Capital history in the news

ANU School of Art to get 'radical' $80 million upgrade | News that ANU’s School of Art and Design is getting its first face-lift in 50 years. Highlights that the 80-year-old building was Canberra High School at the time of the Second World War.

Behind the scenes of the National Portrait Gallery reopening | Reports on the National Portrait Gallery’s reopening plans after being closed for five months for renovations.

Assembling Rosalie Gascoigne's catalogue | Article about Martin Gascoigne’s book, Rosalie Gascoigne: A Catalogue Raisonné, a catalogue of his mother’s complete body of artwork which will be published this week

Memoirs of Sir Peter Lawler presented | Memoirs of the later Sir Peter Lawler, the architect of the Australian Federal Police (AFP) have been presented to the AFP Commissioner Andrew Colvin revealing much about Sir Peter and the machinery of Government. Article notes that the AFP is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year.

Jack Lang could have been Donald Trump's Australian role | Parallels between NSW depression era Premier Jack Lang and Donald Trump and what this means for US political strategists are covered in this opinion piece by Canberran historian, Stephen Holt.

How ACT schools canned the cane | Archives ACT article about the history of corporal punishment in ACT schools and how laws were eventually passed in 1997 stopping it in all Canberran schools.

A postcard finally delivered 108 years after it was posted | Tim the Yowie Man fun story about Canberran Kirsten Montgomery-Wilcox finally receiving a postcard that was first posted over a century ago to her great-great grandmother.

Acknowledgement: Inspired by the postcard that went missing for over 100 years the image above is SKETCHES AT THE GENERAL POST OFFICE (1887) by F.Sleap . It comes from the State Library of Victoria. Note this image is not in copyright. See acknowledgement page for full details.

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