Symposia
Uncovering untold stories about Queensland and the First World War.
About the symposia
The annual symposium program aims to uncover stories about Queensland and the First World War. A key note speaker will lead the discussion at each symposium panel discussion with commentators, writers and experts.
The Long Tail of War Symposium 6 and 7 November 2018
Remembrance Day marks the end of First World War hostilities. However, did the First World War truly end on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918?
The Long Tail of War Symposium explores the aftermath of war and the stories of what happened to the soldiers and nurses who returned home.
The two-day symposium features individual presentations and panel discussions from historians, writers, journalists and curators covering themes on
- Returning home
- Health, wellbeing and medical facilities
- Remembrance
- Economic and social impact: the ripple effect
The Long Tail of War Symposium Tuesday 6 November 2018
Keynote speaker:
- Carolyn Holbrook
The Long Tail of War Symposium Wednesday 7 November 2018
Keynote speaker:
- Professor Bruce Scates
The Long Tail of War Symposium Wednesday 7 November 2018: Returning home session
Keynote speakers:
- Associate Professor Martin Crotty
- Mr Michael Bell
The Long Tail of War Symposium Wednesday 7 November 2018: Health, wellbeing & medical facilities session
Keynote speakers:
- Professor Emerita Joan Beaumont
- Major General Professor John Pearn AO, RFD
The Long Tail of War Symposium Wednesday 7 November 2018: Remembrance session
Keynote speakers:
- Dr Geoff Ginn
- Dr Bart Ziino
The Long Tail of War Symposium Wednesday 7 November 2018: Economic and social impact: the ripple effect session
Keynote speakers:
- Dr Jon Piccini
- Professor Emerita Joan Beaumont
Indigenous Soldiers Forum 22 June 2018
Indigenous Australians who served in the First World War are among the unsung heroes of Queensland's, and indeed Australia's, war effort. The Defence Act 1903 (Cth) initially excluded Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from enlisting in the war. Despite this, many Indigenous volunteers enlisted under assumed ethnicity/cultural background; some even changed their names, place of birth and other personal details to enlist.
As part of the QANZAC 100: Memories for a New Generation program, State Library of Queensland is continuing to discover and confirm Queensland Indigenous soldiers of the First World War.
This forum showcases research in Australia's and particularly Queensland's Indigenous service personnel. The event also connects descendants and extended families of Indigenous servicemen of the First World War with further information about their ancestors and the context of their service.
Indigenous Soldiers Forum
Speaker:
- Vicki McDonald, State Librarian and Chief Executive Officer
Indigenous Soldiers Forum
Speaker:
- Philippa Scarlett
Indigenous Soldiers Forum
Speaker:
- Michael Bell
Indigenous Soldiers Forum
Speaker:
- Des Crump
Indigenous Soldiers Forum
Speakers:
- Ian Townsend, MC
- Philippa Scarlett
- Michael Bell
- Uncle Eric Law AM
- Des Crump, State Library of Queensland
On the Home Front 10 & 11 May 2016
Like much of Australia during the war years, Queensland was a divided society. Debates about conscription, the changing role of women and the growing number of broken families characterised a society that was struggling to cope with rapid systemic change.
On the home front symposium brought together Australia’s leading historical thinkers and commentators to discuss and explore how the First World War was experienced by those that did not leave Australia to fight in a faraway war, but remained at home during the war – in their community, in their family. How did wider social, political and cultural factors impact the lives of those on the home front?
Stories about life on the home front are sometimes regarded as secondary to the military history and battle stories of the First World War. For some, the real history of the First World War took place on the battlefields
of Gallipoli, Amiens, and Villers-Bretonneux rather than in the communities of Bundaberg, Brisbane and Charters Towers. On the home front challenged this view by illuminating the significance of home front history and its enduring legacy.
On the home front Session 1. Launch and Keynote.
Speakers:
- Opening musical performance by John Thompson
- Keynote presentation by Professor Joan Beaumont, Australian National University
- Q&A facilitated by Ian Townsend.
On the home front Session 2. Opening Address.
Speaker:
- Sonia Cooper, State Librarian and CEO
On the home front Session 3.
Speaker:
- Professor Mick Dodson, Australian National University
On the home front Session 4. Keynotes panel discussion.
Speakers:
- Professor Joan Beaumont, Australian National University
- Professor Mick Dodson, Australian National University
- Q&A Facilitated by Ian Townsend
On the home front Session 5. The lives of others. Why is Your Face so White Mother?: Women and the Conscription Debates 1916–1917.
Speaker:
- Professor Joy Damousi, University of Melbourne
On the home front Session 6. The lives of others. Unity or Division?: The Queensland Homefront in World War I.
Speaker:
- Dr Raymond Evans, Griffith University and University of Queensland
On the home front Session 7. The lives of others. Fighting the war at home – the campaign against enemy aliens in WW1 Australia.
Speakers:
- Adjunct Professor Gerhard Fischer, University of New South Wales
On the home front Session 8. The lives of others panel discussion
Speakers:
- Professor Joy Damousi, University of Melbourne
- Dr Raymond Evans, Griffith University and University of Queensland
- Adjunct Professor Gerhard Fischer, University of New South Wales
- Q&A Facilitated by Ian Townsend
On the home front Session 9. Hearts and Minds. They also serve: children and families on the home front – Queensland in World War One.
Speaker:
- Professor John Pearn, University of Queensland
On the home front Session 10. Hearts and Minds. Telling difficult family war stories: searching for Hector Thomson.
Speaker:
- Professor Alistair Thomson, Monash University
On the home front Session 11. Hearts and Minds. Grasping harpies and desperate women: fortune-telling during the First World War.
Speaker:
- Dr Alana Piper, Griffith University
On the home front Session 12. Hearts and Minds Panel Discussion.
Speakers:
- Professor John Pearn, University of Queensland
- Professor Alistair Thomson, Monash University
- Dr Alana Piper, Griffith University
How We Remember 13 & 14 October 2015
“History would be a wonderful thing – if only it were true” — Leo Tolstoy.
As we move further into the four year commemoration period it would be easy to think that we have reached ‘peak Anzac’. There would be very few Australians that have not heard about or participated in some kind of commemoration activity. In this post-Gallipoli centenary milieu, it is timely then to think about what we are choosing to remember and commemorate. Which Anzac stories are important to retell, and how will a new generation of Australians identify with them?
How We Remember Session 1
Speakers:
- Adjunct Associate Professor James Brown, Director of the Alliance 21 program, US Studies Centre, University of Sydney
- Stephanie Brantz, Facilitator, ABC journalist
How We Remember Session 2
Speakers:
- Dr Carolyn Holbrook, historian and author of Anzac: the unauthorised biography
- Adjunct Associate Professor James Brown, Director of the Alliance 21 program, US Studies Centre, University of Sydney
- Stephanie Brantz, Facilitator, ABC journalist
- Gavin Bannerman, Executive Manager Queensland Memory, State Library of Queensland
How We Remember Session 3
Speakers:
- Kate Aubusson journalist and presenter of ABC documentary, Lest We Forget What
- Associate Professor Martin Crotty School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, University of Queensland
- Francis Leach Broadcaster, DJ, Journalist, Writer and lover of ideas
How We Remember Session 4
Speakers:
- Kristin Berardi, Brisbane based Jazz singer and musician
- David Roach, screenwriter and producer, Beneath Hill 60
- Sven Swenson, Brisbane playwright and creator of the play TipToe
- Robyn Hamilton, State Library of Queensland Q ANZAC 100 project content curator
- Eric Law, Chairman of the Cherbourg Anzac 100 Committee and supporter of the Cherbourg Ration Shed Museum
- Harjit Singh, representative from Australian Sikh Heritage
Serving Country Forum 26 September 2014
In September 2014, State Library of Queensland hosted The Serving Country Forum, part of Q ANZAC 100: Memories for a New Generation. When war was declared in 1914, many Indigenous men were the first to try to enlist, although it wasn’t until April 1917 that Indigenous enlistment was permitted. These young men fought valiantly for their country, they stood side by side with their fellow Australians in the hope of bringing equality to their communities. Until recently these stories and this history was virtually unknown. Native Title Barrister Joshua Creamer hosted the Forum which explored 100 years of Indigenous service with a focus on the First World War.
Serving Country Forum Session 1
Speakers:
- Joshua Creamer, Native Title Barrister and Chairman of Titans 4 Tomorrow
- Janette Wright, CEO & State Librarian, State Library of Queensland
- Keynote Address Dr Jackie Huggins AM, FAHA, Author, Historian and Indigenous Affairs Consultant
- Keynote Response Des Crump, Indigenous Languages Coordinator, State Library of Queensland
Serving Country Forum Session 2
Speakers:
- Gary Oakley, Indigenous Liaison Officer, Australian War Memorial
- David Williams, Researcher and historian, Black Diggers
- Des Crump, Indigenous Languages Coordinator, State Library of Queensland
- Keynote Response Des Crump, Indigenous Languages Coordinator, State Library of Queensland.
Serving Country Forum Session 3
Speakers:
- Wesley Enoch, Artistic Director, Queensland Theatre Company and Director of Black Diggers
- Dale Kerwin, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Dedicated Memorial Committee Queensland
- Tony Albert, Artist and Winner of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award, 2014
Serving Country Forum Session 4
Speakers:
- Uncle Eric Law, Cherbourg Elder, Veteran and Mayor of Cherbourg
- Sally Lawrence, Boys of Barambah project, Cherbourg Historical Precinct Group
- Rory O’Connor, Director of Yugambeh Museum
- Linda McBride-Yuke, inaugural black & write! Editor
