George Lawrence

As you all know we are in our 40th year and will finish our celebrations with a three-day symposium on 18–21 October 2019 at the State Library of NSW. This is going to be a very big and significant event. We have more than 25 confirmed speakers and very many different areas of Australiana will be covered in the presentations. Stephen Bowers, the well-known contemporary ceramicist and ex-director of the Jam Factory in Adelaide, will be one of three keynote speakers, along with John Hawkins and Julian Bickersteth. Richard Neville, Mitchell Librarian and Director of Education and Scholarship, will be talking about how the NSW Library collection was put together and will showcase treasures from the collection.

Over the last 12 months the Society has continued to grow and flourish in more ways than one. I am very pleased to report that the Tasmanian Chapter of the Society is now off and running, having had a very successful opening at Runnymede, in Hobart, last November. Tasmanian Chair Colin Thomas had invited the Honourable Vanessa Goodwin MLC, Tasmanian Minister for the Arts, to launch proceedings and, as Warwick Oakman wrote in the February issue of Australiana, she made an excellent and enthusiastic speech, which really set the tone for the evening. More than 30 people came along and were entertained with excellent Tasmanian produce and wine in the grounds of Runnymede.