Lunch Hour Talks
Lunch Hour Talk 24 August 2023
24 August Lunch Hour Talk
Speaker: Dr Lenore Coltheart OAM
Topic: Jessie Street : a life
Co-founder of Jessie Street National Women’s Library Lenore Coltheart has been commissioned by the National Library of Australia to write a biography of Jessie Street. Lenore will update us on progress with her work on Jessie Street: a Life. She is keen to share with us the experience of writing this first full biography of Jessie Street – including both the distracting fascinations and frequent frustrations in presenting this extraordinary personality in the settings of her private and public life. This is a ‘behind the scenes’ account of the challenge of writing about a woman of extraordinary courage and determination, who worked with a cast of hundreds from all walks of life, seeing association as essential in moving towards justice and equality.
Dr Lenore Coltheart OAM taught political history in Australian universities for 25 years and held research fellowships at the Australian National University and at Newnham College at Cambridge University before retiring to Canberra and the south coast in 1997. Since then she has worked with the National Archives on a range of projects, including books and articles about Australian political history, the history of ideas, Aboriginal history, maritime history, and landscape heritage.
Where – The meeting room at the Customs House Library, at Circular Quay.
When – The talk will begin at 12.15, The room is open from 11.30 for tea/coffee/sandwiches.
Entry – $20 JSNWL members $25 non-members
PLEASE BOOK BY NOON Monday 21 August 2023
Phone the library on (02) 9571 5359 or email .au
Lunch Hour Talk 22 June 2023
22 June Lunch Hour Talk
Speaker: Penny Nelson
Topic: Babette Smith OAM: Breakthrough historian – an amazing life
Babette Smith (image left), 1942-2021, worked in television, theatre and film, but it was the discovery of a female convict among her ancestors that set her writing a series of books on those transported to Australia, including A Cargo of Women, The Luck of the Irish, and Defiant Voices: How Australia’s Female Convicts Defied Authority. Her work sheds new light on the lives of convicts transported to Australia, especially the 25,000 of them who were women.
Penny Nelson is a former TAFE teacher who also worked at the NSW Anti-Discrimination Board and the NSW Ombudsman’s Office. She has her own impressive list of writing on cultural and social topics and is the author of novels and the memoir Penny Dreadful.
Where – The meeting room at the Customs House Library, at Circular Quay.
When – The talk will begin at 12.15, The room is open from 11.30 for tea/coffee/sandwiches.
Entry – $20 JSNWL members $25 non-members
PLEASE BOOK BY NOON Monday 19 June 2023
Phone the library on (02) 9571 5359 or email .au
