While Bennelong is a name well known – the truth of the man is still misunderstood by many.In her presentation, Professor Kate Fullagar aims to explore the truth of his history by presenting neglected evidence about his latter life. She will also compare the work of Bennelong to that of some of his contemporary First Nations negotiators in other pa…

Learn the extraordinary story of the Picturesque Atlas of Australasia and its impact on the Australian art-world between 1885 and 1900.At this event you'll hear from Dr Gary Werskey, co-curator of the Library's current exhibition A Nation Imagined: The Artists of the Picturesque Atlas, who will explore why a group of American artists and entreprene…

Dr Andrew Levidis explores the transnational network of bureaucrats, soldiers and propagandists, who served the Japanese and Manchukuo empires and their role in shaping right-wing and socialist politics in Cold War East Asia. It rethinks the transitions from empire to Cold War beyond the binaries of superpower conflict and national experience of de…

What do you expect when graduating with a science degree? To disarm militia in war-torn Mogadishu? To search out Iraq’s elusive weapons of mass destruction? Do you wonder what a spy does? Join former Australian intelligence officer and author Rod Barton in conversation with ABC journalist and author Michael Brissenden, as Rod discusses his new memo…

“For generations my family wanted to conceal their Aboriginal roots. Our darker complexions, I was told, harkened back to Spanish sailor shipwrecked near Scotland, or invading Moors…The lie was only a few generations back, but it took me almost twenty years to uncover”. Dr Judith Crispin, the 2020 Honorary National Library Creative Arts Fellow for …

The colonial heritage of Norfolk Island is little known to most Australians. 2020 NLA Fellow, Alisa Bunbury’s recent research comprises a careful and structured examination of visual imagery created during the various stages of its settlement during the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. These images show the difficulties of contact and comm…

Trisha Dixon is joined in conversation by Fleur Flanery, Philip Cox and Max Bourke to discuss the enigma of 'spirit of place' and it's place in the world of landscape design. The panel discussion was facilitated by Alex SloanBy National Library of Australia

Over 400,000 men enlisted in the Australian Imperial Forces to fight in World War I. Nearly one in every five of them was never to return. As every strata of society searched for meaning amidst such cataclysmic loss, many turned to Spiritualism — a fringe religion built on the belief that “death is not a cessation of life but a mere change in condi…

Jack Waterford AM delivers the 2021 Canberra Day Oration, Canberra: Part of the Nation's Capital, presented by the Canberra & District Historical Society.From its foundation in 1953, the Canberra & District Historical Society has promoted the annual observance of Canberra Day on 12 March. In the years that follwed, the Society celebrated Canberra D…

2021 Creative Arts Fellow for Australian Writing, Dr Jordie Albiston, discusses her research process at the National Library for her new poetry project ‘Frank’. ‘Frank’ comprises of poems based on the diaries of James Francis Hurley from two Antarctic expeditions (under Mawson, and then Shackleton) and his subsequent picture-show tour. Approximatel…

Learning Webinar 2021 AudioBy National Library of Australia

NLA Fellow, Dr André Brett uses the development of railway networks to interrogate the strong and enduring linkages between economic growth and environmental change.By National Library of Australia

Inspired by the folk traditions and the unique socio-cultural identity of his home in the Northern Rivers, 2020 National Folk Fellow, musician Luke Byrnes, has been investigating the musical heritage and folklore of the region – searching the National Library’s oral history and folklore archives to find songs, yarns, tunes, poetry, dance, craft and…

‘Just one scribbled note from Marcie Muir led us to this amazing discovery … If we hadn’t had that serendipitous moment where Belinda [Murrell] was discovering in one book that Charlotte [Waring Atkinson] had written more than one published work, and then I almost simultaneously found this note, we would never have put the two things together and m…

In Conversation with Michelle Grattan 2020: The Year That Changed UsBy National Library of Australia

Monday 16 November 2020 — the Anniversary of the apology to the 'Forgotten Australians' and Former Child Migrants—join The Australian National University Lecturer and author of Goodna Girls, Adele Chynoweth, and National Library of Australia Director of Indigenous Engagement, Marcus Hughes, as they reflect on the lives and stories of the women of G…

Kate Forsyth and Belinda Murrell are the sisters behind the latest NLA Publishing title, ‘Searching for Charlotte’.Join the bestselling authors as they discuss the process of writing a book and what ‘Searching for Charlotte’ means to them in part one of this two-part author talk.By National Library of Australia

On the anniversary of Walter Burley Griffin’s 1913 appointment as Federal Capital Director of Design and Construction, join Peter Graves and Liz Lea for an online talk connecting the Griffins’ design of Canberra, with Indigenous dance, and traditional Indian dance.By National Library of Australia

Join Peter Freeman and Dr Rachael Coghlan as they explore the lives of early Canberra architects Malcolm Moir and Heather Sutherland – their work, their impact on the developing city, the times in which they lived, and the legacy that remains.Peter Freeman is an author and Conservation Architect. His new book, 'THOROUGHLY MODERN: Moir + Sutherland …

Join National Library Exhibition Curator Dr Grace Blakeley-Carroll, and Director of Exhibitions Dr Guy Hansen, for an online tour of our latest exhibition, Birds of Paradise: Ellis Rowan in New Guinea.Best known for her striking wildflower paintings, Ellis Rowan also had an interest in birds and produced a stunning collection of New Guinea's Birds …

Stalin's Wine Cellar is billed as 'the Raiders of the Lost Ark of wine'.Join authors John Baker and Nick Place, in conversation with Genevieve Jacobs, and uncover the search for a cellar full of wine believed to be that of former Georgian revolutionary and Ruler of the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin.By National Library of Australia

Did you know the National Library has a board games collection?Not only do we have hundreds of board games dating as far back as the 1700s, the National Library is also home to the world's LARGEST board game, 'World in Flames'–we have the Guinness Book of World Records certificate to prove it!Join board game enthusiasts Stuart Baines and Aaron Mine…

Australia is home to breath-taking landscapes, as rugged as they are beautiful. Some are driven to explore these places on foot, some from the air, but this book tells the story of the courageous men and women who explored this beautiful country on two wheels.Grab your helmet and join long-time cycling enthusiast Daniel Oakman alongside National Li…

Join father and daughter, and Gamilaroi and Dunghutti people, Rod and marlee.silva (Co-Founder of Tiddas 4 Tiddas) as they share their hopes for the future of Indigenous Australia with reference to their own experiences, stories and dreams.Marlee and Rod explore the importance of truth-telling in fostering cultural understanding and the cultural sh…

“The more we are taking care of nature, the more we are taking care of ourselves.”Last summer’s bushfires left Australia profoundly changed. Lives and homes were lost; almost 13 million hectares of bush was incinerated. Food and fuel systems broke down, and city-dwellers choked on toxic smoke. From this tumult and devastation, what new vision will …

Join author of The Catch: The Story of Fishing in Australia and avid fisher, Anna Clark, and senior lecturer at Macquarie University, Dr Leigh Boucher as they discuss the role of fishing throughout Australian history, from indigenous innovations and practices through to fishing for sport and recreation today.…

From traditional print news to social media, television to blogs—modern media operates in a complex and hyper-connected environment, and it plays a huge part in our lives every single day. Michelle Lipkin and Gavin Sundwall examine the many ways—positive and negative—that media consumption and digital citizenship affect our lives, and discuss how w…

Join us as we celebrate the release of internationally bestselling author Kate Grenville’s first novel in nearly a decade - A Room Made of Leaves.In this special online event, Kate Grenville appears in conversation with award winning historian, author, broadcaster and public commentator Professor Clare Wright OAM.This event is delivered in partners…

What is the Australian dream, and does it mean the same thing to us all?Join us as cross-cultural consultant and author Tasneem Chopra OAM leads a thought-provoking discussion between writer and appearance activist Carly Findlay OAM, founder of YARN Australia Warren Roberts, and writer, gender equality and mental health advocate Tarang Chawla, on w…

First woman to head an Australian state or territory government, and first ACT Chief Minister, Rosemary Follett AO, has had a diverse career in both politics and the public service. Following the dismissal of the Whitlam government, Rosemary became President of the ACT ALP. Her negotiation skills proved of great use during the transition to ACT sel…

We often don’t realise we’re living through a major historical moment until the time has passed. The pandemic we find ourselves in now is one such historical moment. Dr Chris Wallace and Professor Frank Bongiorno AM talk about why it’s so important to document everyday life during irregular times. Learn about what you can do now to help the histori…

Are you still a liar?From its first icy scenes in the Arctic Circle, Felicity Volk’s new novel tells an epic story of a compulsive, unconventional love that spans decades and crosses continents.Desire Lines sets its exploration of truth and lies against society’s uneasy relationship with its own truth-telling in history, war and politics. Canberra’…

Join Paul Sharrad as he explores some of the delights found while researching Thomas Keneally's papers, including the forgotten highlights from his career. Paul will explore the conditions under which writers in the 1960’s and 1970’s worked to survive, and how writers fit within the drive to create a national culture. How does a writer attempting t…

Join Chet Van Duzer, Cartographic Historian and Board member of the Lazarus Project at the University of Rochester, as he explores the early modern belief that there had to be a substantial landmass in the south to counterbalance the continents in the north.This hypothetical landmass was depicted on many maps beginning from c.1508, when such a cont…

The need for a grand narrative in the life and obsessive collecting of Rex Nan Kivell is telling. His collecting stories, invented or elaborated, are engaging and, when examined, often untrue.Without doubt however, was the significance of the items he collected and frequently ‘boosted’ through imaginative tall tales. Examining key acquisitions made…

Join Professor Lyndall Ryan, AM FAHA, from the University of Newcastle, as she discusses her continuing work on documenting the frontier massacres across colonial Australia. Her project includes mapping these sites, to create a historically accurate record of the Frontier Wars (1788-1930).By National Library of Australia

Join two world-class writers and old friends, Garth Nix and Felicity Packard as they discuss their childhood and University years growing up in Canberra, to their most recent venture together, working on a pilot adapted from Garth’s Old Kingdom books for Amazon Studios.Having sold more than five million books around the world, you will often see Ga…

Join award-winning author Helen Ennis as she shares her experience with Alex Sloan about writing the moving and powerful biography of modernist photographer, Olive Cotton.Olive Cotton was a significant artist and pioneer whose talent was recognised as equal to her first husband's, Max Dupain. Olive and Max could have been Australia's answer to Frid…

Anyone who has a book collection and a garden wants for nothing.” – CiceroBibliophile Rex Nan Kivell agreed with Cicero. He spent his life collecting rare books now generously shared with Australians through the Library, and he gardened at his a mansion El Farah, in Tangier.Hear about some of the exceptional books and printed items acquired by one …

Join us as Morris Gleitzman outlines why young people need stories now more than ever. Stories to delight, stories to beguile, stories to inspire, stories to move deeply. And through these experiences, stories that equip young readers to embrace an often dark and uncertain world with optimism, resolve and creativity.Stories have always been at the …

Think about the children’s books that you see on the selves of Australian bookstores. How many of these books provide insight into non-Western cultures? How many are translations? Multicultural books are important because they can provide windows into other cultures and introduce readers to new ideas. They can also help readers from under-represent…

In conversation with writer Chris Hammer, internationally best-selling crime writer Michael Connelly brings to life - once again - Harry Bosch and LAPD Detective Renee Ballard in the impalpable case of The Night Fire. In association with Allen & Unwin.By National Library of Australia

Burbang is the Wiradjuri word for Ceremony. In a ceremony, the ritual repeats unchanged, however, the participant arrives each time with greater wisdom and hierarchical standing and can 'peel back' the significance of the ceremony's embedded knowledge. Independent choreographer and dancer, Joel Bray, will share his research into traditional Indigen…

We are despised, yet we grow. We are tortured and crucified and yet we flourish. We are hated and still we multiply. Why is that? You must wonder, how is it we survive?'Christos Tsiolkas' stunning new novel Damascus is a work of soaring ambition and achievement, of immense power and epic scope, taking as its subject nothing less than events surroun…

Dr Laura Millar, independent consultant and scholar in records, archives, and information management, discussed her new publication A Matter of Facts: the Value of Evidence in an Information Age.The safeguarding of authentic facts is essential, especially in this disruptive Orwellian age, where digital technologies have opened the door to a post-tr…

Kerry Reed-Gilbert, Wiradjuri woman, writer, artist and activist, passed away on July 2019 shortly before her memoir and final piece of writing was published.Fellow writers and activists, Yvette Holt and Samantha Falkner, joined us to pay their respects to Aunty Kerry. Reflecting on and celebrating her life and writing, they spoke to Kerry’s latest…

Why did Mr Chicken go to Paris? Why do two blankets change the way we see the world? Why do animals give us insights into ourselves? Join our star-studded panel as illustrators Freya Blackwood, Leigh Hobbs and Alison Lester discuss the ways in which characters are created and go on to warm the hearts of children and readers worldwide. As children, …

NAIDOC Week celebrations (NAIDOC originally stood for ‘National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee’) on 7-14 July are held across Australia each July to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.NAIDOC is celebrated not only in Indigenous communities, but by Australians from all …

NAIDOC Week celebrations (NAIDOC originally stood for ‘National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee’) on 7-14 July are held across Australia each July to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. NAIDOC is celebrated not only in Indigenous communities, but by Australians from all…

Public Life, Private Man: Writing the Biography of Alfred Deakin The core challenge of political biography is to answer the question, ‘why politics?’. What inner need did it fulfil, and what emotional and psychological resources were mustered for its accomplishment?These questions are harder to answer for Alfred Deakin than for less complex politic…