David Thompson will take you behind the scenes of our current exhibition, Melbourne's Storied Laneways which David curated. The exhibition was prompted by the upcoming publication of  The Story of
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Join Jillian Hiscock, the RHSV Collections Manager, each month in this informative and easy-going Zoom forum on all aspects of cataloguing collections for historical societies. In 2024's first Cataloguing Clinic for the year, Jillian will talk about collection management, what you keep or don’t keep, when you catalogue material as an archive or a collection and any issues around the actual collection. Jillian has a different topic each month and is happy to be guided by those who attend as to what they would like covered in upcoming clinics. Bring your questions (no matter the topic) - this is an interactive space where questions are encouraged. The RHSV does not endorse any particular cataloguing software - we believe it is horses for courses - and Jillian will talk about issues that impact on cataloguing whether you are using cataloguing cards or software.

The National Archives of Australia (NAA) and RHSV are proud to co-present this event with eminent historian, Professor Graeme Davison. Professor Davison, in response to the NAA's current exhibition, Reception this way: motels – a sentimental journey with Tim Ross | naa.gov.au , will discuss the motel which was the most popular of a suite of American-inspired innovations that transformed Australia’s towns and suburbs in the 1950s and 60s: the drive-in cinema, the service station, the drive-in bottle shop and hotel, the carport and the drive-in shopping centre. In his book, The Australian Ugliness, architect Robin Boyd decried the excesses of what he dubbed ‘Austerica’ but also hoped to civilise the form. Meanwhile ordinary Australians simply enjoyed the new possibilities of travel, leisure and convenience that the car and the drive-in world offered.

Please join us for the launch of this re-imagined second edition of Weston Bate's history
THE STORY OF MELBOURNE'S LANES: Essential but Unplanned
Weston Bate, Richard Broome, Nicole Davis, Andrew May, Helen Stitt

David Thompson will take you behind the scenes of our current exhibition, Melbourne's Storied Laneways which David curated. The exhibition was prompted by the upcoming publication of  The Story of
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Jackie Watts will deliver an informal presentation on her short paper, entitled: “Capturing the past to inform the future”, and a discussion on issues arising from the 2024 International Congress on Maritime Museums conference. Worldwide, it seems that, regardless of assets, infrastructure or funding, many museums are dealing with emerging issues and struggling for relevance. The 2024 Conference of the ICMM, held in Netherlands and Belgium, has just ended and Jackie Watts, inaugural Chair of the Melbourne Maritime Heritage Network Board, was a speaker at the conference, delivering  the above paper.

We are delighted to host this conversation between author Jane Sullivan and historian/author Dr Andrew Lemon to mark the publication of Jane's book, Murder in Punch Lane. Inspired by real events and people, Murder in Punch Lane is a dark and gripping crime novel that maps the sins and secrets of nineteenth-century Melbourne. Jane Sullivan is an author and literary journalist who loves books and has always written about them.