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DigiTalks enables regular visitors – as well as the wider Australian community – to overcome the tyranny of distance and stay connected with our extraordinary places on Sydney Harbour.
Each instalment features 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.
The manufacture of cabbage tree hats was a thriving cottage craft in Australia from the 1790s until the emergence of mass-produced felt hats in the 1930s. Although convicts and shepherds commonly made these modest hats, they were – for more than a century –worn by everyone, from bush rangers and bullockies to royalty. On 30 September, historians Sue and Don Brian will demonstrate how the iconic cabbage tree hat was made and share photos and traditional songs that reveal their significant place in Australian history.
Sue and Don Brian have been researching the lesser known social history of the convict era, the influence of 19th Century whaling on Norfolk Island culture and the traditional craft of Cabbage Tree Hat making. As ReCollected, they have led tours to Norfolk Island and have presented at the National Folk Festival, the Australian Folklore Conference and local history groups. Sue has taught the making of Cabbage Tree Hats to interested individuals, historical societies and milliners. Don Brian is a consummate singer of Australian songs in the traditional unaccompanied style.
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
The DigiTalks Archive is a curated selection of videos enabling people to revisit – or enjoy for the very first time – past instalments in our popular webinar series and gain rich insights into the history of Sydney Harbour, including our network of heritage destinations.
