History Trust of South Australia

It is often said that ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’ - but what can South Australian art tell us when we use it as a portal to peer into the past? Join us at this Talking History where our four panellists share their surprising and intimate insights into South Australia’s past through art.

Tickets: https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1223836?

Chair: Dr Kiera Lindsey, South Australia’s History Advocate
Speakers: Dr Susan Marsden, Jenny Molloy (University of Adelaide), Karen Briggs (KLB Creative), Dr Mark Staniforth (National Trust).

Date: 13 August 2024
Time: 5:45pm for a 6:00pm start
Location: Denise Bradley Forum, H 5-02, UniSA City West Campus, Hawke Building, 55 North Terrace, Adelaide, 5000

The Talking History program is delivered in partnership with the University of South Australia.

Today's National NAIDOC Week post is all about the man on our fifty dollar note, David Unaipon.

Born in 1872 at the Point McLeay Mission in South Australia, David Unaipon grew to become one of the most well-known First Nations people in Australia. David was an author, inventor, evangelical preacher and political activist whose achievements were groundbreaking and helped First Nation's people begin to break free of harmful stereotypes. It is said that when tourists visited Point McLeay, Unaipon often demonstrated his prototype ‘perpetual motion machine’, lectured on Aboriginal astronomy, botany and bushcraft, and called for donations. The press hailed him, perhaps ironically, as ‘the Blak Leonardo’.

Read all about David Unaipon's life here: https://sahistoryhub.history.sa.gov.au/people/david-unaipon

Image: Photographic portrait of David Unaipon, 1938. Courtesy of the State Library of South Australia, SLSA, B 7326.

In celebration of NAIDOC Week 2024, we are launching our new First Nations exhibition at the South Australian Maritime Museum called 'Yuki (bark canoe): Sharing Ngarrindjeri culture'.

Find out more: https://maritime.history.sa.gov.au/events/yuki-bark-canoe-sharing-ngarrindjeri-culture/
Open from tomorrow, 11 July.

The Ngarrindjeri were skilled canoe makers and a yuki was used for travel, fishing, hunting, and to meet up for ceremonial gatherings along the Murray River and Lower Lakes regions of South Australia. This exhibition is a beautiful multimedia, immersive display which helps the SA Maritime Museum tell important stories of South Australia’s waterways and embed First Nations culture in the Museum’s narrative.

The project was supported by the Department of the Premier and Cabinet through Arts South Australia. ForestrySA supported the cutting of the yuki at Kuitpo Forest, Kaurna Country. Filming and motion capture was supported by The Void, Flinders University.

This National NAIDOC Week, we'd like to honour some of the great South Australian First Nations leaders from our past. Each year we hold an oration in the name of Kaurna Ngadjuri woman, Aunty Gladys Elphick MBE.

Born in 1904, Gladys grew up on Point Pearce Aboriginal Reserve. In 1939 she moved to Adelaide. Elphick joined the Aborigines Advancement League in the 1940s, and in the mid-1960s was a founding president of the Council of Aboriginal Women of South Australia. She was involved in the establishment of the Aboriginal Community Centre, the Aboriginal Medical Service, and the College of Aboriginal Education. Among the many honours bestowed on her were Member of the British Empire (1971) and South Australian Aborigine of the Year (1984). 'Aunty Glad' is remembered as a warm, shrewd woman with a mischievous sense of humour.

Read more about Glady's incredible life and achievements here: https://sahistoryhub.history.sa.gov.au/people/gladys-elphick-mbe

Image: Gladys Elphick, c. 1941. Courtesy of Lewis O'Brien.

Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud and Proud. 🖤💛❤💚🤍💙 It's National NAIDOC Week; a time to celebrate and recognise the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

This year's theme celebrates the unyielding spirit of our First Nations communities and invites all to stand in solidarity, amplifying the voices that have long been silenced. Find out more via the NAIDOC website: https://www.naidoc.org.au/about/naidoc-theme

Naidoc South Australia

EOFY is almost here so it's your last chance (this financial year) to give a tax-deductible donation and help save the original bus from the iconic film 'The Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert'!

Donate here: https://shoutforgood.com/fundraisers/savethequeen

The 1974 Hino Freighter bus (Priscilla) was discovered in a dilapidated state on a rural property in the New South Wales Northern Rivers region. Priscilla had been left to the elements for 16 years and was exposed to bushfires in late 2019/early 2020. Miraculously Priscilla avoided extensive fire damage. She was meant to survive.

The fundraising efforts for the Priscilla project will go towards a museum-grade heritage restoration of the bus, curatorial interpretation of its story, and the development of a fabulous immersive exhibition experience at the National Motor Museum. Donate today!

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As part of Pride Month, Debbie and Joe from Bold Media Films analysed and celebrated 'The Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert' and welcomed it's 30th Anniversary to boot. Head on over to their YouTube channel to hear them chat about the film and it's impact on LGBTQIA+ culture! 🌈

Donate to 'Save The Queen': https://shoutforgood.com/fundraisers/savethequeen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Xg7sJY0Jyk&t=1522s

Priscilla, Queen of the Desert: A Timeless LGBTQ+ Film "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" kicks off our LGBTQ+ classic cinema for the month of June! Join Debbie and Joe as they analyze and celebra...

We are excited to be part of ‘Step Outside the Classroom’ in Term 3 – a free online professional learning series for educators that highlights the Outreach Education program. 📚🧑‍🏫

Open to all educators, the 8-part series will run online and includes professional learning from key South Australian cultural institutions.

Register for one, two or all 8 sessions to discover some fantastic education opportunities.

The History Trust of South Australia will be presenting about how we can support you to teach South Australian focused history in the classroom.

Learn more and register today 👉 https://forms.office.com/r/HxdYj40Cze

🏳️‍🌈 This Pride Month, why not delve deeper into South Australian q***r histories? 🏳️‍🌈

The State History Collection is home to many significant LGBTQI+ stories. Q***r lives are built around objects – they are one of the ways in which we can trace a history of q***r celebration, activism, innovation, representation, and communication.

These stickers were printed at Flinders University for the International Women’s Day celebrations in 1993. They represent the intersection between women’s and q***r activism at this time.

🌈 Explore more stories on our collections website: https://collections.history.sa.gov.au/nodes/view/45

📷 Stickers, HT 2019.0906 a-c

This Refugee Week we celebrate the diverse stories of refugee people and reflect on the hardships and resilience faced by refugee communities.

Visit the Migration Museum during the week to follow a Refugee Week trail to hear stories about refugee migrants in South Australia.

Can’t make it in person? Follow the Migration Museum online as they share objects relating to this years theme – Finding Freedom: Family.

Many items in the State History Collection tell refugee stories. Today we feature the art of Audrey Brumby, a Pitjantjatjara woman and artist from Anangu language group, who painted this artwork as part of an event held for Refugee Week in 2019. For the event, Justice for Refugees SA asked participants to reflect on our shared humanity.

For her artwork Brumby represented Australia in the colours of the Aboriginal flag against a black background. Across the painting, clusters of symbols of people and lines of dots represent the migration journeys of refugees from around the world travelling to Australia.

Image: Refugee Week painting, Audrey Brumby artist, 2019, State History Collection, HT 2020.0082
Photograph by Stephen Dean

Learn more about Refugee Week at the official website: https://www.refugeeweek.org.au/

The Migration Museum is open 10am - 5pm every day of the year, except Christmas Day. Discover more about the Migration Museum on our website: https://migration.history.sa.gov.au/

The South Australian History Fund is an annual grant program offered by The History Trust of South Australia for projects, research or publications that contribute to the knowledge, understanding and sharing of South Australia’s rich history. This year applications open on Monday, 1 July.

The SAHF provides up to $5,000 to communities, organisations and individuals to undertake:

- Community focused projects that help to explore, interpret or preserve aspects of South Australian history, making it accessible to local and global audiences.
- Publication of both academic histories and popular forms of historical writing and presentation - including digital and online platforms.
- Research by established and emerging historians that makes a significant contribution to the body of knowledge about, or understanding of, South Australian history.

Applications close on Saturday 7th August 2024. Further information: https://www.history.sa.gov.au/grants/

Television shows like ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ - coupled with booming online databases - confirm that family history is a popular and powerful approach to diving deeper into who we are.

In this Talking History we hear how four family historians navigated the challenges of researching writing their family stories before exploring what these families can reveal about South Australia today.

Tickets: https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1223829?

Chair: Dr Kiera Lindsey, South Australia’s History Advocate
Speakers: Prof. Marian Quartly (Monash University), Alan Atkinson, Judith Francis, Rose Rawady.

Date: 11 July 2024
Time: 5:45pm for a 6:00pm start
Location: Denise Bradley Forum, H 5-02, UniSA City West Campus, Hawke Building, 55 North Terrace, Adelaide, 5000

The Talking History program is delivered in partnership with the University of South Australia.

Thank you to the Capri Theatre for supporting the Save The Queen fundraising campaign! If you have no Friday night plans, be sure to attend the screening of 'The Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert'. 🌈

Donate to Save The Queen: https://shoutforgood.com/fundraisers/savethequeen

The Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert (30th Anniversary screening) It’s been 30 years since the ‘budget Barbie camper’ was christened ‘Priscilla!’ We will celebrate with local superstars Vonni (who’s hot off the stage from performing in the live production of the …

Vale Jennifer Cashmore.

Jennifer Cashmore AM was the third woman to be elected to the South Australian House of Assembly, and South Australia’s first female Minister of Health in the 1979 Tonkin Government. For 12 of the almost 17 years in which Jennifer Cashmore served in our state’s House of Assembly she was the only woman representative of her party. She campaigned on environmental issues and became known for her work to develop legislation and practices regarding compassionate care for the dying.

A trailblazing South Australian woman and politician, the History Trust today remembers Jennifer Cashmore for her reform of South Australia’s palliative care laws.

Today we take our right to consent to medical treatment at end of life as a given, but it was Jennifer Cashmore’s tireless efforts that secured us these patient rights. As a parliamentarian, Ms Cashmore was the critical figure of her times in cementing the transformative principle of patient consent to medical treatment that has shaped our modern societal responses. Her work from the opposition benches brought together all sides of politics to support major changes that culminated in the 1995 Consent to Medical Treatment and Palliative Care Act. This became the foundation of our contemporary law on informed consent, advance care directives, medical powers of attorney, and palliative care.

It was this legacy that, in 2021, prompted the History Trust to establish the Jennifer Cashmore Oration, exploring historical and contemporary perspectives of South Australian health and society.

Trustees, CEO and teams of the History Trust of SA are saddened by the passing of the Hon Jennifer Cashmore AM and offer our sincere condolences to her family and friends.

📷 Jennifer Cashmore with her book (October 1991), Photographer: Messenger Press, State Library of South Australia, B 72636/31

This Wednesday Adelaide celebrates a big anniversary... can you guess what it is from this mystery object? 🎸

Keep an eye on our socials over the coming days to find out more 👀

📷 Photography by Stephen Dean.

Talking History returns in 2024 with a renewed focus on the South Australian story. Each of the four panel sessions will explore a curious and complex topic from multiple perspectives, with each panellist sharing new research and fresh insight into our past.

The Talking History program is delivered in partnership with the University of South Australia.

Read the full program online now at history.sa.gov.au/talking-history/

A message from the Minister for Education, Training and Skills.

As part of the 2024-25 State Budget, the Malinauskas Government has today announced it will fund $6.3 million in heritage conservation works required at the Migration Museum on Kintore Avenue - a much-loved museum of the History Trust of South Australia.

The Migration Museum opened in 1986 and occupies the heritage listed former Women’s Wing of the Destitute Asylum and State Chemistry Department buildings. Since its opening significant changes to building codes – and the passage of time - mean that some substantial structural repairs are needed to allow the Museum to continue as one of our quality educational institutions for future generations of South Australians.

I am delighted to see these critical works funded and look forward to a brighter future for the Migration Museum. I congratulate the History Trust of South Australia on its continuing commitment to the preservation and presentation of our state’s unique stories.

All the best,
Blair Boyer MP

18 December 2024 marks 130-years since the Constitutional Amendment (Adult Suffrage) Bill granting women the right to vote and stand for parliament was passed in South Australian Parliament. In the first of four Talking History panels, we reflect upon this important 130-year anniversary by celebrating the life of Mary Lee, the Irish woman pivotal to the passing of this legislation, as well as other more infamous South Australian Irish women who challenged power in less orthodox ways.

Tickets: https://www.history.sa.gov.au/events/sas-irish-women-the-powerless-powerful/

Chair: Dr Kiera Lindsey, South Australia’s History Advocate
Speakers: Dr Susan Arthure (Flinders University), Dr Stephanie James (Flinders University), Dr Denise George (University of Adelaide).

Date: 18 June 2024
Time: 5:45pm for a 6:00pm start

Image: Portrait of Mary Lee, No. B 70647, Courtesy State Library of South Australia

Happy Pride Month! 🏳️‍🌈

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27 May – 3 June marks National Reconciliation Week.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have a history that extends millennia into the past. The History Trust of South Australia acknowledges that Aboriginal land and sovereignty were not recognised and that building a shared understanding of history is critical to reconciliation.

The first National Reconciliation Week was held in 1996. The dates remain the same annually to mark two important moments in reconciliation history – the successful 1967 referendum, and the High Court Mabo decision in 1992 respectively.

Want to know more about South Australia’s reconciliation journey? Follow along with the Centre of Democracy throughout the week as they look into the key moments of this shared history.

What once was a vibrant dressing room on wheels for Bernadette, Felicia and Mitzi, is now an empty shell. 🪞👗👠 All that remains is the original carpet.

If you'd like to, someday soon, take a look inside the renewed Priscilla bus, donate to the restoration project via: shoutforgood.com/fundraisers/savethequeen

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It's National Volunteer Week! 🎉

We want to give a big shoutout to the volunteers that support the work we do across the History Trust. Our 'vollies' contribute their time and their unique skills in various ways, including collections assistance and digitisation, vessel and vehicle support, and occasionally the make-over of a giant high heel shoe...

This year we also want to highlight the wonderful work of Stephen Dean, who was nominated for the Joy Noble Medal at last night's 2024 SA Volunteer Awards ceremony. Stephen has been a volunteer with us since 2019 and takes many of the photos that you see across our online spaces, averaging over 1000 photos each year! We thank Stephen for his outstanding contribution to sharing and preserving South Australian history.

📷 Stephen Dean at the South Australian Volunteer Awards

Are you ready to be part of something special? At the History Trust of South Australia, we are looking for a Senior Curator who wants to help give the past a future – now! If you're someone who takes pride in your work and is eager to join a team that values every member, this opportunity is for you. Let’s work together to make a lasting impact in our community.

The Senior Curator, Community Engagement, is accountable to the Manager, Curatorial for contributing to the planning, research and development of projects and programs with a specific focus on community engagement, that engage, inform and inspire our visitors.

Apply via iWorkforSA: https://iworkfor.sa.gov.au/page.php?pageID=160&windowUID=0&AdvertID=783293