Can you help with finding Queensland’s significant gardens and landscapes?

Gardens are under-represented in heritage registers.

The Australian Garden History Society (AGHS) is undertaking a survey of
Queensland gardens and landscapes as the first step in a national strategy to
recognise and conserve heritage gardens.

The society has commissioned a team comprising Catherine Brouwer Landscape
Architects, Riddel Architecture and Nissen Associates to develop a statewide list
of gardens, landscapes or plantings with historical significance.

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Work by ACPHA delegates over the past year to advance the cause of
professional history at a national level included:

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Report on e-Hive Workshop
For the Professional Historians Association (Queensland)
Dr Neville Buch, e-Bulletin Editor
25 July 2012

Introduction

On Monday 24 July I attended the e-Hive Workshop organised by Vernon Systems Ltd, held at the Queensland Museum by Zoe Hill. Vernon Systems Ltd is a company that produces collections management software for museums, galleries, and other cultural heritage institutions. Established in 1985 and based in Auckland, New Zealand, it manages the collection system for the Queensland Museum.  eHive is a web-based software as a service application, which means it  provides an online collections management system to the public,  allowing free use initially for low levels of use, and then graded charges depending on usage.

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By Dr Jonathan Richards
Vice President, Professional Historians Association (Queensland)

The 2012 Annual General Meeting on 26 September will be a watershed for the Professional Historians Association (Queensland). The Association has reached a point in its natural development where new roles need to be taken on, and where there will be a partial “changing of the guard.” Geoff Doherty is retiring as our Treasurer, the role being one of the three Executive positions.

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Tribute by Jeff Hopkins-Weise

In the local Pine Rivers/Moreton Bay Region history and heritage scene, it is sad to note the passing of well-known and respected local historian and former council librarian Leith Barter (1947-2012). Leith lost his battle with cancer on 9 July, aged 64. He had only recently retired from his position as Local Studies Librarian at the Strathpine Library in late 2010, after holding that position for some 14 years.

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Let’s face it. As critical scholars we don’t like the corporate language of achievement and success. We understand the hidden motivations and power structures in play. Witness the Australian popular debates recently with a less-than-gold standard in our country’s Olympic performance in London; before the welcome home parades. On the radio, television, and internet blogs, it seemed everyone had a pet theory on why Australian sports men and women were under-performing. There was plenty of blame to share around and the assumptions were over-bloated within the expectations of the Australian Olympic Team and organisers.

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By Dr Neville Buch, PHAQ e-Bulletin Editor

In this very uncertain economic climate, the best thing that the Professional Historian Association can do is get out into the marketplace and explain to the general public who are professional historians and what we can do. If there is fewer dollars flowing from government and corporate coffers, because of downturn in the economy, and because the electorate voted for a government to reduce debt, than we must communicate our value to the community in the strongest terms.

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It would be easy to feel very pessimistic at this moment of the state economy and investment in cultural affairs. The Professional Historian Association (Queensland), however, is dedicated to looking after the working interest of its members and the welfare of professional history in Queensland.  For that reason, as an association we will not just accept the pessimism of our current situation. It is time to look after ourselves and not leave the fortunate of tomorrow to luck or to the hope that someone is going to rescue us from our damnation.  The best that we have going for us, as professional historians, is the Association. It is Association which provides the professional recognition and the support of colleagues.

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It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

When feeling despondent about the recent political and economic environment in Queensland, we need to remind ourselves of Dickens’ words, and the thought that it is not over yet. The “fat girl” hasn’t sung, and her name is history. Professional historians are not history yet in this state! We, as an Association, have it in our own hands to make our future and that is why I urge members to consider and read carefully the item in this e-bulletin, called “Announcing Strategic Planning”.

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By Helen Gregory

‘Will you go through our collection to see what you can find for an exhibition on the 1890s floods in Brisbane?’ was an invitation too tempting to resist. Flooding was in all our minds early in 2011 when the State Library of Queensland was planning its ‘Floodlines’ exhibitions. The exhibition on the 2010-2011 floods which inundated vast swathes of Queensland was planned to be a high tech exposition, using the latest in electronic wizardry to communicate the horrible experiences endured by many people in Queensland’s ‘summer of sadness’.

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