Capital history happenings
As reported in Capital history in the news the 2019 Canberra and Region Heritage Festival starts in April. You can access the complete festival program here.
The festival kicks off over the next week with the following events.
Two fires festival of Arts and Activism (5-7 April)
Where: Braidwood
Cost: Not free
This festival celebrates the legacy of poet and social activist Judith Wright. Details are here.
Queanbeyan Region Heritage Festival 2019 Launch (11 April)
Where: Queanbeyan library
Cost: Free, bookings required
Miss Karlie Noon, Aboriginal woman and astrophysics post graduate student will be the keynote speaker at the launch of the 2019 Queanbeyan Region Heritage Festival. Event on at 6.00-7.30pm. Details here.
Other early events are exhibitions.
Apollo to the Moon (16 February-31 December)
Where: 45-minute drive from Canberra. Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex, 421 Discovery Drive, Paddys River District
Cost: Free
See spacesuits, rocket engines, and an actual piece of the Moon, plus the ‘real dish’ that allowed the world to join in Neil Armstrong’s one small step. Details here.
Track me to the Moon – Canberra and Apollo 11 (1 March-31 May)
Where: Fyshwick. ACT Heritage Library, 225 Canberra Avenue.
Cost: Free
Explore the role Canberra played in the success of the Apollo 11 moon landing through items from the ACT Heritage library and Archives ACT collections. Share in the stories of those who helped show the moon landing to the world. Details here.
Total Design: Derek Wrigley and the ANU Design Studio Exhibition (23 March-15 June)
Where: Civic. Canberra Museum and Gallery, Corner of London Circuit and Civic Square
Cost: Free
Formed in 1954, the ANU Design Unit under the direction of Derek Wrigley embraced a concept of ‘total design’. This exhibition celebrates the work and legacy of this unique group of designers and makers. Details here.
Marion Hall Best Interiors (23 March-15 June)
Where: Civic. Canberra Museum and Gallery, Corner of London Circuit and Civic Square
Cost: Free
Marion Hall Best was a flamboyant Australian interior designer from the 1950’s to the 1970’s. She bought international modernism to Canberra with a commission for the Lobby Restaurant featured in the exhibition. Presented by the Canberra Museum and Gallery, the exhibition is a travelling exhibition from the Sydney Living Museum. Details here.
Space to grow – The soldier settlers of Tuggeranong (1 April–7 May)
Where: Civic. Civic Square, London Circuit, City
Cost: Free
Photographic exhibition telling the story of eight men who served in the Great War and took up and farmed soldier settler blocks at Tuggeranong in the 1920’s. Details here.
Corin Dam – Space above: Space below (4-27 April)
Where: Tuggeranong. Tuggeranong Arts Centre, 137 Reed Street
Cost: Free
Marcel Hoogstad Hay, Valerie Kirk and Isabelle Mackay-Sim exhibit responses to the environment surrounding Corin Dam. Details here.
Space displays (8 April–11 May)
Where: Braidwood, Bungendore, and Queanbeyan. Moving between the 3 libraries.
Cost: Free
Exhibition about the 1960’s built enormous radio telescope, near Hoskinstown, and the contribution it has made to our understanding of space. Details here.
Naturally as a history enthusiast I love the Canberra and Region Heritage Festival. I am aiming to get to at least one event, each week of the festival. I love the passion of the participants, the diversity of the events and how the festival can help us see Canberra and the region in new ways.
Do you have plans to get to a festival event? If so, what will you be attending?
Acknowledgement: The image above is Approaching Braidwood from Nelligen, N.S.W, in 1912 by John Harvey. See acknowledgement page for details.
