen’s project on the A.W. Howitt material held principally in Victoria. The Mapping of Aboriginal Language Countries (15 mins) Dr Peter Sutton Early accounts acknowledged a close association between Indigenous Australian languages and physical landscapes, but it has taken over a century for that relationship to be deeply grasped by scholars. The mapping of landscapes in fine detail has been a key factor in furthering this understanding, building a more nuanced and complex picture of language countries. Q&A (15 mins)

SESSION 5: LANGUAGE LESSON A Lesson in Ngunawal Tyronne Bell SESSION 6: REVIVING LANGUAGES A panel discussion of language revival across Australian and Pacific communities. Participating Chair: Professor Jakelin Troy Panel: Professor Rawinia Higgins, Elaine Lomas and Dr Michael Walsh

Ginger Gorman is a fearless and multi award-winning social justice journalist. She has an innate ability to connect and communicate with some of the most interesting and marginalised people in our community and works hard to translate those untold stories into powerful and insightful journalism. In 2013, Journalist Ginger Gorman was trolled online and received scores of hateful tweets, including a death threat. Over the next five years Ginger spoke to psychologists, trolling victims, law enforcement, academics and the trolls themselves, embedding herself into their online communities and their psyches in ways she had never anticipated. Troll Hunting is an utterly compelling read and an important window into not just the mindset and motivation of trolls, but the history of this kind of aberrant behaviour. Journalist Ginger Gorman, in conversation with Channel 9's Chris Uhlmann, leads us through the mindset and motivation of online trolls, exploring what makes them tick and who they really are.

How do we use new and emerging technologies to change the way we tell stories? Panel: Mikaela Jade - Indigital CEO and Founder Mikaela Jade’s company, Indigital works to develop innovative new ways to digitise and translate knowledge and culture from remote and ancient communities. Indigital works with some of the most remote Peoples' on earth using cutting edge digital technologies, such as drones, 4D mapping software, image recognition technology and cultural law to bring the world's cultural sites alive through augmented and mixed reality. Indigital is 100% Indigenous owned and operated for-profit enterprise. Sam Doust - Latchkey, Writer and Creative Director Sam Doust is a multi-disciplined visual artist, writer and director, specialising in digital narrative design and production. Recent projects include a series of interactive documentaries on Australia's wartime record during WW1. Doust also spent over 12 years at ABC, with eight years as creative director of Strategic Development for the Innovation Division, leading projects that identify ABC as an innovator in digital content. Astrid Scott – ABC Education, Senior Producer and Strategist Astrid Scott is a Senior Producer and strategist that focuses on creating accessible, inclusive, and high-value edu-tainment experiences. For the last decade, she has worked across different areas of the ABC as a digital content producer specializing in emerging platforms and has developed award-winning interactives, animations, video content, virtual reality and more. Anthony Bastic – AGB Events, CEO and Creative Director Creator of the National Library's Beauty Rich and Rare exhibtion, Anthony Bastic from AGB Events, creative talents have brought some of the worlds most inspiring event experiences to life and storytelling that captivates and unites diverse communities. Since founding AGB Events, Anthony has conceived and produced a multitude of successful events in Australia and internationally, such as Vivid Sydney, The Australian Garden Show Sydney, the Lights of Boston, and the first two iLight Marina Bay in Singapore. Prior to establishing AGB Events, Bastic held creative positions in the events industry including the Sydney Opera House, Sydney 2000 Olympics Live Sites and more.

Award-winning author Bruce Pascoe delivers a call to care for our earth through agriculture. As detailed in his book Dark Emu, he provides compelling evidence from the diaries of early explorers which suggests that systems of food production and land management have been blatantly understated in modern retellings of early Aboriginal history, and that a new look at Australia’s past is required. Bruce Pascoe is Bunurong/Tasmanian Yuin man and an award winning author and story teller. His book Dark Emu: Black Seeds: Agriculture or Accident, a history of Aboriginal agriculture, was published by Magabala in 2014 and won both the Book of Year and the Indigenous Writers Prize (joint winner) in the 2016 NSW Premier’s Literary Awards. In 2018 Dark Emu was transformed into compelling contemporary dance performance by Bangarra Dance Theatre, touring nationally. Other books include Night Animals, Shark, Ocean, Bloke, Cape Otway, Convincing Ground, Little Red Yellow and Black Book. Bloke, Chainsaw File, Fog a Dox, and most recently Mrs Whitlam. In 2018 Bruce Pascoe was awarded the Lifetime Achievement in Literature Award by the Australia Council. ERIC ROLLS MEMORIAL LECTURE Eric Rolls was a poet, historian, environmentalist, farmer philosopher and prolific author, including a two-volume history of Chinese immigration, and his classic work A Million Wild Acres, a history of the conquest and destruction of Australia’s wilderness. Eric has been described as 'the finest historian of our natural landscape, who writes books about rabbits, forests, dingoes and turtles, yet can’t stand greenies.' He died in 2007. The Library holds the personal papers of Eric Rolls, as well as oral history recordings, photographs and publications. The Eric Rolls Lecture was established in 2010 as a bi-annual lecture, organised by the Watermark Literary Society and funded by Elaine van Kempen, the widow of Eric Rolls and executor of his estate. The lecture aims to continue the work of Eric Rolls, highlighting the work of Australia’s environmental scientists and writers. Image: Bruce Pascoe. Photo courtesy Linsey Rendell.

Dr Anne Summers AO has had an extraordinary career as a journalist, author, policy maker, bureaucrat, editor, publisher, board member and above all change agent. In conversation with Genevieve Jacobs, she will speak about her life and her new memoir Unfettered and Alive. This is the compelling story of Anne Summers' extraordinary life. Her story has her travelling around the world as she moves from job to job, in newspapers and magazines, advising prime ministers, leading feminist debates, writing memorable and influential books. Anne has not been afraid to walk away from success and to satisfy her constant restlessness by charging down new and risky paths. Whatever position she has held, she has expanded what's possible and helped us see things differently-often at high personal cost. Anne shares revealing stories about the famous and powerful people she has worked with or reported on and is refreshingly frank about her own anxieties and mistakes. She shares a heart-breaking story of family violence and tells of her ultimate reconciliation with the father who had rejected her. Unfettered and Alive is a provocative and inspiring memoir from someone who broke through so many boundaries to show what women can do. Image by Kevin McDermott

Markus Zusak, internationally best-selling author of The Book Thief, makes his long-awaited return with a profoundly heartfelt and inventive novel about a family held together by stories, and a young life caught in the current: a boy in search of greatness as a cure for a painful past. Join us for a special evening at the National Library as Markus is joined by respected journalist and presenter Caroline Baum to discuss his much-anticipated new novel Bridge of Clay. Image: Markus Zusak, courtesy Hugh Stewart

Share an afternoon tea with a difference as Lish Fejer chats with Annabel Crabb about her new book Special Guest. Co-written with Wendy Sharpe, this is a cookbook for anyone who loves hosting guests at home. The fraternal twin of Special Delivery - a cookbook for anyone who ever felt like punching a wall before their guests arrive. If you are someone who prepares for guests by sweeping bills, laundry and newspapers behind sofa cushions, take heart! It's possible to be an imperfect host, but happily so. The essential ingredient is not, paradoxically, the food, nor the perfect house to host in, but the sentiment you convey when you open the door. Do your eyes say: 'I like you and I enjoy your company,' or does a weepy cloud of visceral horror descend as pine nuts burn quietly in the kitchen? Special Guest is a gentle guide to turning easy basic fare into something of a celebration. For when you want to say to your friends with their spouses and ten small children, 'Why don't you stay for lunch?' without hating yourself afterwards. Learn the lesson of 'one splendid thing done well' without regard to the hundred other things, and call the day a success. Pick up some pointers for the modern conundrum that is cooking for people with seemingly incompatible dietary requirements. Hosting your friends is not about showing off; it is about delighting others. Your dining table might be decorated with a pile of unmatched socks and kids' homework, but that's no reason not to invite friends in for a chat, a sit-down and something delicious to eat. Annabel Crabb is one of Australia's best-loved TV and media personalities and a joyfully imperfect host. Wendy Sharpe is Annabel's oldest friend, a recipe consultant on Kitchen Cabinet and co-conspirator in mad-capped cookery projects. In association with Murdoch Books Image: Annabel Crabb. Photo courtesy Rob Palmer.

It is frequently contended that present-day working conditions and wagelessness are analogous to those experienced during the severe economic downturn of the 1930s. Using methods of historical sociology, Professor Lisa Adkins explores oral and manuscript testimonies of those who lived through the period to test the claim that the conditions of the present, and especially those associated with work, are comparable to those of the Great Depression. Professor Lisa Adkins is Head of the School of Social and Political Sciences at The University of Sydney and an Academy of Finland Distinguised Professor (2015-19). A Family Standing Outside a Tin Shack Called Wiloma during the Great Depression, New South Wales. c. 1932 (detail), nla.cat-vn6247387, courtesy Fairfax Syndication

Treasures Curator, Nat Williams will explore the European discovery and documentation of tapa or barkcloth by Cook’s associates and other navigators and how this ubiquitous material worked its way into cultural exchanges over more than a century. (In association with the Library’s In Cook’s wake: Tapa treasures from the Pacific exhibition until 3 February 2019). The Treasures Curator is supported by the Australian Government’s Catalyst – Australian Arts and Culture Fund

Canberra journalist and garden-lover Genevieve Jacobs leads a discussion with botanical artist Julia Landford, ANU anthropologist Dr Bronwen Douglas and leading botanist Dr Judy West about the context and importance of the natural history art that arose from the voyages of Captain James Cook, as well as discussing the continuing significance of natural history art in the scientific field today. Julia Landford is Director of the natural history art school, Canberra NatureArt Lab. In her twenty-year public service career with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Australia’s Aid Program, Julia was deployed to Papua New Guinea, South East Asia and the Pacific Region. The rich biodiversity of these regions was a great source of artistic inspiration and saw her establish Canberra’s first art school dedicated to artistic inspiration from nature. Dr. Bronwen Douglas is an Honorary Professor at the ANU School of Archaeology and Anthropology and was a Harold White Fellow at the Library in 2010. Her research interests include the history of the idea of race, and the history of archaeology, anthropology, and collecting in Oceania. Dr. Judy West has had an extensive botanical career and in 2003, she was awarded the Order of Australia for her services to Australian botany. Judy has dedicated her career to botany in several executive positions at the CSIRO and ANU, and is currently the Executive Director of the Australian National Botanic Gardens. Image: Moses Griffith (1747- 1819), Rainbow Lorikeet, 1772, nla.cat-6155314

In the mid-18th Century, Whitby was a booming industrial town, a centre of shipbuilding and a centre of professional maritime training, in particular in mathematics. It was entrepreneurial and aspirational - a place where there were opportunities to make careers, and in some cases considerable wealth. James Cook is sometimes described as the son of a farm labourer who learnt to sail on collier barks between Whitby and London, and then learnt cartography while serving in the Royal Navy in Canada. Sophie Forgan, (Chairman of Trustees, Captain Cook Memorial Museum, Whitby, UK) challenges this view and argues that Whitby was key to the formation of the young Cook’s skills and aptitudes. Image: Thomas Luny (1759–1837), The Bark, Earl of Pembroke, later Endeavour, Leaving Whitby harbour in 1768 c. 1790, nla.cat-vn345842

Dr Joy McCann reveals some of the secrets of the Southern Ocean, drawing from sea captains’ journals, explorers’ letters and whalers’ logs as well as her own research into the Antarctic region’s natural and cultural histories. Discover the Southern Ocean’s intriguing stories and what it can teach us about our past and our future. Joy's book Wild Sea: A History of the Southern Ocean was published by NewSouth Publishing in 2018 - she will be available to sign copies at the Bookshop after her talk.

Victor Briggs will takes us on a navigational journey via the stars, sharing the essence of the connections with both land and sea people. Image: John Cleveley (c.1745-1786), Discovery and Resolution at an Island in the Pacific, 1777, 1780's, nla.cat-vn321742

The recent re-discovery of Captain Cook’s ship HMB Endeavour, a joint project between RIMP and the Australian National Maritime Museum, made world headlines. Staff from the ANMM will discuss this discovery and the ongoing work still to be done. Image: HM Bark Endeavour model 1967–70, Australian National Maritime Museum, Sydney, 00009219

Professor Gillian Russell explores the Prance collection to explain why British Romanticist Charles Lamb was interested in Australia, and how this was repaid by devotion from Australian readers. Professor Russell is the 2018 national Library Fellow in Australian Literature, supported by the Ray Mathew and Eva Kollsman Trust.