Registration - rooms will be available and the common room facilites with coffee and tea is available for your BYO lunch.

Welcome by President Gloria Carlos and seminar coordinators Dr Richard Reid and Cheryl Mongan

2.15pm

'Saddles, suits of armour, Venus de Milo and potato forks' - finding iconic objects.

In major museums, and perhaps in all museums, visitors expect to see rare or significant objects which tell big stories. For national exhibitions curators scour the country, and sometimes countries overseas, to bring audiences the very best available from public and private collections. This presentation highlights some of the objects which the National Museum of Australia is hoping to bring to Canberra for a major temporary exhibition in 2011.

Dr Richard Reid, a graduate of Trinity College, Dublin, has been appointed to curate a major exhibition and publication on the Irish in Australia for the National Museum of Australia in Canberra. Previously he was the Senior Historian, Commemorations Branch, Department of Veterans' Affairs and regularly leads tours to Ireland and World War One battlefields. Richard gained a Ph.D. from the ANU on the topic of Irish emigration to Australia in the period 1848-1870 and has written and lectured widely in the areas of the Australian experience of war and matters Irish-Australian. He co-organises several annual historical, genealogical and cultural events at St Clement's.

Afternoon Tea

3.45pm

Objects of our affections

Seminar participants are invited to bring an item or document that has a special significance to them, their family or their local community. It is a great talking point!

Free time

Dinner

7.30pm

Monte Scott: Toast of the town

An artwork in the collection of St Clement's at Galong is a link to strands of Australian history that have been generally overlooked in the telling of the Galong story. Is the artwork a faithful depiction of a historical event or has artistic licence been given free rein? Research into the background of the artwork, the artist and the circumstances of its creation provide a greater understanding of the social, political and religious connections of an early pioneering family.

Cheryl Mongan has been involved in heritage organisations, advisory committees and as a frequent speaker at seminars, conferences and workshops for many years. She has been involved in the writing and editing of number of historical publications and has curated several historical exhibitions. For a number of years Cheryl was a Project Officer with the History Unit of the Department of Veterans' Affairs. Her long involvement on a number of levels with St Clement's Retreat & Conference Centre led to her appointment as the manager of the centre in September 2009. Cheryl is currently a Vice President of the Yass and District Historical Society.

8.15pm

The Letter: Australians on the Klondyke

Hundreds of Australians and New Zealanders were among the thousands who responded in 1898 to the call of the Klondike, the last of the great gold rushes that began with California and Australia.  They wrote of their adventures  - joys and disappointments – in letters home, often printed in local newspapers to be shared by the wider community.  Drawing on just a handful of these accounts, The Letter offers a true record of experiences common to many.

Dr Robin McLachlan is a Canadian expatriate, who has lived in the Bathurst district since 1976. Now retired from a long and undistinguished teaching career at Charles Sturt University in 2002, he believes the most important part of the definition of History lies in the last five letters of the word itself - s t o r y. His own story telling includes work as the researcher, co-author and producer of several history themed plays, including (with Bob Ellis) A Local Man, and, more recently, as the co-producer (with Ronin Films) of the film, The Chifleys of Busby Street. He is also the author of a National Trust web story for children, Ida's Quest. 'The Letter' was produced as part of  Diggers on the Klondike, an international project researching and presenting through film, public presentations and publications the story of Australians and New Zealander who took part in the Klondike Gold Rush of 1897-99.

Saturday 27 March

8.45am

Keynote address

The Rocks and Beyond: Settling NSW

When the First Fleet arrived in 1788 almost 1000 people camped along four rocky ridges that were to become known as The Rocks. Over the following months many moved out as the settlement grew in the valley of the Tank Stream. Subsequent arrivals also established themselves in The Rocks. In the 1820s and 1830s younger members of these families struck out from the settlement in the footsteps of the explorers and surveyors to pioneer new settlements in places such as Goulburn, Yass, Canberra, and further afield to what became the colonies of Queensland, Victoria and New Zealand. Focusing on recent archaeological work in The Rocks, examining the remains of convict and other early settler’s lives, this talk will trace some of these families’ movements over the following decades as they helped to “open up” the continent and lay the foundations of white settlement outside Sydney and the Cumberland Plain.

Dr Wayne Johnson is the Curator of The Rocks Discovery Museum and the senior archaeologist at the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority; the NSW State Government body which owns and manages much of the Sydney foreshore. The Authority's Heritage & Design division is responsible for the adaptive reuse of significant heritage sites such as The Rocks, and the research and promotion of its history. In 2008 Wayne co-authored the book A History of Sydney's Darling Harbour which examines the industrial development of Sydney's major port facility from 1810-1970; its demise and rebirth as part of the 1988 Australian Bicentenary celebrations, and more recently the efforts to interpret its industrial history.

9.45am

The Ladies of the Elizabeth 1828: 'the worst and most turbulent'.

If you like a good mystery story full of intrigue, sex and murder then research your family history. The story of this ship and the ladies fits the bill perfectly. The stories of the voyage of the Elizabeth in 1828, the riot at the Female Convict Depot, and other ensuing events, provide an interesting glimpse of a society at that time. On the surface it would appear that most of the ladies had committed petty crimes and received very harsh sentences, which begs the question, were they deliberately chosen for transportation? Most were young, single or widowed and a good number had relatives in the Colony. The women challenged many of the attitudes and customs of the time as they endeavoured to survive with their families.

Suzanne Voytas claims she is your ordinary garden type family historian who has been researching her family and that of friends for over 30 years. She is totally obsessed with and possessed by her addiction and has a diploma from the Society of Australian Genealogists in Family Historical Studies. As a result of her family history research, she discovered the stories of the female convict ship Elizabeth1828. One of her female convict ancestors, Eliza O’Brien was a passenger and together with her ship mates they left behind some very interesting and poignant stories. Suzanne was president of the Blue Mountains Family History Society Inc for 5 years, and held other positions such as Secretary and Treasurer at various times.

Morning tea

11.00am

The Officer's Quarters: Eaglehawk Neck, Tasmania.

The innovative (and effective) strategy of securing Port Arthur and the other penal settlements on the Tasman Peninsula by installing a line of chained dogs across the narrow alluvial isthmus of Eaglehawk Neck still evokes powerful images from Australia’s convict past. Today, Port Arthur remains one of the most popular visitor destinations in Tasmania, where the significant masonry buildings set in what is now a parkland environment, give us pause to reflect on this part of our nation’s history.  What is less well known is that while crossing Eaglehawk Neck travellers often pass unnoticed a humble timber building that predates much of Port Arthur, a residence that remained occupied from 1832 to 1992 and arguably Australia’s longest continuously occupied home.

Ian Skinner worked as a freelance graphic designer in Tasmania with a particular focus on natural and cultural heritage projects from 1987 to 1998. The Officers Quarters on Eaglehawk Neck, and the Coffee Palace Museum on Maria Island are two cultural heritage installations he produced for the Tasmania government. Both interpret convict and later European history. Ian currently works as a public servant in Canberra.

11.45am

'A little piece of my heart': The National Museum of Australia's convict love token collection.

A small worn penny, engraved with the simple words ‘When this you see remember me when I am far from thee’ evokes a highly emotive image of separation and loss, a desperate need not to be forgotten. These words fixed upon Thomas Lock’s convict token are a tangible and poignant link between transportees and those left behind. Thomas Lock was 22 years old when he was sentenced to 10 years transportation in 1845 for highway robbery and finally received his conditional pardon 2 February 1858 -five years after transportation to VDL had ended. But what happened to Thomas after this date is unknown at this stage. Thomas Lock’s convict love token was one of three acquired by the National Museum of Australia in 2006 and is among some three hundred tokens in the collection.

Rebecca Nason is a curator at the National Museum of Australia specializing in early colonial and convict history.  Her experience at the Museum has seen her develop exhibits for both the new permanent Australian Journeys and Creating Country galleries.  She is currently working on the new temporary exhibition on the Irish in Australia.  Rebecca is a Master of Arts (History) student at the Australian National University; her current interest is in convict history.

Lunch

2.00pm

Exhibiting history: How local and family histories become part of the national story at the National Museum of Australia.

As a social history museum the National Museum of Australia has the task to collect historical material relating to Australian cultural and social life and its history pre and post European settlement. Since its inception in the 1980s curators at the Museum have strived to not only tell capital 'H' history but reveal stories of the lives of everyday people and their experiences through exhibiting objects relating to individual's experiences of Australian life. Curators rely on family historians researching their family's story, local historical societies preserving material culture from their region and private collectors to enable them to illustrate the everyday for the museum going public. This paper will examine Museum exhibitions as case studies where local histories were displayed beside national stories.

Cinnamon van Reyk has been a social history curator at the National Museum of Australia since 2002. During this time she has worked on several temporary and permanent exhibitions as well as being heavily involved in acquisitions and collection policy work. The range of projects she has worked on have covered subjects such as Anzac Pilgrims, carved emu eggs, netball, bushrangers and the history of Western collecting. She is currently completing a Masters of Philosophy at the Australian National University in cultural studies on Sri Lankan Australian contemporary artists and has a background in cultural heritage studies, art history and cultural anthropology.

2.45pm

Illuminating the blind spots ...unexpected history.

How do we know what happened two thousand years ago and what sorts of cultural filters is data strained though before it gets to us?  How sure are you about what happened in your own life 20, 30 or 50 years ago and just where are these recollections fixed and accessible?   How do subsequent cultures select and adapt and then pass stories on as truthful, genuine or authentic representations of the past?  How do we understand Australia’s convict history and what have we been taught to believe?  Is there such a thing as an ‘average convict life’?  This paper will try to make sense of the life and career of Edward “Ned” Ryan of Galong House.  Was Ned ‘average’ or ‘characteristic’ convict or an aberration and how was his posthumous reputation built?

Dr Jeff Brownrigg holds a D Phil from the University of York, UK, approached via a B Phil in Medieval Studies and an M Phil. in Music. For twenty years he held senior positions at the National Film and Sound Archive, producing and publishing numerous historic re-releases of Australian heritage film and sound materials. He was one of the Commonwealth Heads of Conservation for several years.Past publications includes books about Australian sectarianism and singing as represented in the life and career of soprano Amy Castles and the Irish in Australia. Currently he lectures at the Donald Horne Institute for Cultural Heritage University of Canberra, where he is an Adjunct Professor.

Afternoon tea and free time to explore the environs of St Clement's and the historic cemetery.

Pre-dinner drinks on the verandah

Dinner in Galong House

Our evening will reflect the days when Galong was well 'beyond the limits of location' with an Early Colonial dinner in Galong House to celebrate our country's earliest European settlers.

Prof Jeff Brownrigg will be joined by well known folk duo Chloë and Jason Roweth.

The Roweths have been performing and recording together for over 16 years. They share a passion for Australian folklore and bush music, getting great satisfaction out of bringing almost forgotten songs back to life again. In November 2002, Chloë and Jason won the 'Best Folk Artist' category of the national MusicOz Awards with their song Songs of the Bush. Their music has featured on the ABC's Australia All Over and been included on compilations such as ABC's Highwire, Macca By Request volumes 1 & 2 and the Folk Alliance of Australia's, Musical Traditions in Australia. They have performed their particular style of music in every imaginable venue throughout Australia and in England, France, The Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, South Africa and China. They also perform with the groups Collector & Wongawilli.

Sunday 28 March

Please note that times, titles and speakers could vary due to unforeseen circumstances.

The brochure, registration form and travel directions are available as pdf files.

Further details of the venue, accommodation and surroundings at St Clement's Retreat and Conference Centre, Galong are available on our venue page.

Pre-seminar information will be forwarded to all participants upon receipt of full payment.

To register for this event

Please complete the registration form and forward with a cheques made payable to Yass & District Historical Society Inc to

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This page last updated: 6 April 2010