MUSEUM TALKS
Talks are held on the 4th Thursday of the month at the Uniting Church Hall, cnr Hesse and Stokes Street , Queenscliff ..... Coffee and Tea at 10.00am for a 10.30am start .... everyone welcome .
St George the Martyr church
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Book Launch
15th October |
Black Lighthouse at the Queenscliff Fort
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Sunday 15th October "50th Anniversary Book Launch" by The Hon. Ted Baillieu (click here for details) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ {Coming Up, details will be provided closer to the date} Thursday, 23rd November "Bourke and Wills" with Barry Barton Where: Uniting Church Hall, Cnr Hesse & Stokes Sts., Queenscliff Time: 10am for 10.30am start $5 members $7 non members Includes tea and coffee _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ Past Talks in 2017 Thursday, 28th September "Alexander Skene" by Geelong Historian - Jennifer Barlow Alexander Skene became Surveyor General of Victoria from 1869 to 1886 following 14 years in Geelong where he designed several notable early buildings and carried out town planning throughout the area including Queenscliff. He was born in Aberdeen and educated at Aberdeen University before arriving as a young man in Melbourne in 1839 where he left his mark. Geelong historian Jennifer Bantow who for many years has been involved with the National Trust as a result of her interest in heritage architecture, has also been greatly interested in Alexander Skene. She will tell us the story behind this influential man and the huge input he played on the Bellarine Peninsula during his time in charge of surveying this part of Victoria. Thursday, 24th August "William Buckley" with Jim Wilson Jim Wilson is a local historian from Barwon Heads and is also something of an expert on William Buckley and will speak about his latest discoveries. Jim is always digging up new information about historic characters of interest and Will certainly fits that category. We know that in October 1803 Buckley successfully escaped from Sullivan Bay settlement near Sorrento and made his way around to Barwon Heads where he settled in with the Wathaurung people and immersed himself into their culture remaining with them for several years. He later became an interpreter and mediator between European and indigenous people. Thursday, 27th July "Our first sea pilot Captain George Tobin-1839" with Pam McGrath Pam McGrath is a local Geelong historian and descendant [by marriage] of George Tobin and is planning to write a book about this early local Queenscliff pioneer whom she has found fascinating during her research. She will tell us about this courageous ship’s master who, in search of a new career, requested permission from Governor Gipps in Sydney to commence piloting operations for shipping in Port Phillip Bay. Tobin soon began the first piloting service on the condition that it incurred no expense to the Government! Hence he became Port Phillip’s first licensed sea pilot at Shortland’s Bluff in the year 1839, and the rest as they say…is not only history, but a fascinating story! Thursday, 22nd June "Charles Cheney Simpson 1835 - 1892" with Bill Brown A fascinating character in early Queenscliff and one of Bill's favourites. He came to Queenscliff in 1859 and started a business as a druggist, an interesting term these days. As well as being the local chemist, he was a town Councillor and Mayor, land owner, a Mason , treasurer of St George’s Anglican Church and on some occasions the coroner. His personal life was even more interesting, involved in the Library and the Bowling Club he was also an avid diarist and a keen photographer. As a result he left us with a written and pictorial record of early Queenscliff. Thursday, 25th May Point Lonsdale to Queenscliff Beach: How it has changed. Local historian MARY GRUNDY will talk about the history of the beach from Point Lonsdale around to the cut at Queenscliff. Her extensive knowledge of the area and her childhood memories will make for a fascinating talk on the significant changes that have take place over time. Thursday, 27th April 50 Most Significant Items in the Queenscliffe Historical Museum Various speakers will talk about some of the special items included in the New book “Celebrating History: Items from the Queenscliffe Historical Museum Collection. Thursday, 23rd February Susan Priestley on The La Trobe Diary Farms SUSAN PRIESTLY, a practicing historian for more than half a century, former President of the Royal Historical Society and a committee member of the La Trobe Society since its inception, will be the opening speaker for Museum Talks for 2017. Her fascinating subject is THE LA TROBE DAIRY FARMS – an intriguing fragment of our local history. Don’t miss this! Thursday, 23rd March Fort Queenscliff , the inside, the outside and the Future For our Anzac Museum Talk for 2017 we have invited five guest speakers who are all qualified in their own various ways to talk to us about Fort Queenscliff from both outside, inside and the future. The speakers are: Major Robert Charles RFD, the Fort Queenscliff Museum Manager; Mr Jason McGregor, President of Fort Queenscliff Museum Association ; Alan Hunter Lt. Col. A [Ret'd], President of the QPL RSL Sub Branch; Cr Tony Francis,The Mayor of the Borough of Queenscliffe; Jessica Chappell, Executive Officer Community Engagement and Customer Services, BOQ _________________________________________________________________________ Past Talks in 2016 Thursday 24th November AGM Mr Boyce Pizzey - "Heritage Awareness and its Importance in our Borough of Queenscliffe" Thursday, 27nd October Mrs Joan Hunt - "Blood and Guts - Early Coroners' Inquests in Queenscliff - a resource for local and family history research Thursday 22th September, 2016 "Interesting Times as Police Commissioner in Canberra and Hobart" John Johnson talks about his many and varied experiences Born in 1936 in Warrnambool, where he played local football and was a member of the Lifesaving Club, local QHM member John Johnson went on to serve with the Australian Federal Police for 40 years and was highly awarded for his distinguished service. John rose through the ranks of various Australian States with the AFP to become Deputy Commissioner of Police in the ACT in 1977, and in 1978 became Deputy Commissioner of the Australian Federal Police under Sir Colin Woods. In the 1990s John became Commissioner of Police in Tasmania, retiring in 1996. During his career he led Australian delegations to meetings of the United Nations and Interpol and chaired numerous Boards of Management on National law enforcement, and for five years he was Chairman of the Board of the Australian Bureau of Criminal Intelligence. In 1979 and again in 1990 he was awarded the Queen’s Police Medal for distinguished service in the AFP and in 1997 in the Queens’s Honours List he was made an Officer of the Order of Australia [AO]. On the home front, John is a past Secretary of the QHM and served on the La Trobe Memorial Committee last year. He was for some years Chair of the Queenscliff Carnival of Words, past President of Point Lonsdale/Queenscliff Probus and is still an active member of the Point Lonsdale Bowls Club. August 25th ‘IF ONLY THESE WALLS COULD TALK – the History of Santa Casa, Queenscliff’ Speaker - Sister Nola Morrissy Seventy years after the foundation of the Sisters of Mercy in Ireland, Holy Rosary College was opened in Queenscliff. For the next 115 years, this institution, built in only three months, has been a haven for people of all ages. It has offered an atmosphere of peace and rest, both physically and spiritually, from education, to holidays for children to adult spirituality. July 28th The Significance of Fisherman’s Flat Speaker: Mrs Carmen Bell, Queenscliff When the township of Queenscliff was founded, the area now known as Fisherman’s Flat was just a mud flat which extended to the North as a spit. Today this area is historically significant, representing that part of Queenscliff which in the 1850s was specifically allocated for fishermen under the Fisheries Act. Fisherman’s Flat’s subdivision pattern differs from the rest of the township, and the precinct is clearly located as quite separate from the broader township. This demonstrates the physical and social separation that existed in the 19th Century between the fishing community and other local residents. Carmen Bell who lives on Beach Street, has been interested in this significant area since she first visited Queenscliff in the late 1980s. June 23rd "History of St. Georges and St. James in the Borough" Speaker: Dr. Carole Hamilton-Barwick Dr. Carole Hamilton-Barwick will delve into the history of these two great churches. Anglicans celebrated 150 years of parish life at St. George’s, Queenscliff in 2014, and 100 years at St. James , Point Lonsdale in 2015. A Parish History Project was established to ‘Tell the stories of Anglicans in the Borough’. What they found adds valuable layers to the history of the Borough. May 26th “Ice, Dogs and Men – Antarctic Exploration in the 1960’s” Speaker: Alistair McArthur Alistair McArthur will deliver an illustrated presentation about an Antarctic journey which started as a routine dog sledging expedition conducting a geophysical survey. This trip ended up being a survival exercise when he found himself with three other men and 27 huskies adrift on an ice floe. He will discuss personality problems, leadership issues and dealing with fear. He will also comment on various Antarctic expedition triumphs and disasters over the past 175 years. Alistair McArthur was a Base Commander for the British Antarctic Survey for two years during 1967 and 1968. He travelled over 2,500 kilometres by dog sledge completing topographical and geophysical surveys. For the past 20 years Alistair McArthur has worked in Australia as a Risk Management Consultant in the Outdoor Education sector. He also worked as a Patrol Officer in New Guinea in the early 1960’s and was a former Executive Director at the Canadian Outward Bound Wilderness School. April 28th The Socialisation of Central Australia – and Charles Sturt. Speaker: Mr Barry Barton Mr Barry Barton, former Melbourne Grammar teacher, and brother-in-law of Diana Sawyer, was a primary school teacher of Barry’s that fired his interest in following the routes of the many 18thC expeditions into Central Australia by explorers such as Captain Charles Sturt, John McDouall Stuart and of course Bourke and Wills. For over 40 years, Barry has followed these routes, driving as close as possible to the original ones taken by the explorers, whilst escorting school groups into ‘treading in the steps that the explorers trod’. A keen photographer, Barry will illustrate his talk with a collection of relevant photos taken at significant camp sites and terrain over which Charles Sturt and his party walked or rode. March 24th Local historian Maggie Stowers will talk about her recent visit to the island of Lemnos and Villiers Bretonneux in France when she ‘walked the footsteps’ of Queenscliffe’s WW1 nurse, Sister Violet Duddy. This presentation will also provide an overview of her collaborative WW1 project between the Queenscliffe Museum and the Borough’s primary schools during the Centenary year of WW1. February 25th In conjunction with the imminent installation of the La Trobe Bust in the Queenscliffe Museum’s forecourt, historian Dr. Dianne Reilly AM will speak about Governor La Trobe and historic Queenscliff – Charles Joseph La Trobe, Superintendent of the Port Phillip District of NSW from 1839, and Lieutenant-Governor of the Colony of Victoria after Separation in 1851, visited the Bellarine Peninsular frequently from February 1840 until his departure in 1854. Dianne will particularly talk about La Trobe’s significant contribution to the development of Victoria and as the ‘Founding Father’ of Queenscliff. Previous Year's Talks
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