The Melbourne Socialite & The Turkish Diplomat

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London, 1913: A wealthy young woman from a stately country home falls in love with and secretly marries a handsome young diplomat from the Turkish Embassy. It sounds like a plot line from the hit British period drama Downton Abbey … but it is the real-life story of Melbourne socialite Florence Winter-Irving.

Free

Uncovering the Past with Sands Directories

Online

Before the internet, postal directories provided information on Melbourne’s properties, residents, businesses and streets. Sands & McDougall online directories have changed recently. Learn how to use the new interface to
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The Power of the Wind: Past, Present and Future

Magnet Gallery SC G19 Wharf Street, The District,, Docklands, VICTORIA, Australia

Organised by Melbourne Maritime Heritage Network Maritime winds have been harvested since history was first written. This event, with four outstanding presenters, outlines the past, present and future use of
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Recurring

Cataloguing Clinics 2022

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Free monthly cataloguing clinics via Zoom. The clinics run for an hour from 11am – 12noon on the 4th Thursday of each month. It is a relaxed gathering of people who are finding their way through the intricacies of cataloguing material in historical collections which, as we all know, fall between a library and a museum with sometimes a bit of art gallery thrown in.

Free

The history of voting in Victoria by Professor Marilyn Lake AO

RHSV Gallery Downstairs 239 A'Beckett St, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Professor Marilyn Lake AO, has graciously agreed to speak about the history of voting in Victoria, when women were able to vote, when voting became compulsory and the part League of Women Voters Victoria (LWVV) played. 

Heritage Excursion – Eltham Cemetery

Eltham Cemetery Metery Road, Eltham, VIC, Australia

Stories connect us to our local heritage. March is Women’s History Month. During our first excursion of the year, we will recognise the contributions of some local women to our
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Launch of Andrew Lemon’s historical novel, The Pebbled Beach at Pentecost

Edendale Farm 30 Gastons Road, Eltham, VIC, Australia

The launch of historian, Andrew Lemon's, debut historical novel. An historian finds a cache of letters home to England, spanning a dozen years. The letters are from Vernon Lee Walker, a young Englishman from industrial Wolverhampton, who meets his death on a beach on Pentecost Island in the South Pacific on the eve of Christmas 1887, to his mother. With decreasing frequency, the letters follow his trajectory, first in Melbourne and Sydney, then as he yields to the spell of the Pacific. But what happens between the lines? Does he fall in love with his brother’s wife? What does a boy not tell his mother?
The novelist steps in. This is a unique fusion of authentic history and informed invention – a tragic story of colonialism in Australia and the Pacific, told with compassion, humour and a deep understanding of time and place. 

The Plight of St Kilda’s 19th Century Servants

St Kilda Army & Navy Club 88 Acland Street, St Kilda, Victoria, Australia

In this fascinating and insightful presentation - St Kilda Historical Society's first public event of 2022 - Carmel McKenzie will examine the living conditions and power dynamics of servants in nineteenth century St Kilda, drawing on numerous case studies gleaned from primary sources. The research forms part of her soon to be published book: St Kilda 1841-1900: Movers and Shakers and Money-makers.

ADRIFT IN AN ARMCHAIR WITH ROBYN ANNEAR

RHSV, Gallery Downstairs 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

Robyn Annear has devised 7 historic walks around Melbourne and, in this event, she will be taking us on one of those 7 walks, albeit whilst we are seated comfortably at the RHSV with a glass of wine in hand. The walks showcase the hidden histories we might scurry past every day, the buildings now gone and the extraordinary characters who inhabited them. Robyn, as always, will be charming, erudite and frankly gossipy.

$10 – $20

Kew Historical Society annual McIntyre Lecture

Just Theatre, Kew Court House 188 High Street, Kew, VIC, Australia

The Society’s annual McIntyre Lecture is planned for the 9th March and will be held in the Just Theatre at the Kew Courthouse, 188 High Street, Kew. We will be
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$20