Beyond the Blue Mountains - Following the road from Bathurst

BEYOND THE BLUE MOUNTAINS - FOLLOWING THE ROAD FROM BATHURST

The Royal Australian Historical Society is pleased to advise that the NSW Minister for Environment and Heritage, the Hon Rob Stokes MP, has announced that the RAHS grant application for the funding of a project entitled Beyond the Blue Mountains - Following the Road from Bathurst has been approved.

This project will provide a platform for those in the Central Tablelands 

to share information on their historical and heritage records 

plus a database where community members can upload local information.

 

 The project scope was defined by Christine Yeats, Elizabeth Ellis and Carol Liston with detailed project plans, documentation and budgets prepared by Suzanne Holohan (RAHS Executive Officer), with support from Graham Sciberras (RAHS Digital Media) and Donna Newton (RAHS Librarian).  The overall project aim of Beyond the Blue Mountains was to increase community awareness, interest and understanding of the historical and heritage significance of the inland settlement of NSW.  It built on the successful delivery of the Western Crossings grant program which was managed by a Working Party with similar responsibilities.

The Beyond the Blue Mountains grant application has three main components:

RAHS Collections - Grant funding:  To provide increased accessibility to the RAHS collections (includes photographs, glass lantern slides, ephemera, scrapbooks) connected to the inland settlement of New South Wales, through the delivery of dedicated webpages;  high resolution and downloadable fully indexed digitised materials from the collection, podcasts (supported by visual images) and text that can be used by regional schools and historical societies as learning tools.

Regional Workshops - Grant funding:  To deliver two regional outreach workshops supplemented by online training, materials that will build capacity and encourage intergenerational engagement with local history and heritage.

Community Engagement:  To provide a platform for Central West organisations to share information on their historical and heritage records connected with the NSW inland settlement including a database where community members can upload information on their collections and records.
Ref: Email from Jan Koperberg, RAHS Councillor 

ACHAA workshop and inaugural AGM

ACHAA (Aboriginal Culture, Heritage & Arts Association Inc.) is a new association established for NSW Aboriginal cultural centres, keeping places, knowledge centres, language centres and artist-run studios. On 9 and 10 September, ACHAA will hold its first AGM and workshops at the Yarrawarra Aboriginal Culture Centre at Corindi Beach.

ACHAA was established to develop sustainable networks between like-minded organisations, raise professional standards and promote the value and importance of the sector to key stakeholders and the general public.

Alison Williams, ACHAA Chairperson says the establishment of the organisation is timely for the support and recognition it will bring:

“Our Keeping places and cultural centres are our grass roots portals for the continuance of our cultural practices, our stories and spirituality. They are the contemporary gathering places and trading sites between Indigenous nations. They are the voice of communities, from Elders to our youth, which speak to wider Australia and governments.”

The need for such an association is long overdue.  At the 2011 Keeping Places & beyond: building cultural futures in NSW Summit, the request for a support network for the broad range of places for NSW Aboriginal culture, heritage and arts was one of the most strongly supported recommendations.

Other states and territories already provide advocacy, support and general promotion through a number of umbrella organisations such as ANKAAA (the Association of Northern, Kimberley and Arnhem Aboriginal Artists Inc.) which operates across WA and NT.

Our Keeping places and cultural centres are our grass roots portals for the continuance of our cultural practices, our stories and spirituality. They are the contemporary gathering places and trading sites between Indigenous nations.  

In response to the Summit recommendations, M&G NSW agreed to provide secretariat services in the establishment phase of the network. Unanimous support for the formation of ACHAA was reiterated at more than a dozen community meetings during the 2012 field consultations.

ACHAA has the following objectives:

a)    Create a sustainable and resilient network of NSW Aboriginal Culture, Heritage & Arts organisations;

b)    Provide and facilitate training and development for those who work and volunteer in the NSW Aboriginal culture, heritage and arts place based sector;

c)    Promote the value of NSW Aboriginal culture, heritage and arts and artists to the broader arts, heritage and culture sector and wider community;

d)    Engage with all levels of government and non-government organisations for the support and promotion of NSW Aboriginal culture, heritage and arts.

To get ACHAA off the ground, M&G NSW contacted a selected group of eight Aboriginal cultural organisations to become founding members and to define its operating structure.

To be eligible for ACHAA membership an organisation must be an Aboriginal managed NFP with place -based operations and be open to the public receiving over 100 unique visitors per year. It is estimated up to 20 organisations may be eligible.

The non-core, associate membership will include aspiring Aboriginal organisations plus cultural, regional and tertiary institutions interested in supporting the objectives of the association.


To find out more about the ACHAA workshop Building Together: Tools for cultural places go to www.mgnsw.org.au/sector/events


The AGM and workshops at the Yarrawarra Aboriginal Culture Centre have been organised by M&G NSW with financial support from Arts NSW.

The 2011 Keeping Places & beyond: building cultural futures in NSW Summit was organised by Museums & Galleries of NSW and funded by Arts NSW.

THROUGH THESE LINES

Based on the letters and diaries of Australian army nurses in the First World War, Through These Lines offers an intimate and unique theatrical experience, performed by a talented ensemble cast with authentic costumes and props, and a vivid sound design, for an immersive experience of the tumult of war.
We were stunned by the performances … the cast and crew can be very proud of the show … a treasure in the 100th anniversary year of the War to End Wars
Uplifting, terrifying and sad all at the same time … The cast was absolutely brilliant and swept the entire audience up in the history, struggles, happiness of love and crippling devastation of war. Get to see this show if you can, you won’t be sorry
Poignant, thought provoking, great balance of pathos, humour and insight

Read More

IMAGinE awards 2013

Elaine Kaldy, President, MA Central Tablelands Chapter, encourages all museums in the Central Tablelands to nominate - the deadline for nominations will be extended until 15 August2014 - see details below.

As you know, M&G NSW is calling on museums, galleries and Aboriginal cultural centres to submit nominations for the IMAGinE awards. There are four categories: projects, sustainability, engagement and individual achievement.

http://mgnsw.org.au/sector/news/imagine-2014-awards-are-open/ 

We would very much appreciate if you could get in touch with museums in your Chapter who did something special between 1 July 2013 and 30 June 2014: whether it’s a collections project, an exhibition or a great public program. 

Why nominate?
Along with being up for a prestigious award, all nominated organisations or individuals will be included in the 2014 IMAGinE awards printed booklet, profiled on the M&G NSW website, and acknowledged during the IMAGinE awards presentation.

We will soon announce that the deadline for nominations will be extended until 15 August 2014. This should give volunteer museums a chance to get in touch with us and submit a nomination form.

If you haven’t time to contact the museums, please pass on their contact details and project name to us so we can contact them.

Kind regards

Margot Stuart-Smith