What's On
Collecting Maps - an uncharted journey
Presented by Emeritus Professor Robert Clancy AM. Robert Clancy has been an avid map collector for over 40 years, from $20 tourist maps to rare charts of exploration. Each map in his collection has a story attached - whether it be the first selection he bought in London or the Matthew Flinders atlas he bought in 1978.
Learn about what it takes to produce a prize-winning work and find out what sorts of books being published today will become the rare books of tomorrow.
Printmaker, bookbinder and book collector Monica Oppen, owns the largest private collection of books by artists in Australia. Monica will discuss how the collection grew to contain over 1700 books.
Scholar Talk: A Soldier’s Life on the Penal Frontier
In New South Wales the serving soldiers were charged with a double remit — as the agents of expansion and as the enforcers of confinement. This dual military function is examined through the story of two wooden boxes — including the Macquarie Collector’s Chest, one of the treasures of the Mitchell Library.
Cathy Perkins will talk about her new biography, The Shelf Life of Zora Cross, in conversation with Curator Sarah Morley. They will discuss the pleasures and challenges of biography, and why Zora Cross was such a satisfying subject.
A unique perspective on the First World War, The Lost Boys is military history made deeply personal, a powerful homage to youthful bravery and a poignant reminder of the horror of war.
Curator’s Choice: The Indomitable May Gibbs
Learn about the life of beloved Australian children’s author May Gibbs.
In all the ups and downs of his career, Matthew Flinders always knew he would get nowhere without his friends – and we have a vast amount of evidence from his letters and journals about what friendship meant to him and whom he regarded as his friends. In this talk, Dr Gillian Dooley will go to Flinders’ own writings and other contemporary sources, to explore his affections and allegiances, and establish who his real friends were.
The B List with Bri Lee, Michelle Scott Tucker & Larissa Behrendt
Join us at the Library for The B List, an exciting, new style of book club hosted by the award-winning author and avid reader, Bri Lee. After the conversation we will retire to our historic Friends Room where you will be able to buy a drink and chat further with your new book club friends!
In 2015, The Guardian journalist Gabrielle Jackson told her editor she wanted to write about endometriosis. It turned into a world-wide investigation into the disease which became the catalyst for Gabrielle thinking more widely about women's pain and how it is viewed and treated not just by the medical profession, but by wider society, the result is her new book Pain and Prejudice.
Join leading historians, academics, artists, conservationists and knowledge keepers as they shine a spotlight on the fascinating histories, politics and cultural initiatives that continue to shape contemporary Indigenous Australia.
Join us for a festive show-and-tell to discover how Christmas has been celebrated in Australia.