HIGHLIGHTS

Public Engagement

The History Trust works with communities to bring the stories of South Australia alive for a wider audience, both locally and globally. This is enabled through partnerships, capacity building, public programs, grants, and community engagement. Partnerships with local organisations such as the Tourism Industry Council South Australia (TICSA), University of South Australia (UniSA), Reconciliation SA (RecSA), Channel 44 (Ch44) and Adelaide Airport Limited have strengthened the relevance of history in our community for all South Australians.

The launch of the new Vickers Vimy historic aircraft display in December 2022 resulted from a successful collaboration between the History Trust and state and federal stakeholders to fund and reanimate this globally significant aircraft and celebrate South Australia’s contribution to international aeronautical history.

Beyond partnerships, the History Trust has provided expert advice and assistance to many community organisations across the state, including the South Australian Police Historical Society during their closure and relocation of museum displays and collections from the Thebarton Police Barracks in early 2023.

In addition to providing expertise, services and capacity-building programs, the History Trust works to preserve the legacy of significant South Australians for future generations. To this end, under the aegis of the History Trust, the Wilkins Project was formed in December 2022.

Building on the efforts of the former Wilkins Foundation, the Wilkins Project is a collaboration with the South Australian Museum, the State Library of South Australia, and other significant stakeholders, including Patron Dr Richard ‘Harry’ Harris OAM, to preserve and promote the legacy of world-acclaimed South Australian-born polar explorer and adventurer Sir Hubert Wilkins (1888-1958).

History Trust public programs continue to engage diverse audiences with the stories of South Australia both in person and online. This year’s highlights included the sold out Drinking in History, tracing the history and uses of alcohol in SA. The much loved Talking History series showcased: new research on frontier violence in colonial South Australia, Emeritus Professor Alan Reid’s Political Life in 1870s South Australia, the third in a series of lectures examining how South Australia’s democracy has been shaped by personalities, ideas and events in colonial times, and the History Festival feature event Postcards from the Edge, with SA’s History Advocate Dr Kiera Lindsey on stage with “Mister South Australia” Keith Conlon OAM. A new partnership with community broadcaster Ch44 ensures these events are recorded and streamed for online audiences, delivering on our commitment to make South Australian history both engaging and more accessible.

Image: The Vickers Vimy aircraft on display in its new location at Adelaide Airport.

South Australia’s History Festival

In 2023, South Australia’s History Festival asked event organisers and participants to explore history and heritage through the theme of “Wonder”.

The full program offered audience experiences ranging from explorations of the night sky and the history of stargazing to the deep history and cultural stories of the land told through First Nations perspectives. Complex stories of our colonial past joined political and economic history and examinations of some of the historic figures and events that define us today.

The History Festival commenced with a media campaign launch at the Migration Museum courtyard, with a smoking ceremony and Welcome to Country delivered by Kuma Kaaru. The theme of “Wonder” was explored through a display of items featured in the 2023 campaign and on the five individual covers of the Festival program.
South Australians flocked to this year’s Festival, with audience attendance up 22 per cent from 2022. Over 520 individual events were delivered by over 350 event organisers throughout the month of May and events were presented statewide, from the northern Flinders Ranges to the southern Limestone Coast, with close to a quarter of events held in regional South Australia. Over half of the events were free to attend, nearly half were completely new to the Festival, and over 20 per cent of events took place within the City of Adelaide.

Media partner Ch44 recorded and broadcast four events from the Festival: the Sir Hubert Wilkins Oration, Postcards from the Edge, Talking History - History and Imagination: Adversaries or Allies, and the Festival closing night including the History Council of South Australia’s Historian of the Year Awards.

The continued success of South Australia’s History Festival is testament to the extraordinary effort made by the many hundreds of South Australians who contributed their time, effort, enthusiasm, and ideas to make the festival possible.

South Australia’s History Festival thanks: Presenting Partner, Freemasons South Australia & The Northern Territory; Major Partner, the City of Adelaide; Distribution Partner, Foodland Supermarkets; Supporting Partners, Botanic Gardens and State Herbarium, Mile End Office Furniture and Torrens Press; Focus Program Partner for Open Doors, the Office for Ageing Well and Seniors Card; Focus Program Partner for From Many Places, the Multicultural Communities Council of South Australia; Wine partner, Penfolds, and Media Partners, Channel 44 and WeekendPLUS.

Image: Imagery from South Australia’s History Festival 2023.

Migration Museum

The History Trust’s Migration Museum celebrated the rich stories of South Australia’s migrant communities throughout the year with exhibitions and special events. Significantly, two of the Museum’s large gallery spaces were refreshed through extensive heritage conservation works.

In June 2023, the History Trust was proud to recognise and acknowledge the work of former Governor of South Australia Hon. Hieu Van Le AC and Mrs Lan Le. In collaboration with the United Nations Association Australia and the Migration Museum Foundation, a plaque was unveiled in the museum’s courtyard.

In December 2022, the Migration Museum hosted the launch of the Adelaide Fringe Festival and in February and March 2023 the museum became a Fringe venue. The Migration Museum Chapel and Yurt installation transformed the courtyard into a venue with over 30 shows on offer. Other performing arts activities took place at the Museum throughout the year, including a recital as part of the On The Terrace program by Chamber Music Adelaide, a Commedia dell’Arte performance and a Punch and Judy show.

On many occasions, the Museum and its courtyard were accessed by a wide range of community groups that came together and shared their culture and stories. Hosted by the Turkish Association, over 500 people attended the Turkish Cultural Festival at the Museum in October 2022.

Several cultural groups made use of the Museum’s facilities during the year. The German community hosted an Adelaide German Week event on Yiddish Language. The Tramountanas North Association celebrated the bicentenary of George Tramountanas-North’s birth (the first known Greek migrant to arrive in SA, 1842) at a Greek community event in the Museum, with the unveiling of busts of George and his wife Lydia Vosper. Community members from the Armenian, Palestinian and Baltic Councils of SA held annual wreath-laying ceremonies at the Museum’s Memorial Wall. The African Women’s Association held the closing event of The African Kitchen Project during SA Refugee Week in June.

The Museum also hosted a private tour for the Greek Deputy Minister of National Defence in October and in June hosted a visit of the Diplomatic Corps, including Heads of Mission and Ambassadors from 78 countries. The Museum continued to provide many activities for children and families through its school holiday programs, including animation workshops and Lego trails.

Exhibitions held at the Museum included: ‘Commedia dell’Arte: A Travelling Theatre across Time and Place’; a significant collection of community banners that explore the diversity of migration to South Australia called ‘AUSSIES!’; ‘Pilgrim (Junrei)’, a Japanese-Australian art collaboration with Japanese-Australian twins Lisa and Erica Hoy (Vale) and fine-art photographer Peter Hall; ‘Hanging by a thread – Mosaic for Afghan Women’, a human rights project coordinated by the Mosaic Association of Australia and New Zealand; ‘Handmade’ – Afghan Women Traditional arts and crafts; the ‘Paving the Way’ exhibition, a tribute to migrant history embedded in 2890 engraved pavers at the museum, and, in partnership with the Arabic Language and Culture Association of South Australia (ALCASA), ‘Ahlan wa sahlan (Welcome): Hospitality in Arabic culture’.

Right: The Adelaide Fringe 2023 Program Launch at the Migration Museum in November 2022.

National Motor Museum

The National Motor Museum remained a popular destination attracting a wide range of visitors throughout the year.

The Museum welcomed 42 vehicle enthusiast clubs to the grounds during the year which saw 1679 special vehicles and over 10,000 owners and passengers at the Museum for special club event days. Some of the highlights included the Rolls Royce Federal Rally, with over 100 Rolls Royce cars ranging from 1921 through to the latest models on display. The National Rally of the Morris Minor celebrating 75 years saw 172 vehicles on display on the grounds. Shannons and the Bay to Birdwood support the vehicle club program which provides free access to the grounds and Museum for clubs with interesting vehicles.

The Motor Museum had a presence at the All British Day at Echunga in March 2023 with a Bantam Motorbike from the collection being displayed. The Adelaide Rally Prima Tour held its long lunch in the Museum’s main pavilion while over 75 high-end vehicles were on display on the grounds. The Museum was also featured in several broadcasts of Channel 7Mate!’s The Car Show program, which were filmed at the Museum. For the second year in a row, the Museum partnered with Birdwood Primary School to host ‘Farm Day’ on the Museum grounds. The event was included in South Australia’s History Festival and attracted over 4700 visitors. Of particular interest were demonstrations of lost and rare trades, such as blacksmithing and leatherworking. As part of the History Festival, the Museum also hosted a special event called ‘Some Cars Are Diamonds’ and ran Holden and Chrysler history and heritage bus tours. The Museum exhibited four vehicles at the Adelaide Motorsport Festival in Victoria Park in March 2023 which was very successful with an estimated 30,000 visitors to the festival over the two days.

The Motor Museum continued to be popular during school holidays, with Lego trail activities, animation workshops and a special trail based on the Tom Kruse story, featured in the Museum’s ‘Sunburnt Country’ exhibition, for children and families to follow on the Museum grounds.

A full-scale LEGO® replica of a 2018 Toyota Hybrid Camry attracted significant interest when it arrived at the Museum in December 2022. Built by Ryan McNaught, aka ‘The Brick Man,’ the display uses over 500,000 bricks and took 900 hours to build. In January 2023, the Museum hosted the start of the Santos Tour Down Under (TDU) Singapore Airlines Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) Women’s Stage 2. In partnership with General Motors Australia New Zealand, the display of 18 significant vehicles from the Holden Heritage Collection, Holden Heroes, continued at the Museum.

‘Bush Mechanics’, an exhibition based on the incredibly popular ABC series of the same name, remained on its national tour. This award-winning exhibition opened at the Motor Museum in 2016 and has since enjoyed an extended tour across mainland Australia and continues in Western Australia in 2023 and 2024.

Left: Supercar driver Craig Lowndes posing with the GM Holden HSV HRT 427 at the Adelaide Motorsport Festival 2023.

Accredited Museums and History
Fund Grants

Within the Museums and Collections (MaC) program, a number of South Australian museums are accredited using the National Standards for Australian Museums and Galleries (NSAMG). Accreditation status is reviewed every five years and in 2022-23 both the City of Unley Museum and the National Railway Museum were re-accredited to high museum standards. The NSAMG version 2.0 was released early in 2023 and will be applied to Trust accreditations from 2023-24. The substantially revised new standards focus more on digital collections and accessibility, and First Nations-specific content is incorporated throughout. The History Trust continues to work closely with accredited MaC museums, placing them in a strong position to meet the revised national standards.

The History Trust administers two annual grant funds totalling $384,000 that invest in history by supporting museums, history organisations and individuals to further build the evidence of our state’s rich and fascinating past. The South Australian History Fund grant program enables more stories to be gathered, preserved, and shared. The MaC grant program supports the development, preservation and sharing of community-held historical collections, promoting best practice and raising the profile, impact, and reach of South Australian history and community history organisations.
In 2022-23, the History Trust received 154 grant applications and funded 70 projects across the state.

Grants allocated across both funds in 2022-23 captured a diversity of topics including: war, architecture, railways, industry, social, and environmental history. Formats used spanned film, digital collections, print publications, exhibitions, and the production of research resources. The diversity of topics and formats delivered positive impact for a range of audiences including schools attending the Adelaide Holocaust Museum and Andrew Steiner Education Centre, and regional visitors across South Australia.

A number of past grant-funded projects were completed this year, including: an assessment at Beltana to understand the meaning and significance of its collections; new interpretive signage at Kimba and Naracoorte; and the production of multi-media resources documenting Adelaide’s anti-apartheid movement. Many collection management projects were completed around the state, resulting in the preservation of collections in wider Adelaide, the South-East, Riverland, Eyre Peninsula and Kangaroo Island.

Image: Photo taken at a two day workshop held in Port Lincoln by History Trust of South Australia and Artlab Australia team members. The disaster resilience training was funded by a grant from SAFECOM. Port Lincoln Historical Group and Axel Stenross Maritime Museum, attended.