Capital history in the news
Australian War Memorial news
Visitors welcomed back to Memorial | The Australian War Memorial reopened to visitors on 1 July 2020, after its doors closed to the public on Monday 23 March due to COVID-19 restrictions. Visitors need to book free, timed tickets to visit the Memorial's Commemorative Area and galleries so that social distancing is maintained. Separate free, timed entry tickets to visit Anzac Hall and attend the Last Post Ceremony are also available. See here for details.
Online hub marks 70th anniversary of the Korean War | The Australian War Memorial has launched an online hub to mark the 70th anniversary of the start of the Korean War on 25 June 1950. The online hub at www.awm.gov.au/KoreanWar70years includes resources such as online exhibitions, blogs, and videos, aimed at contributing to public knowledge about Australia’s role in the conflict.
Indigenous history news
Should statues which 'don't respect traditional custodians' be removed from around Canberra? | Article examining arguments for removing Canberra monuments which Indigenous people say need to be reassessed, because they do not accurately depict Australia's colonial past, and ignore "the need for truth-telling" in history.
NAIDOC week celebrating indigenous culture | NAIDOC Week celebrations have been postponed until 8-15 November. Co-Chair of the National NAIDOC Committee, John Janke noted that Black Lives Matters has been a catalyst for people to ask questions of themselves and their history, with a “growing hunger to learn about Indigenous history”.
Enhanced cultural collections
A new home for Trove | The National Library of Australia’s popular website, Trove has been rebuilt and relaunched. It is Australia’s world-leading culture and research portal and provides access to archives, images, newspapers, official documents, archived websites, manuscripts, and other types of data for almost 70,000 daily users.
TV and radio treasures preserved for nation | The Government has allocated $5.5 million to the National Film and Sound Archive so that urgent digitisation projects can be completed.
University news
Researchers confirm site of Genghis Khan’s winter home | New research from ANU has provided some of the best evidence yet that the site of Avraga in eastern Mongolia was the winter base camp, or ordū, of Genghis Khan.
Sustainability research on the forefront with Shine Dome project | A $238,000 Australian Government grant will enable researchers from the University of Canberra and the Australian Academy of Science to begin work to create a sustainability plan for the Shine Dome, a National Heritage Listed landmark.
Snowy Mountains history
Ski pioneers paved primitive path | Matthew Higgins writes about how skiing has changed in Australia since its birth nearly 160 years ago. He highlights the primitive conditions experienced by the first skiers and how far remove this is from modern skiing in Australia.
The story behind Seamans hut | Tim the Yowie Man writes about the story behind Seamans hut. In August 1928, two unlikely companions, Laurie Seaman and Evan Hayes, left Hotel Kosciuszko to indulge in their shared passion for back country skiing and never returned, lost in bad weather.
Other local history news
Cinema a class act from the start | Cris Kennedy writes about the history of the Capitol Cinema in Manuka which opened its doors in 1927 and will sadly not re-open post-COVID19.
Howzat for a surprising find? | Tim the Yowie Man writes about a belt buckle unearthed at Crace Grasslands Reserve and dated to the 1860’s. It has been linked to William Davis, who lived at nearby Gungahlin Homestead and is widely considered the ‘father’ of cricket in the Canberra region.
There's rarely been a dull moment in Eden Monaro | Nichole Overall writes about the history of the federal seat of Eden-Monaro. She notes it has rarely had a dull moment in its 119-year history.
Acknowledgement: The image above is inspired by the 70th anniversary of the start of the Korean War and the Australian War Memorial’s online hub about the war. It shows Australian soldiers celebrating Christmas time 1950 while serving in the Korean War. This image seems to say a lot, do you agree? It is from the Argus Newspaper Collection of Photographs from the State Library of Victoria. Full details here.
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