Blackheath History Forum

22/06/2026

Hannah Forsyth will be hosting the launch of Rowan Cahill's excellent book this Sunday 4pm at Rosey Ravelston - come along!

Join us and the host Hannah Forsyth for the launch of this fascinating book!

21/06/2026

Mark McKenna - Writing the Shortest (and longest) History Of Australia
Sat 25th Jul 2026, 4:00 pm
Blackheath Public School

The history of Australia has been written before – but not like this.
In this talk, Mark McKenna explains the challenges and dilemmas he faced when writing his Shortest History of Australia published by Black Inc. in November 2025. From the approach and structure of the book, to decisions about content and themes, illustrations and epigraphs, including what to leave out and what might have been, Mark walks us through the short (and the long!) of Australian history.

Mark McKenna is one of Australia’s leading historians. His book, Return to Uluru (Black Inc. 2021) was shortlisted for the Prime Minister’s Prize for Australian History. From the Edge: Australia’s Lost Histories (MUP, 2016) won the NSW Premier’s Prize for Australian History. An Eye for Eternity: The life of Manning Clark (MUP 2011) won five national awards, including the Prime Minister’s Prize for Non-Fiction. He is also the author of Looking for Blackfellas’ Point (UNSW Press),which won the Book of the Year and the Douglas Stewart Prize for Non-Fiction in the 2003 NSW Premier’s Literary Awards. His latest book is The Shortest History of Australia (Black Inc. 2025)

Hall Entry: $10 Waged; $5.00 Unwaged,
Book through Humanitix or pay at the door. Eftpos and cash are accepted.
https://events.humanitix.com/mark-mckenna-writing-the-shortest-and-longest-history-of-australia/tickets

Afternoon tea from 3.30pm ($3 coffee/tea, $3 cake)

03/06/2026

Who was Abe Saffron?
Stuart Coupe will reveal all at Gardners Inn on Sun 21st Jun 2026, 4:00 pm.
Grab a drink, settle in and hear all about all the dirty deals done dirt cheap by one of Australia's most notorious crime bosses.

Abe Saffron, the original King of the Cross, built an empire through nightclubs, crooked cops, drugs, gambling and vice.His influence shaped more than fifty ...

24/05/2026

Henry Reynolds speaking to the packed audience at yesterday's Forum, telling stories of the European, Chinese, Japanese and Pacific Islander people who were vital to the settlement of the north along with the experience of First Nations peoples, from employment on stations and as native police to the land rights and homelands movements.

All copies of his latest book 'Looking from the North: Australian history from the top down' were sold out.
Our thanks to Jacinta Tobin for her welcome to Country, and to the hard-working BHF volunteers.
(image Jim Low)

19/05/2026

Henry Reynolds Tickets are still available to order online or you can purchase tickets at the door.
Note that this event is on SUNDAY 24th May, 4 pm at the Blackheath Public School.

Henry Reynolds’ ground-breaking re-examination of Australian colonisation from the north down.

29/04/2026

We are very much looking forward to hearing from one of Australia's best-known and significant historians, Professor Henry Reynolds, hot from the Sydney Writers' Festival, at our next Forum on SUNDAY 24 MAY A4-6pm @ the SCHOOL
https://events.humanitix.com/henry-reynolds-looking-from-the-north-australian-history-from-the-top-down

***yes that's right - it is on a SUNDAY but @ the SCHOOL!!!***

29/03/2026

An insightful review of Anne Curthoys’s book.

Cheer treatment • Inside Story

Paul and Eslanda Robeson fused politics and music on their acclaimed Australasian tour

29/03/2026

Ann Curthoys’s opened the BHF 2026 main series with her excellent presentation of her latest book The Last Tour, an account of Paul Robeson's 1960 tour of Australasia with his wife Eslanda. It included images of the singer's moving performance of Ol’ Man River and Joe Hill on the Sydney Opera House building site, surrounded by scaffolding and cement. She also spoke of Eslanda's role as “an independent writer, journalist, anthropologist and advocate of women’s rights.”