History Council NSW

12/06/2026

Here's a lovely event if you're in Radelaide or you can tune in anywhere via Zoom.

Reflections on being a social justice historian: connecting kin, locating the lost and advocating for change. Presented by Karen George
LOCATION: Adelaide University, Napier Building, Lecture Theatre G03.
DATE: Thursday, 16 July
TIME: 6 pm (Adelaide, Darwin), 6.30 pm (Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane), 4 pm (Perth)
HOST: Professional Historians Association (SA)
COST: $5

This year's Wilson History Oration will also be broadcast via Zoom at no charge. The Zoom link will be provided two days prior to the presentation.

https://phavic.wildapricot.org/event-6726318?fbclid=IwRlRTSASXW_lleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEeDzxc5dNYUWM12XOz8EDnAv0XOa53w9h4nIQaZ7muzawtLZk25ahYJwQ9F7Q_aem_y3gMZQRNFVVOZu8yB_5IaQ

This year's Wilson History Oration will also be broadcast via Zoom at no charge. The Zoom link will be provided two days prior to the presentation.

11/06/2026

📢 DON’T MISS OUT! APPLICATIONS CLOSE IN 2 WEEKS!

Applications close in two weeks for the NSW Government’s Community War Memorials Fund.

Grants of up to $15,000 are available for the conservation of local war memorials, including specialist heritage advice, physical work and works to war memorial precincts.

The Fund is open to local councils and community organisations, including memorial trusts, veteran groups and crown land managers.

⏰ Applications close 25 June 2026 at 11pm.

For further info and to apply 👉 www.veterans.nsw.gov.au/cwmf

11/06/2026

RAHS Special Lecture – Playtime: A History of Australian Childhood

We are pleased to welcome Emily Gallagher to History House and online for the RAHS Special Lecture on 17 June 2026 at 1:00 pm.

Emily Gallagher’s presentation will explore children’s play and imaginative lives in the half-century before the Second World War.

This lecture will discuss some of the creative and surprising ways that young people navigated their changing world. It is a story about young dreamers and aspiring journalists, old schoolrooms and backyard cubbies, war and modernity, and the enduring power of the imagination to defy the routine and powerlessness of everyday life.

📅 Wednesday, 17 June 2026, at 1:00 pm.
📍 History House, 133 Macquarie St, Sydney, and online for remote viewers.
🎟 Free. All welcome! Booking recommended.
👉 https://www.rahs.org.au/shop/tickets-playtime/

11/06/2026

We are excited to announce that the 2026 Annual History Lecture will be given by none other than Richard Neville, the Mitchell Librarian The State Library of New South Wales
Stay tuned for venue news and ticket sale info.

And while we can't wait to hear Richard's address we'd like to remember the fabulous 2025 Annual History Lecture given by Dr Margaret Cook titled, "Thinking through rivers: an historical perspective on attitudes towards water in Australia".
It's available to listen to now in our podcast series and includes a Q&A with Dr Amanda Wells
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hcnsw-annual-history-lecture-2025-dr-margaret-cook/id1674476464?i=1000768681693

Photo of Richard celebrating 86-year-old Sarah Cobcroft, whose portrait was painted in 1856 by convict artist Joseph Backler.

09/06/2026

Catch up on the latest news, events, opportunities, and much more in the History Council of NSW June newsletter. Out now! https://mailchi.mp/historycouncilnsw/all-the-latest-news-events-and-opportunities-from-our-members-and-friends-6748782

09/06/2026

Oral History NSW provides grants and awards to help members take part in professional development opportunities, such as national and international conferences.
Awards and Grants include the Community History Award, NSW Conference Grant, Regional Engagement Grant, and the International Conference Grant.
for more information see https://buff.ly/hmcxAyr

04/06/2026

Join in celebrating International Archives Day on 9 June with a webinar that will uncover how official records were created, kept and carefully (and sometimes not so carefully) stored in 19th–century NSW.

From the pleas of public servants for more desk space, to intricate architectural plans detailing shelving, pigeonholes and presses, this talk will examine how records and the work of their keepers was organised and explore the material world of those ‘charged with the arrangement and care of Records’.

For more information and to register see Museums of History NSW

31/05/2026

Classic!

28/05/2026

National Reconciliation Week 2026 27 May - 3 June.
"All In makes clear that reconciliation is not a spectator sport and that all of us must step away from the sidelines and take action to make change.
The theme also reminds us that reconciliation and advancing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ rights isn’t a passive activity, and it is not solely the responsibility of First Nations people, who have carried the weight of championing, explaining and acting for far too long.
Reconciliation will not happen by itself, and it will not happen without all of us."
NSW Reconciliation
For more information and to find Reconciliation Week events across NSW see