2025 Central Coast Regional Seminar Looking Outside the Square: Exploring Business and Biographical Records in Family and Local History Saturday, 29 March 2025, 10 am to 3.30 pm Gosford City Lions Community Hall, East Gosford On 29 March 2025, the RAHS and the Central Coast Family History Society will co-host a seminar for genealogists, historians, and researchers titled Looking Outside the Square: Exploring Business and Biographical Records in Family and Local History. The event will cover a...

Celebrate the RAHS Journal's Past and Future Join us for an evening event at History House on 25 February to celebrate the storied past of the Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society (JRAHS), an essential outlet for Australian History research since 1906. This event, chaired by Dr Samuel White, the Editor of JRAHS, will highlight the journal's history and provide a platform for engaging discussions with some of its past contributors. It's a unique opportunity to connect with fellow...

Join the authors of The Family History Book on Wednesday, 27 November 2024. This event is in partnership with the Society of Australian Genealogists. Do you wonder if that family legend your grandparents told was true? Or have you never known much about your family history and would like to learn more? Join authors Cassie and Shaun Gilmartin in conversation with Ruth Graham (Society of Australian Genealogists) to launch The Family History Book and discuss all things family history. The Family...

Tamar Kelly and Kate Fitzpatrick, stars of stage and screen, in conversation at History House. We are delighted to announce that the RAHS, in partnership with the Historic Houses Association, will host a special joint event at History House. Tamar Kelly will interview Kate Fitzpatrick and explore Kate’s extraordinary career that spans theatre, film, and television. Star of Australia's stage and screen, artist's muse, writer and trailblazing commentator Kate Fitzpatrick has been hailed a...

2024 RAHS Conference: Featured Session Windows into Local History: Views on Campbelltown's Past Campbelltown Catholic Club, 26-27 October 2024 Bookings are now open for the 2024 RAHS Conference in Campbelltown. Book now to save up to 15% on your tickets. Campbelltown is the ideal location to explore our conference theme, Windows into Local History. The Saturday program features local speakers who will explore Campbelltown’s heritage, the Appin Massacre and the Ingleburn Military Camp. Stephen...

Celebrate the launch of Catherine Bishop's new book at History House in September Join Catherine Bishop (author of Minding Her Own Business and Too Much Cabbage & Jesus Christ) to celebrate the launch of her new book, The World We Want: The New York Herald Tribune World Youth Forum & the Cold War Teenager. To be launched by Diane Kirkby (Professor of Law and Humanities at UTS and a Research Professor (Emeritus) in History at La Trobe) and the author (with Alice Garner) of Academic...

Learn about crafting personal narratives using various online resources at History House.

This workshop will equip participants with the knowledge and skills to delve into the rich tapestry of online resources available for uncovering life stories. By exploring interconnected platforms and databases, participants will gain the ability to piece together historical narratives and paint a picture of a person’s life. It will showcase the wealth of information available in digital format (including indexes, newspapers, government archives and genealogical websites), provide tips on search strategies, and highlight the importance of corroborating information across multiple sources to ensure accuracy.

The RAHS is proud to partner with the Professional Historians Association NSW-ACT for our first-ever NAIDOC Week seminar at Springwood. The seminar will celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ resilience and activism and appeal to anyone interested in bringing Aboriginal people to the forefront of local history and state archives collections.

Join Judith Dunn for a seminar at History House on conducting guided historical tours This workshop will cover Commentary, Timing, Dealing with Difficult Customers, Leading Tour Groups, and Tour Group Management. Members and volunteers of historical societies that operate a museum/house museum or conduct walking or bus tours are encouraged to participate. The workshop is suitable for anyone who has never guided before and as a refresher course. Event Date & Time: Wednesday, 12 June 2024 @...

Join Abi Cryerhall for an evening lecture about historical archaeology at the Parramatta Metro Site Archaeological excavations at the new Parramatta metro station site commenced in 2022 and is being undertaken in stages through to the end of 2025. Comprising almost an entire city block in the heart of the CBD, the excavations so far have revealed evidence of environmental change, significant Aboriginal archaeology including contact-period artefacts, two convict huts, multiple phases of...

A workshop with the Australian Railway Historical Society and WEA Sydney Railways are often overlooked for the significant role they played, and continue to play, in the development of NSW and Australia. Most of us have some association or connection to railways, even if it is just to get us to and from work. But did you know that since 1855, railways have shaped the economic, social, technological, industrial and political development of our society? This workshop will explore this story and...

2024 Central Coast Regional Seminar Beyond the Digital Horizon: Trove, Libraries and Archives Saturday, 2 March 2024, 10 am to 3.30 pm Gosford City Lions Community Hall, East Gosford The RAHS is pleased to share that we will be returning to Gosford in March to stage another regional seminar with the Central Coast Family History Society. Last year’s seminar was such a success, we just had to go back with a new program. The focus of the 2024 seminar will be ways to research ‘beyond the digital...

Western Sydney Regional Seminar Unveiling the Untold: Crafting Compelling Local Histories Saturday, 18 November 2023, 10 am to 3 pm Western Sydney Records Centre, 161 O'Connell St, Kingswood NSW Are you eager to dive into the fascinating world of local history research? Do you want to uncover untold stories and shed light on the past of your community? If so, join us for this seminar on researching and writing compelling local histories. In this joint seminar with the Museums of History NSW at...

Preserving Treasured Legacies: A Workshop on Gathering Family Memories This workshop will guide you through discovering, collecting, and preserving the invaluable stories and experiences of your family’s history and heritage. Our speakers will share their knowledge, techniques, and practical tips to help you embark on a fulfilling journey of preserving your family’s legacy. There will be tips on the following: Conducting meaningful interviews with your family members. Methods and mediums for...

New Members' Evening: Scandals From Our Past Wednesday, 11 October, 6.00 – 7.30 pm, online via Zoom Join us for a New Members' Evening with a difference. We will present a series of short, light-hearted talks on scandals from our past. Prepare to chuckle as we explore the quirky and amusing side of history. The Curious Case of the Amorous Dentist: A Victorian Style Melodrama Judith Dunn will present an exciting story, full of melodrama and unbelievable twists and turns. The dentist was a...

2023 RAHS Conference: Featured Session Local and Community Histories: Stories from the Riverina Wagga RSL Club, 21-22 October 2023 Bookings are open for the 2023 RAHS Conference in Wagga Wagga. Book now to save up to $15 on your tickets. In this blog post, we take a closer look at our Session B speakers, who will share local histories that will deepen our understanding of the Riverina Region. In 1865, Wagga butcher Tom Castro stepped across the threshold of his shop and into the history books....

Symposium by the Centre for Applied History Tuesday, 5 December 2023, Macquarie University Hybrid face-to-face and online event This symposium will explore intersections between Public Sport History and Community Sport. It provides an opportunity for reflection on scholarship that these topics have generated in recent years and for collaborative discussion about current projects and the state of the field today. For the purposes of the event, we are defining Public Sport History broadly as the...

ICOMOS General Assembly 2023 The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) works for the conservation and protection of cultural heritage places. The members of ICOMOS contribute to improving the preservation of heritage, the standards and the techniques for each type of cultural heritage property: buildings, historic cities, cultural landscapes and archaeological sites. Australia ICOMOS was formed in 1976 as a national committee of ICOMOS and its mission is to lead cultural...

2023 RAHS Conference: Featured Session Local and Community Histories: Voices from the Past Wagga RSL Club, 21-22 October 2023 Bookings are now open for the 2023 RAHS Conference, with discounted early bird prices available until 15 September. The conference will be held on 21–22 October at the Wagga Wagga RSL Club. In this blog post, we look at how oral histories can provide unique perspectives on the past, with our speakers in Session E discussing how to conduct and use oral histories in your...

The 2023 Lesley Muir Address Looking for ways ahead: A local response from Albury-Wodonga The 2023 Lesley Muir Address will be presented during the 2023 RAHS Conference at Wagga Wagga by Adjunct Associate Professor Bruce Pennay OAM. Participants at a conference themed The Way Ahead come with hopes of pondering the ways ahead for their work and that of their historical societies. This talk will be a picture-led analysis of how one local history society is feeling its way ahead. It is inspired...

Archives, Artists & Absences Kaurna Country, Adelaide 27 November 2023 The Performing Arts Heritage Network (PAHN) will meet and share 20-minute work-in-progress papers focusing on the intersection of history and heritage in any material, format, genre, or level of society. Proposals should also reflect some engagement with the nature of collection(s), in line with the wider ADSA Conference. We also welcome proposals for panel discussions. PAHN invites abstracts of 250 words responding to...