Saying farewell to a fantastic Director-General, an exciting new collection acquisition, our next round of fellowships and a brand new issue of our online magazine—welcome to our eNews for March!
Farewell to Director-General Anne-Marie Schwirtlich AM
We would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to our outgoing Director-General Anne-Marie Schwirtlich AM, and applaud her for her many years of leading the Library. She was adept at moving the spotlight away from her, and onto the Library’s collections and services, but we’re sharing this lovely photo and putting the spotlight back on her one last time.
We at the Library thank Anne-Marie for all her hard work these past years and we hope she comes back and visits us!
Rags to riches: the papers of Australia’s first self-made millionaire
He might have been Australia’s first self-made millionaire, but until recently few people had ever heard of James Tyson. His papers, now proudly housed in the National Library’s collection, were recently inscribed on UNESCO’s Australian Memory of the World Register. They join some of our other great national treasures on the register, like the papers of Edward Koiki Mabo and the Endeavour Journal. Recently, Margy Burn spoke with the Sydney Morning Herald about the Tyson papers, and how they reveal a real-life, true blue rags to riches tale.
Read more
In other news
2018 fellowships now open, with exciting new opportunities
Calling scholars, curators, writers and artists: our 2018 National Library Fellowships round is now open. An exciting new Treasures Fellowship for curatorial research is available for the first time in 2018, for research with a curatorial, museological or archival focus. The Minerals Council of Australia has also generously supported a brand new fellowship for research in a wide range of fields, from environmental science and resources to public policy and social research.
Read more and apply
Community Heritage Grants open on 6 March
Applications open next week for the 2017 round of Community Heritage Grants of up to $15,000, available to not-for-profit organisations to help preserve nationally significant Australian cultural heritage collections. Historical societies, regional museums, archives, galleries, public libraries and Indigenous and migrant community groups are encouraged to apply. Please visit the website for guidelines and further details.
Read more
Regular features
Book of the month
Looking for Rose Paterson: How Family Bush Life Nurtured Banjo the Poet by Jennifer Gall
Having raised seven children in 19th-century rural Australia, Rose Paterson was a character—strong, outspoken, optimistic and witty. Looking for Rose Paterson recreates her world for the reader, offering a glimpse into the bush childhood of ‘Banjo’ Paterson, which ultimately found a place in some of Australia’s best-known verse.
Buy the book ($44.99)
Unbound issue 2
Issue 2 of our online magazine is now live! Read the story of the ill-fated cedar-cutting mission of a band of ticket-of-leave men, and their rescue at the hands of local Indigenous groups, and explore how lives and stories are revealed in the Library’s collection of letters.
Read more
On the blog
In this month’s top blog post Lady of the Locket, the Library’s Sue Chan embarks on a musical mystery journey in response to a reference query, piecing together the story behind an elusive 19th-century operetta.
Other top blog picks this month include:
Warner’s Rust-Proof Corsets
Towel Week: A Look into the Advertising Work of The Crisp Bros
Mrs Pankhurst’s Trophies
The Rise of the Cookbook
Research and resources
New digitised newspapers
Delve into our history with these recent newspaper additions to Trove:
The Dookie & Katamatite Recorder (1902-1920), The Collie Miner (1900-1916) and The Albany Mail & King George’s Sound Advertiser (1883-1889). Digitised with support from the Dookie & District Historical Society and the State Library of Western Australia.
Partner with us to digitise a newspaper or journal on Trove:
andp@nla.gov.au or (02) 6262 1005
‘Copy that’: copies from our collections
What do you do if an item you want is only in the hard copy collections of the National Library, or another library? Perhaps you want a higher quality copy of some digital text or an image. Anne Xu guides you through how to use Trove to access printed or digital copies using our Copies Direct service.
Read more
Need some help with your research, or some tips and strategies to point you in the right direction? Check out our Ask a Librarian service.
For access to a wide world of online books, journals, newspapers and more, explore our eResources.
Event highlights
Don’t miss: The Sell VIP dinner
Celebrate Enlighten 2017 with a delicious two course dinner at the Library. Old friends Harold Mitchell AC and Alex Sloan share stories of their careers in advertising and the media, reflecting on the history of Australian advertising and how it has shaped Australian society. Dinner includes champagne on arrival, two courses and local wines.
Friday 10 March, 6pm, $75
Book now
Conversation
Charlotte Wood:
The Natural Way of Things
The Guardian’s Katharine Murphy chats with author Charlotte Wood, delving deep into Wood’s provocative, fearless novel.
Wednesday 8 March, 6pm, $20
Book now
Lecture
Capital Ideas: Climate Change 2017
A panel of experts and thinkers tackles some of Australia’s key policy issues, from cultural hot-button topics to pressing social concerns.
Wednesday 15 March, 6pm, free
Book now
Friends event
Coffee with the Curator: Athol Shmith Fashion Photographs
Enjoy an intimate curator-guided tour of this glamorous exhibition, followed by morning tea.
Friday 17 March, 10.30am, $15 (friends), $20 (non-members)
Book now
Presentation
On the Origin and Evolution of a Species
2017 National Library Fellow Anna-Sophie Jürgens presents findings from her research on how Australian scientists are depicted in fiction.
Tuesday 21 March, 5.30pm, free
Book now
Book launch
Looking for Rose Paterson: How Family Bush Life Nurtured Banjo the Poet by Jennifer Gall
Join Jennifer Gall as she takes us into the rustic world of a remarkable Australian woman.
Wednesday 29 March, 6pm, free
Book now
Author talk
Only by Caroline Baum
Only is a painfully honest and entertaining story of an unconventional childhood. Caroline Baum discusses her moving and gripping memoir.
Thursday 30 March, 6pm, $20
Book now
Learning in March
Getting Started at the Library
Tuesday 14 March, 11am
Family History at the Library
Wednesday 22 March, 12pm
Discover Trove
Thursday 30 March, 3pm
Free tours
Treasures Gallery
Daily, 11.30am
Behind the Scenes
Thursdays, 2pm
Discover Your National Library
Saturdays, 2pm
The Sell: Australian Advertising, 1790s to 1990s
Tuesdays, Thursdays and
weekends, 10.30am
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Collection item of the month
Portrait of Lady O’Connell
With International Women’s Day approaching on 8 March, the Library’s Kathryn Favelle pondered the significance of this unassuming portrait by William Nicholas hanging in our Treasures Gallery, depicting Lady O’Connell and her dog.
‘I very nearly dismissed her. Hanging on the wall in a gilt frame, wearing a black silk dress, her eyes demurely downcast, Lady O’Connell seemed to me to represent the colonial woman.’
Was Lady O’Connell more than just ‘the wife of an important man’?
Read more
See Lady O’Connell (and her pet dog) up close for free in our Treasures Gallery, open daily from 10am to 5pm.
William Nicholas (1807–1854), Portrait of Lady O’Connell, c.1847, nla.cat-vn2180010
Images: 1. Anne-Marie Schwirtlich AM, courtesy Samuel Cooper; 2. Notebook belonging to James Tyson;
3. Cover detail of Looking for Rose Paterson by Jennifer Gall; 4. nla.cat-vn1865955; 5. nla.cat-vn6572592;
6. Cover detail of The Dookie and Katamatite Recorder; 7. Newspaper photo collage; 8. Ask a Librarian;
9. Charlotte Wood, courtesy Wendy McDougall; 10. Wind farm, courtesy National Electricity Market;
11. nla.cat-vn3049046; 12. Dr Anna-Sophie Jürgens; 13. Cover detail of Looking for Rose Paterson by Jennifer Gall; 14. Caroline Baum, courtesy Wendy McDougall; 15. nla.cat-vn2180010
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