Leading Aboriginal author and historian Bruce Pascoe will be giving the keynote lecture at a special symposium being held in Armidale as part of the 180th anniversary commemorations of the Myall Creek Massacre.
The Myall Creek and beyond symposium is being held at the Oorala Aboriginal Centre at the University of New England on Friday 8 June 2018 and features a line-up of leading artists, writers, historians and commentators discussing the significance of the massacre in 1838, the events which followed afterwards and the annual commemoration event held each June at the memorial near Bingara in the New England region.
“Bruce Pascoe is an author, historian and commentator whose work is leading the way in reappraising the indigenous history of Australia,” said Robert Heather, Art Museum Director. “His book Dark Emu (Magabala Books 2014) has won numerous awards including the NSW Premier’s Book of the Year in 2016 and has turned on their heads many people’s assumptions about Aboriginal life prior to first contact.”
“Bruce will be talking about ‘Australia’s failure to know its history’ and will be one of the highlights of what promises to be a fascinating day of speakers covering a whole gamut of topics related to the massacre and its significance in history, law and culture”.
The Myall Creek and beyond symposium will also feature talks and presentations by a range of speakers including:
- Callum Clayton-Dixon and Gabi Briggs from Anaiwan Language Revival on frontier wars in the New England district;
- Tasmanian contemporary artist Julie Gough on her work examining massacre sites;
- Rory O’Connor CEO of the Yugumbeh Language Museum on the roles of memorials;
- Professor Lyndall Ryan from the University of Newcastle who will discuss her recent project creating an online map of massacre sites around Australia;
- Barrister and former Crown Prosecutor Mark Tedeschi author of the recent book Murder at Myall Creek (Simon and Schuster 2017);
- and many others.
The symposium program will also include the launch of the new book Remembering the Myall Creek Massacre (NewSouth Publishing 2018) featuring essays examining the history and aftermath of the massacre.
Registrations are now open for the symposium at the New England Regional Art Museum website.
REGISTRATIONS:
- $100 full registration
- $50 concession registration (students, pensioners, members Friends of Myall Creek, Members Friends of NERAM Inc.)
- Members of the local Aboriginal community, UNE students, UNE staff and are able to attend free of charge thanks to the support received from the Oorala Aboriginal Centre at the University of New England. Please register by emailing Tess Cullen at tcullen6@une.edu.au with your name, contact details and student/staff ID number and/or the community you represent and you will be sent a registration form.
BOOKINGS REQUIRED – Book your registration here
The symposium is being held in association with Myall Creek and beyond, a major exhibition opening at the New England Regional Art Museum (NERAM) on the evening of Friday 8 June 2018 featuring the work of leading contemporary Aboriginal artists Robert Andrew, Fiona Foley, Colin Isaacs, David Leha, Laurie Nilsen, Carol MacGregor and Waraba Weatherall responding to the massacre site, its history and the memorial event.
The symposium and exhibition are part of a four-day long program to commemorate the 180th anniversary of the Myall Creek Massacre in 1838 which will culminate in the memorial event at the site of the Myall Creek Massacre Memorial on the morning of Sunday 10 June 2018.
The exhibition Myall Creek and beyond is a partnership between the New England Regional Art Museum and the Friends of Myall Creek Memorial and has been supported by Regional Arts NSW through the Regional Arts Fund, the New South Wales Government through Create NSW and the Australian Government Department of Communications and the Arts Indigenous Language and Arts Program. Our exhibition sponsor is JNC Group.
Project partners include:
- Arts North West
- Armidale and Region Aboriginal Cultural Centre and Keeping Place
- Beyond Empathy
- University of New England
- Oorala Aboriginal Centre at University of New England
- Friends of Myall Creek Memorial – Armidale Chapter
