Well Built: Simmie & Co Master Builders 1924 – 1978
RHSV Gallery Downstairs 239 A'Beckett St, Melbourne, Victoria, AustraliaSimmie & Co was a prominent building company in Melbourne (1924-1978) and in Canberra (1926-1969). In Melbourne the company was highly successful and built many iconic buildings, churches, monasteries, schools, housing, factories, defence works, the Shrine forecourt (1939-45), offices and theatres including some heritage-listed constructions (one designed by Robin Boyd). The founders were three Victorian brothers, all born in the last decade of the nineteenth century and all worked at the Sunshine Harvester factory before World War One – William, Jock & George. All were World War One veterans (two were Gallipoli veterans). All were wounded and survived. Two were closely involved with the Master Builders Association in Melbourne. Discover their story of a pioneering building company of the early to mid-twentieth century, of World War One veterans, of courage and a willingness to take a risk, of the beginning of the capital city of Australia and the workers, the unsung heroes, who made it all happen.
Balwyn Historical Society: Professor Richard Broome speaking on “The Making of Melbourne 1835 – 1890”
Balwyn Evergreen Centre 45 Talbot Ave, Balwyn, VIC, AustraliaThis presentation is about the rise of a modern metropolis of the times before its fall in the 1890s. Professor Broome will also discuss the creation of the book, ‘Remembering Melbourne’. Richard Broome is Emeritus Professor of Australian History at La Trobe University and President of the Royal Historical Society of Victoria. He is the author of sixteen books, including Aboriginal Australians (5th edition 2019). His most recent book is As Cedars Grow (2023) with David Brown, a Lebanese Australian migration story.
Jessie Webb Society Morning Tea
RHSV Gallery Downstairs 239 A'Beckett St, Melbourne, Victoria, AustraliaAt this Jessie Webb Society event, we are delighted that Richard Simmie has agreed to talk to our members about his passion for history and philanthropy.
Richard is the grandson of Jock Simmie, one of the founders of Simmie & Co in the 1920s. Simmie & Co were builders responsible for many of the buildings we know and love in Melbourne and Canberra. The RHSV is currently hosting a wonderful exhibition about Simmie & Co and their legacy. At the launch Richard spoke very movingly about his growing understanding of the importance of recording stories and history and how this led him to preserve his own family's history but also, through philanthropy, to create scholarships in perpetuity which honour his grandfather's life's work.
CATALOGUING CLINICS 2023
ZOOM Join from anywhere in the worldJoin Jillian Hiscock, the RHSV Collections Manager, each month is this informative and easy-going Zoom forum on all aspects of cataloguing collections for historical societies. Jillian has a different topic
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Labassa Women: at war
Labassa 2 Manor Grove, Caulfield North, Victoria, AustraliaLabassa’s women lived through two world wars and the social upheaval of the Vietnam War. Take a walk through time and experience some of their stories as told through imagery,
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La Trobe’s Cottage Samplers
La Trobe's Cottage cnr Birdwood Avenue and Dallas Brooks Drive, Melbourne, Victoria, AustraliaDr Catherine Gay will enlighten us on how the samplers on display at La Trobe’s Cottage reflect the importance placed on the development of home-making skills in the education of young ladies during the 1840s and 1850s. You are invited to bring along a family sampler for us all to see. As it is La Trobe's Birthday celebration sparkling wine and cake will be served in the Cottage garden.
MARKETING FORUMS
ZOOM Join from anywhere in the worldChristina Browning, the RHSV Marketing Officer, leads these forums which each month tackle a different aspect of marketing for historical societies - they tend to concentrate on social media as
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Flos Greig, Australia’s first woman lawyer with Iola Mathews
When Grata Flos Matilda Greig walked into her first law school class at the University of Melbourne in 1897, it was illegal for women to become lawyers. But though the legal system did not even recognise her as a person, she won the right to practice and helped thousands of other women access justice. In defying the law, Greig literally changed its face. The first woman to be admitted to legal practice in Australia, Greig was at the vanguard of 'the graceful incoming of a revolution' as described by then Chief Justice Sir John Madden, as he presided over the ceremony granting her admission to the Victorian bar in August 1905 (The Advertiser, 1905). Remarkable, courageous, adventurous, involved and articulate, Flos Greig stands as an important trail-blazer for Australian women.
An evening with the author of The Simonsens of St Kilda
The Channel, Arts Centre Melbourne St Kilda Road Terrace, Melbourne, VIC, AustraliaAn event presented by Theatre Heritage Australia in association with Arts Centre Melbourne, is bound to be of interest to St Kilda history buffs. Roger Neill is a UK-based arts historian.
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Connecting With Boeing’s Australian Heritage
RAAF Association 24-36 Camberwell Rd, Hawthorn, VIC, AustraliaSpeaker: Annie Flodin Boeing Historical Services is responsible for preserving and promoting Boeing history. The team oversees the Boeing Archives and supports a number of teams and individuals both within
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