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Currently, people are unable to enjoy all the visitor experiences afforded by our destinations on Sydney Harbour. Fortunately, our DigiTalks series enables regular visitors – as well as the wider Australian community – to overcome the tyranny of distance and stay connected with our places.
Each instalment will feature a presenter who can offer rich insights into our heritage destinations, including their history, flora and fauna, or who can speak more broadly about the history of the world’s greatest harbour.
On 10 February 1964, HMAS Voyager, the nation’s first Daring-class destroyer, collided with the aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne. Both ships had been undertaking manoeuvres off Jervis Bay when HMAS Voyager was struck and cut in two by HMAS Melbourne. The ship sank and 82 of its 314 crew were killed – the largest loss of Australian military personnel during peacetime. Guest presenter Gillian Lewis (Australian National Maritime Museum) will reveal the factors that led to this tragedy. She will also weigh in on what could have been done to avoid the incident and share the stories of the selfless individuals who acted heroically in the immediate aftermath.
About the presenter:
Gillian Lewis began volunteering for the Australian National Maritime Museum (ANMM) in 2008 upon retiring from a successful sales career in the commercial building sector. She has served ANMM both as a tour guide and speaker. Gillian’s family history is tied to the merchant and Royal Australian Navies and she has a special interest in Australia’s worst naval disaster: the loss of all 645 servicemen aboard the HMAS Sydney (II) in November 1941 following a battle with German raider HSK Kormoran. She has spent the past several years searching, as a volunteer, genealogical databases for living relatives of the HMAS Sydney (II) personnel for the purposes arranging DNA tests to assist in identifying the unknown crew.
From 1871 to 1880, Cockatoo island was the site of the Biloela Public Industrial School for Girls and The Biloela Reformatory. These institutions were set up to deal with orphans and young offenders but were badly mismanaged. Guest presenter Yvette Poshoglian, author of the historical fiction ‘Escape from Cockatoo’, will discuss the conditions faced by the girls of Biloela, the superintendents responsible for their wellbeing, and the eventual investigation into both institutions. Yvette will also provide historical context, including landmark moments between 1878 and 1880 and the rise of intellectual Sydney.
About the presenter:
Yvette Poshoglian is the author of over 40 books for young people and is passionate about Sydney’s colonial history. Yvette has been a journalist, high school English teacher and was North Sydney’s Writer in Residence 2016-2018. Yvette discovered Cockatoo Island by accident while kayaking in the harbour and her curiosity was piqued, leading to three years’ research into Biloela and the island itself.
Related: Reformatory school and Captain Harris: The Biloela raid stopper.
A member of the Garigal clan, Bungaree was the first Australian to circumnavigate the continent, sailing with Matthew Flinders aboard the HMS Investigator (1802-03). He was also the leader of a group of Aboriginal families from the Broken Bay area who farmed Georges Heights, having been granted land by Governor Lachlan Macquarie in 1815. Bungaree was an adventurous and colourful character. Dressed in military clothes, he was known to doff his cocked hat to passers-by in the streets of Sydney Town. Guest presenter, Dr Keith Vincent, will discuss life and legacy of this celebrated Aboriginal pioneer, diplomat and leader.
About the presenter:
Keith Vincent Smith is a former journalist who co-founded Earth Garden magazine in 1972. He is also the author of the historical works King Bungaree (1992), Bennelong (2001), Wallumedegal: An Aboriginal History of Ryde (2005), MARI NAWI: Aboriginal Odysseys (2010) and Bennelong among his people (Aboriginal History No.33, 2009). In 2018, he was awarded the honour of Emeritus Curator at the State Library of New South Wales, Sydney in recognition of the exhibitions he curated there: MARI NAWI (2010) and Eora: Mapping Aboriginal Sydney, with Anthony Bourke (2006).
Related: Bungaree: Pioneer, diplomat and leader and The history of Georges Heights.
For six decades, the great Australian maritime mystery was the whereabouts of the M24 Japanese midget submarine that disappeared following an attack on Sydney Harbour in May 1942. Recreational divers eventually discovered the submerged wreck off Bungan Head at Newport on Sydney’s Northern Beaches in 2006. Subsequently, the site was placed on the NSW State Heritage Register. It is a significant archaeological site, internationally, being a rare example of a wreck in its original battle context. Guest presenter Stirling Smith will share the story of the M24 submarine and detail the innovative strategies to protect and interpret the wreck site, including video monitoring, a digital exhibition, 3D modelling and a trial diver access program.
About the presenter:
Stirling is an archaeologist with extensive experience working throughout Australia and overseas. He specialises in maritime archaeology, military and Polar heritage, but has also worked extensively in Aboriginal and historical archaeology. He currently works as the Senior Maritime Archaeology Officer with Heritage NSW (Department of Premier and Cabinet) and is the current president of the Australasian Institute for Maritime Archaeology (AIMA).
We are delivering our DigiTalks series using Zoom, an easy-to-use platform for video conferences, chats and webinars. Attendees don’t need a Zoom account to join one of our DigiTalks as we’ll email login details to registrants prior to each instalment. Zoom has advised that users will have the best experience when they download either the desktop application (Windows/Mac) or mobile app (Android/Apple) in advance of a DigiTalk. To download the desktop application or mobile app, visit: zoom.us/download
