Past Events

Notice is hereby given that the RAHS Annual General Meeting will be held on Tuesday 16 April 2019 at 6pm, at History House, 133 Macquarie Street, Sydney. Any financial member is entitled to attend and vote. A member may appoint a proxy to attend and vote in his or head stead. The proxy must be a financial member of the Society at the time of voting.

In conjunction with the Australian Society for History of Engineering and Technology The Anzac Bridge under construction In the 1980s the NSW Roads and Traffic Authority began the process of designing a new bridge to replace the low-level Glebe Island Bridge which had been in use since 1903. This bridge, one of the first to use an electric motor to open and close a swing span, connected the western part of the inner-city with Balmain, Rozelle, and suburbs further west,…

In this lecture, Dr Catie Gilchrist will talk about her recent book, Murder, Misadventure and Miserable Ends: Tales from a Colonial Coroner's Court, and discuss some of the primary sources she used to uncover life and death in colonial Sydney.

Join Beverley Sherry (Honorary Associate at the University of Sydney) as she discusses the stained glass representations of John Milton's Paradise Lost.

The focus of this session will be on how the various nineteenth and early-twentieth century criminal records available in NSW, can be used by historians and writers for research into past crimes or ones that only exist in the writer’s imagination.

Judy Birmingham is well known for her roles in the development of historical archaeology and cultural heritage management, yet she arrived at Sydney University in 1961 on the basis of her credentials as a Near Eastern and Mediterranean archaeologist. A review of contemporaneous correspondence throws fascinating light on the circumstances of her appointment and subsequent events that suggest some of the reasons for her change of career focus.

Wayne Kirkpatrick was the Managing Director of Thredbo Alpine Resort from 1984–89 when the resort hosted the 2nd Ski World Cup to ever be held in the southern hemisphere. Join Wayne for this 30th anniversary talk as he discusses the initiatives taken by key figures in securing FIS consent to hold the event at Thredbo.

From 1814 to 1914, Darlinghurst Gaol was Sydney's main prison. Corporal punishment (flogging) was common, as were regular hangings that were held over the years, including the execution of Louisa Collins – the last woman to be hanged in NSW. 

In this lecture Paul Budde will discuss smart cities and the new digital technologies that are enabling transformations in relation to the circular economy, the digital economy, mobility and liveability, etc.

Join professional photographer Russell Workman and discover what you see if you only look up once in awhile. Russell will be discussing his heritage Shoptops: the world about the awnings project in which he has photographed the facades of suburban shops circa. 1870 to 1930 in western Sydney.