Royal Australian Historical Society

The 2026 Transport Heritage Grants are now open!

Apply for financial support to assist with projects that preserve and engage the public with NSW transport heritage.

Categories for applications include:
- Restoration, reconstruction or preservation
- Exhibition, interpretation, education or publication
- Study, consultation, report or review
- Audience development, accessibility, and inclusion.

The Transport Heritage Grants Program is a NSW Government funded program, administered by the RAHS and is supported by Transport Heritage NSW.

The program supports projects that assist the NSW community rediscover the culture, the events and the people that shaped transport in NSW, as well as support the restoration and conservation of, and access to, our valuable heritage assets (including buildings, rolling stock, vehicles, museum objects and collections).

👉 Read the guidelines, deadlines, and access the application form: https://www.rahs.org.au/transport-heritage-grants-program/

✉️ Email [email protected] if you have any questions.

📅 Applications close 5 pm, 31 July 2026.

Information Session:
An opportunity to learn more about the program, and ask questions about an application, will be held on Tuesday, 30 June 2026, 12:30 – 1:30 pm.

Please register your interest for this webinar on this form: https://tinyurl.com/4ap4e63n

2026 Transport Heritage Grants 2026 Transport Heritage Grants - Royal Australian Historical Society

The June 2026 issue of the RAHS Journal is out now.

Members can download the journal from the RAHS website.

Read the abstracts: https://www.rahs.org.au/member-content/rahs-subscriptions-journals-vol-112-pt-1-june-2026-abstracts/

Congratulations to May Gibbs' Nutcote for the publication of their book, Nutcote: Home of May Gibbs.

The book explores the life and home of May Gibbs, beloved children's author and illustrator, best known for Snugglepot & Cuddlepie.

This project was supported by the Create NSW Cultural Grants Program (now known as the Local History Grants), a devolved funding program administered by the RAHS on behalf of the NSW Government.

New book is now available!

Nutcote: Home of May Gibbs – a beautiful new book exploring the life and home of Australia’s beloved children’s author and illustrator.

Nutcote Trust, who run the museum, produced this 100-page full-colour publication to celebrate the centenary of Nutcote. The book was written by author Fiona Starr who worked closely with the Nutcote Trust and archival collection. It’s a very personal story of May Gibbs, as it is told largely through May’s own words and those of her husband and friends.

The book is not only a biography, but also a guided tour of her estate. It tells the story of May Gibb’s life and the legacy of the house where she lived and worked for over forty years.

Order online for shipping Australia wide. All proceeds from the Nutcote shop go back into keeping the museum open to the public to help us continue to share the story of May Gibbs' life and work to future generations. Purchase your copy now!



sydney

2026 Central Coast Regional Seminar - From Classrooms to Courtrooms: Exploring NSW State Archives

The RAHS and Central Coast Family History Society present a full-day seminar for historians, researchers, and genealogists, covering a range of resources essential to local and family history.

The seminar will feature presentations on:

• The Registers of Assignments and Other Legal Instruments (Old Register)
• Click to Connect: NSW Archives on Ancestry
• Education Records in the State Archives
• Unlocking Local Stories: Small Debts Courts

📅 Saturday, 4 July @ 10:00 am to 3:30 pm.
📍 Gosford Lions Community Hall, 3/8 Russell Drysdale St, East Gosford NSW 2250
👉 Download the program and book your tickets on our website: https://www.rahs.org.au/shop/tickets-central-coast-seminar-2026/

Bookings essential for catering purposes.

📷 View of Point Frederick and Mann Street South from President’s Hill, Gosford, 1924 (Courtesy of Central Coast Council)

RAHS Special Lecture – Playtime: A History of Australian Childhood

We are pleased to welcome Emily Gallagher to History House and online for the RAHS Special Lecture on 17 June 2026 at 1:00 pm.

Emily Gallagher’s presentation will explore children’s play and imaginative lives in the half-century before the Second World War.

This lecture will discuss some of the creative and surprising ways that young people navigated their changing world. It is a story about young dreamers and aspiring journalists, old schoolrooms and backyard cubbies, war and modernity, and the enduring power of the imagination to defy the routine and powerlessness of everyday life.

📅 Wednesday, 17 June 2026, at 1:00 pm.
📍 History House, 133 Macquarie St, Sydney, and online for remote viewers.
🎟 Free. All welcome! Booking recommended.
👉 https://www.rahs.org.au/shop/tickets-playtime/

The Mosman Historical Society presents:
Waltzing Mathilde by Rosalie Horner

Mosman Historical Society member Rosalie Horner Rosalie will tell the true story behind her well received historical novel, 'Waltzing Mathilde: Letters to a Little Girl'.

📅 Wednesday, 10 June at 7:00 pm. Please arrive promptly.
📍 Mosman Library, 605 Military Rd, Mosman NSW 2088.
🎟 Members Free | Visitors $5 donation.
🎫 RSVP: Email David Carment at [email protected] by 8 June 2026.

Waltzing Mathilde Waltzing Mathilde - Royal Australian Historical Society

Maritime mayhem in early Botany Bay

A little-known chapter of Australia’s past is that the convict settlement at Port Jackson became the first British port in the Pacific. Following his 2025 lecture at the Library, maritime historian Chris Maxworthy returns to expand on his research.

From Sydney Cove, early whalers, privateers and adventurers launched daring voyages against Spain’s colonies in Mexico, Peru and Chile. During the turmoil of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic wars, Britain authorised private ships to strike at its enemies under the longstanding process of marque and reprisals.

Join Chris Maxworthy as he explores the colony’s earliest years and shows how voyages in search of whales and precious metals proved the strategic value of a British base in the Southwest Pacific. In just ten years, Sydney Cove grew into a bold and influential outpost.

Chris will also recount the first naval battle involving former residents of the colony who fought against Spanish warships on the Pacific coast of South America. One highlight is the remarkable 1801 capture of the Spanish warship Limeño near modern day Ecuador—achieved by thirty former convicts and a motley crew of English whalemen.

📅 Thursday, 11 June 2026 @ 6:00 - 7:00 pm.
📍 NLA, in-person and online.
🎟 Free entry, but registration is essential.

Maritime mayhem in early Botany Bay | National Library of Australia (NLA) A little-known chapter of Australia’s past is that the convict settlement at Port Jackson became the first British port in the Pacific. Following his 2025 lecture at the Library, maritime historian Chris Maxworthy returns to expand on his research.

A life in Archives: Honouring the legacy of Dr Peter Orlovich

Organised by the National Archives of Australia and presented by the Australian Society of Archivists, 'A Life in Archives' recognises the outstanding career and contributions of Dr Peter Orlovich, a pioneering figure in Australian archival education and practice.

The event will be held at the National Archives of Australia in Canberra, with options to attend either in person or online.

Dr Orlovich established Australia’s first graduate training course for archivists at the University of New South Wales and made significant contributions to archival training, community archives, and local history throughout his career.

Attendees are invited to share stories and reflections on Dr Orlovich’s lasting impact on archives, research, and professional practice across Australia.

The event will be held at the National Archives of Australia in Canberra, with options to attend either in person or online.

There is an in person limit of 40 people. Up to 400 online participants can be accommodated.

Registration is via Eventbrite. A link to join the online version of this event will be sent to registered attendees 1 hour before the event commences.

PLEASE NOTE that in person registrations (for catering reasons) close at 5pm on 2 June. Online registrations close at 5pm on 8 June.

A life in Archives: Honouring the legacy of Dr Peter Orlovich Information Awareness Week unites industry practitioners across the globe. Notably, this event welcomes all professionals, irrespective of their association memberships, fostering a truly inclusive environment.

Historical Implications of the Life of Sir Gerard Brennan

We are pleased to welcome Jeff FitzGerald to History House, and online, for the RAHS Day Lecture on 3 June 2026, at 1:00 pm.

Jeff FitzGerald’s presentation will be on the subject of his biography, High Court Justice Sir Gerard Brennan.

The talk focuses on three landmark cases: the Mabo judgment, which rewrote the nation’s relationship with its own past; Marion’s case, in which Brennan enunciated a compelling and profound legal approach to the protection of the dignity of people with disabilities; and the Constitution’s implied protection of political communication – a doctrine that continues to shape Australian public life.

📅 Wednesday, 3 June 2026, at 1:00 pm.
📍 History House, 133 Macquarie St, Sydney, and online for remote viewers.
🎟 Free. All welcome! Bookings recommended.

RAHS Day Lecture – Historical Implications of the Life of Sir Gerard Brennan RAHS Day Lecture – Historical Implications of the Life of Sir Gerard Brennan - Royal Australian Historical Society