Professor Alistair Thomson presented September 2019’s Talking History lecture Forty Years On: The Transformations of Oral History Celebrating forty years since the creation of the Oral History Association of Australia in 1979, current President of Oral History Australia Alistair Thomson reflected on the transformations of oral history across those years, in Australia and abroad. Starting with the first interview with his grandmother in 1979, and covering both community and academic oral history, Al drew on examples from his own interviews with war veterans, migrants and in the Australian Generations project to illuminate the history of oral history and its abiding value and impact.

The History Trust of South Australia in partnership with the North Terrace Cultural Precinct Innovation Lab was pleased to host Mahendra Mahey of British Library Labs for a public talk on digital cultural heritage and the scale, complexity and diversity of digital materials collected and preserved by the British Library, the UK’s national legal deposit library. At the British Library, millions of digital items and objects are being created and collected for the world to use, such as digitised manuscripts, sheet music, newspapers, books, maps, archived websites, radio programmes, performances, TV news broadcasts, and artworks. British Library Labs Manager Mahendra Mahey will take you on a journey through some extraordinary examples of how these digital collections are being used for research, creativity, innovation, education, inspiration and enjoyment all around the world. This talk emphasises the innovative work of British Library Labs, sometimes known as ‘BL Labs’. You will hear about the global efforts of BL Labs in leading and building an international collaborative network of digital cultural heritage innovation Labs (or GLAM Labs); sharing practice, knowledge, tools and experience across borders to ensure institutions and the digital cultural heritage they hold are increasingly open and accessible for the whole world to enjoy.

Professor Angela Woollacott reflects on the challenges of researching and writing the first comprehensive biography of Don Dunstan. She suggests how much a biography has to offer, such as showing how growing up in racially-stratified colonial Fiji shaped his strong sense of racial justice, and his drive for policy and legislative reform, including prohibiting racial discrimination, and pioneering Aboriginal land rights. She shares some things that surprised her, recounts curious moments during the research, and notes the help she received from others.

This free public lecture was part of the History Trust of South Australia's Talking History series. For upcoming events visit: history.sa.gov.au/whats-on/events/

A special talk on the Epic Flight Centenary 2019, celebrating the first flight from England to Australia by South Australian brothers Sir Ross and Sir Keith Smith. Experts say that in its day the feat was as awe-inspiring as man landing on the moon. Journey back in time with journalist and writer Lainie Anderson to hear how the incredible feat was achieved.

This free public lecture was part of the History Trust of South Australia's Talking History series. For upcoming events visit: history.sa.gov.au/whats-on/events/

In 1894, South Australia granted women the dual right to vote and become elected members of parliament, thanks in no small part to the indomitable Mary Lee. Her unwavering pursuit for social justice and remarkable legacy is revealed as we follow the trajectory of her life from Ireland to Adelaide. The disappearance of Mary Lee’s journals and most of her letters, along with a dearth of recorded women’s history, kept her contribution to history hidden for more than 125 years. Undeterred, author Denise George travelled to Ireland and her painstaking examination of local records both there and in Adelaide revealed the compelling story of a woman who took on the Establishment, and won.

This free public lecture was part of the History Trust of South Australia's Talking History series. For upcoming events visit: history.sa.gov.au/whats-on/events/

Hans Heysen and Nora Heysen are Australia’s most well-known father-daughter artistic duo. Professor Speck explores how this dynamic motivated her interest in the Heysen letters to each other written from the time Nora moved to London in 1934 until Hans Heysen died in 1968. During that time Nora Heysen won the Archibald Prize, was appointed an official war artist, fell in love with a married man, Robert Black, with whom she lived with and eventually married, relocated to Sydney, and travelled extensively to the Pacific. Hans Heysen was knighted, sat on the board of the National Art Gallery of South Australia and was well connected to leading figures in the Australian art world. The letters take readers into these events, life at The Cedars and Sallie Heysen’s role there, and the art itself.

This free public lecture was part of the History Trust of South Australia's Talking History series. For upcoming events visit: history.sa.gov.au/whats-on/events/

Paul Sendziuk and Robert Foster, the authors of A History of South Australia (Cambridge University Press, 2018) discuss how they approached writing the book. How does one tell an engaging chronological story of South Australia’s past – from before European settlement to the present day – in a coherent and inclusive fashion? How does one choose what to include and what (and who) must necessarily be left out? How does the book differ from previous accounts? And, from a comparative perspective, what makes South Australian history ‘distinctive’?

This free public lecture was part of the History Trust of South Australia's Talking History series. For upcoming events visit: history.sa.gov.au/whats-on/events/

Dr Nikki Sullivan and Amy Dale presented on 20 November 2018 'Greetings From ...'

The Migration Museum exhibition 'Greetings from…' celebrates the power of souvenirs, from the poignant to the marvellously kitsch and eccentric. Souvenirs are often seen as insignificant trinkets, yet they play an important role in memory-making, how we see ourselves, and our relationships with people and places.

In this talk curators Dr Nikki Sullivan and Amy Dale speak about the treasured keepsakes that migrants have brought with them across the world, alongside familiar mementos of holidays, love tokens and artworks that turn the idea of a souvenir on its head.

This free public lecture was part of the History Trust of South Australia's Talking History series. For upcoming events visit: history.sa.gov.au/whats-on/events/

Robert Kearney and Sharon Cleary presented on 9 November 2018 'Valour and Violets, SA in the Great War'.

In 2015, the State Government established a unit within Veterans SA to coordinate commemoration of the Anzac Centenary for South Australia. One of the activities that found its way onto the to do list was production of a book about South Australia’s involvement in the Great War. Sourcing budget, a publisher, an author, and determining the books structure and contents were all part of the ambitious task. Robert Kearney and Sharon Cleary, with support from their respective in house teams at Veterans SA and the Virtual War Memorial, divided the subject material into home front and battlefront, with Robert writing the military history and Sharon compiling the history at home with support from the History Trust, and local historians and authors.

In this talk Robert and Sharon speak about how this special centenary project was conceived and achieved, and what the book reveals about South Australia’s involvement in the Great War - the people, the sacrifices they made at home and at war, and the short and long term impact it had on us all.

This free public lecture was part of the History Trust of South Australia's Talking History series. For upcoming events visit: history.sa.gov.au/whats-on/events/

Dr Julie Collins & Peter Lekkas presented on 18 September 2018 'Stories, Statistics and Sanatoria'.

Pulmonary tuberculosis was described by writer John Bunyan in 1680 as “The Captain of all these men of death”. In South Australia tuberculosis mortality peaked in the 1890s and with a growing awareness of its contagiousness the state was one of the first places to declare it a notifiable disease in 1899. As such, detailed mortality records were kept recording the fate of those diagnosed as having the disease.

The availability of historical health data has enabled a mapping of the spatial distribution across metropolitan Adelaide of cases of mortality due to pulmonary tuberculosis from 1902-7. This mapping has allowed the associations between the distribution of these cases and the historic social and urban geographies within which they arose to be explored. But is not only the statistics which speak of the situation. Some of the stories of those who suffered from the disease were uncovered, providing another layer of detail about their lives and living conditions.

In this talk Dr Julie Collins explores the interdisciplinary research concerning the urban, social and cultural histories of tuberculosis in South Australia at the turn of the twentieth century. Research which raised many questions particularly in reference to those who died from tuberculosis: Who were they? Where did they live? What were their social, urban and housing conditions? In the crusade against tuberculosis, the therapeutic benefits of place were also promoted by medical professionals and architects alike. This talk will also look at places designed for such treatment - Kalyra and Nunyara at Belair, two of the earliest sanatoria purpose-designed for the open-air treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis in Australia.

This free public lecture was part of the History Trust of South Australia's Talking History series. For upcoming events visit: history.sa.gov.au/whats-on/events/