Society News
Monday 10 August 2009 - 13:27:55
Major celebrations to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Stuart's expedition to the centre of the continent are to be held in Alice Springs in 2010:
National Trust's Heritage Week, April 10 - 19, 2010 The 150th anniversary of John McDouall Stuart’s first expedition to Central Australia in April 1860 events.
Lifting the Veil – an exhibition celebrating 150 years since the Stuart expedition to Central Australia 1860. Venue: Museum of Central Australia, Araluen Cultural Precinct. Sponsor: Museums and art Galleries of the Northern Territory. The Museum of Central Australia will present a temporary exhibition displaying a number of unique items owned or used by John McDouall Stuart and his expedition members during their attempts to cross Australia from south to north between 1858 and 1862.
Special activities in the Alice Springs Town Library all week. For the duration of the week there will be book displays and special activities relating to John McDouall Stuart. Drop in to the library or ring 8950 055 to find out what's on each day. There will be activities for children, treasure trails through the library for youth, stories about Stuart's arrival and ‘indigenous perspectives’ story-telling.
Saturday morning 10 April: 11.00 am. Opening event of the John McDouall Stuart 150th anniversary. Venue: Town Council lawns and Alice Springs Public Library. Sponsor: Alice Springs Town Council. Kick off the week by joining Mayor Damien Ryan for a community barbecue on the Todd St lawns, with a performance by the Alice Springs Town Band and NT Music School Choir performing songs about John McDouall Stuart.
Saturday afternoon 10 April: 2.00 pm. The National Trust’s Heritage Week opening. Venue: Hartley Street School. Sponsor: McDouall Stuart Branch of the National Trust (NT). The National Trust will host an afternoon tea at Hartley Street School with a guest speaker talking about Stuart Town circa 1930 (when the school opened).
Sunday 11 April: 4.00 pm - 6.30 pm. Re-enactment of Stuart’s arrival at Owen Springs and Creekbed Concert. Venue: Hugh River at Owen Springs Reserve. Sponsor: NT Parks & Wildlife, Bloodwood, Alice Springs Town Council, Rotary Club of Stuart and the Dyson Group of Companies. The feature event for the week will commence at 4 pm with a re-enactment of the arrival of John McDouall Stuart, William Kekwick and Benjamin Head at Owen Springs on 11 April 1860. A creekbed concert will follow until 6.30 pm, featuring Bloodwood and Ted Egan.
Tuesday 13 April: 7.30 pm. Doreen Braitling Memorial Lecture. Venue: Alice Springs Town Council. Sponsor: National Trust, in association with the McDouall Stuart Masonic Lodge. The National Trust is reviving the Doreen Braitling Memorial Lecture. This annual history lecture was initiated some years ago to honour the town’s legendary heritage advocate. Rick Moore (John McDouall Stuart Society, Adelaide) and Darryl Pearce (Lhere Artepe Aboriginal Corporation) have been invited to speak. The National Trust is providing supper.
Wednesday 14 April from 11.00 am to 12.00 noon. Alice’s Treasures: A White Glove Tour of the NT Archives Service. Venue: NT Archives Service, Ground Floor Minerals House, 58 Hartley Street. Sponsor: Northern Territory Archives Service. Come along and have a behind the scenes tour of the NT Archives Service where original records relating to Alice Springs and its people are held. Come and see the mysteries and histories that await you in the repository. Get some advice on how to look after your own treasures. Numbers are strictly limited and bookings are essential. Contact Carolyn Newman on 89515669 to book your place in history.
Wednesday evening 14 April: 5.30 pm – 7.30 pm. Chains of Change - The story of the town’s oldest surviving building. Venue: Stuart Town Gaol in Parsons Street. Sponsor: McDouall Stuart Branch of the National Trust. Historian Meg Kelham will conduct a lecture and powerpoint presentation about Alice Springs crime 1909-1938: Lunatics, Larrikins and Hungry Men. Refreshments will be provided by the National Trust.
Thursday evening 15 April: 7:30 pm. Mr Stuart's route: telegraph stations and the early meeting of two cultures, 1870 to 1930. Venue: Desert Knowledge Precinct, South Stuart Highway. Sponsor: Desert Knowledge CRC. To mark the 150th anniversary of Stuart’s 1860 expedition, the Desert Knowledge CRC is initiating an annual lecture series on issues of significance to Central Australia. This first lecture will be presented by Dr Philip Jones from the SA Museum. The Overland Telegraph Line was constructed only a decade after Stuart’s explorations. The telegraph stations became the first points at which Aboriginal and Western cultures came together. We are yet to fully appreciate the contribution made by the Overland Telegraph operators and the Aboriginal people, who served as cultural brokers along Mr Stuart's line.
Friday 16th April. Take a tour of a John McDouall Stuart Journey - 11 Days. More Information Here.
Friday night 16 April: 7.00 pm. Film Night at the old ‘Walk-In’. Venue: Pioneer Theatre in Parsons Street (now YHA Hostel). Sponsor: McDouall Stuart Branch of the National Trust. There’ll be a film night in Snow Kenna’s historic open air theatre, with shorts and a feature film related to the week’s theme.
Saturday morning 17 April: 8.00 am. Stuart Town Walking Tour with Jose Petrick. Venue: Various historic buildings of town. Sponsor: McDouall Stuart Branch of the National Trust. Local historian and author Jose Petrick will lead an informative tour of discovery and reveal things about Stuart town that only Jose can provide!
Saturday 17 April from 11.00 am to 12.00 noon. Alice’s Treasures: A White Glove Tour of the NT Archives Service. Venue: NT Archives Service, Ground Floor Minerals House, 58 Hartley Street. Sponsor: Northern Territory Archives Service. Come along and have a behind the scenes tour of the NT Archives Service where original records relating to Alice Springs and its people are held. Come and see the mysteries and histories that await you in the repository. Get some advice on how to look after your own treasures. Numbers are strictly limited and bookings are essential. Contact Carolyn Newman on 89515669 to book your place in history.
Saturday afternoon 17 April from 1.00 pm to 3.00 pm. Historic Buildings Bus Tour. Venue: Meet at the Hartley St School. Sponsor: McDouall Stuart Branch of the National Trust. Heritage advocate, artist, blacksmith and engineer Dave Leonard will take people on a bus tour of heritage properties and locations around Alice Springs.
Sunday 18 April from 11.00 am to 2.00 pm. The Road the War Built. Venue: Stuart’s Bush Kitchen, Norris Bell Avenue. Sponsor: National Road Transport Hall of Fame. The National Road Transport Hall of Fame is holding an open day to commemorate the naming of Stuart Highway which was constructed during the war years. There’ll be a free sausage sizzle and country music.
Sunday evening 18 April. Ecumenical Church Service. Venue: Anglican Church of the Ascension, Bath Street. Rev Bob George will host an Ecumenical Thanksgiving Service.
National Trust's Heritage Week, April 10 - 19, 2010 The 150th anniversary of John McDouall Stuart’s first expedition to Central Australia in April 1860 events.
Lifting the Veil – an exhibition celebrating 150 years since the Stuart expedition to Central Australia 1860. Venue: Museum of Central Australia, Araluen Cultural Precinct. Sponsor: Museums and art Galleries of the Northern Territory. The Museum of Central Australia will present a temporary exhibition displaying a number of unique items owned or used by John McDouall Stuart and his expedition members during their attempts to cross Australia from south to north between 1858 and 1862.
Special activities in the Alice Springs Town Library all week. For the duration of the week there will be book displays and special activities relating to John McDouall Stuart. Drop in to the library or ring 8950 055 to find out what's on each day. There will be activities for children, treasure trails through the library for youth, stories about Stuart's arrival and ‘indigenous perspectives’ story-telling.
Saturday morning 10 April: 11.00 am. Opening event of the John McDouall Stuart 150th anniversary. Venue: Town Council lawns and Alice Springs Public Library. Sponsor: Alice Springs Town Council. Kick off the week by joining Mayor Damien Ryan for a community barbecue on the Todd St lawns, with a performance by the Alice Springs Town Band and NT Music School Choir performing songs about John McDouall Stuart.
Saturday afternoon 10 April: 2.00 pm. The National Trust’s Heritage Week opening. Venue: Hartley Street School. Sponsor: McDouall Stuart Branch of the National Trust (NT). The National Trust will host an afternoon tea at Hartley Street School with a guest speaker talking about Stuart Town circa 1930 (when the school opened).
Sunday 11 April: 4.00 pm - 6.30 pm. Re-enactment of Stuart’s arrival at Owen Springs and Creekbed Concert. Venue: Hugh River at Owen Springs Reserve. Sponsor: NT Parks & Wildlife, Bloodwood, Alice Springs Town Council, Rotary Club of Stuart and the Dyson Group of Companies. The feature event for the week will commence at 4 pm with a re-enactment of the arrival of John McDouall Stuart, William Kekwick and Benjamin Head at Owen Springs on 11 April 1860. A creekbed concert will follow until 6.30 pm, featuring Bloodwood and Ted Egan.
Tuesday 13 April: 7.30 pm. Doreen Braitling Memorial Lecture. Venue: Alice Springs Town Council. Sponsor: National Trust, in association with the McDouall Stuart Masonic Lodge. The National Trust is reviving the Doreen Braitling Memorial Lecture. This annual history lecture was initiated some years ago to honour the town’s legendary heritage advocate. Rick Moore (John McDouall Stuart Society, Adelaide) and Darryl Pearce (Lhere Artepe Aboriginal Corporation) have been invited to speak. The National Trust is providing supper.
Wednesday 14 April from 11.00 am to 12.00 noon. Alice’s Treasures: A White Glove Tour of the NT Archives Service. Venue: NT Archives Service, Ground Floor Minerals House, 58 Hartley Street. Sponsor: Northern Territory Archives Service. Come along and have a behind the scenes tour of the NT Archives Service where original records relating to Alice Springs and its people are held. Come and see the mysteries and histories that await you in the repository. Get some advice on how to look after your own treasures. Numbers are strictly limited and bookings are essential. Contact Carolyn Newman on 89515669 to book your place in history.
Wednesday evening 14 April: 5.30 pm – 7.30 pm. Chains of Change - The story of the town’s oldest surviving building. Venue: Stuart Town Gaol in Parsons Street. Sponsor: McDouall Stuart Branch of the National Trust. Historian Meg Kelham will conduct a lecture and powerpoint presentation about Alice Springs crime 1909-1938: Lunatics, Larrikins and Hungry Men. Refreshments will be provided by the National Trust.
Thursday evening 15 April: 7:30 pm. Mr Stuart's route: telegraph stations and the early meeting of two cultures, 1870 to 1930. Venue: Desert Knowledge Precinct, South Stuart Highway. Sponsor: Desert Knowledge CRC. To mark the 150th anniversary of Stuart’s 1860 expedition, the Desert Knowledge CRC is initiating an annual lecture series on issues of significance to Central Australia. This first lecture will be presented by Dr Philip Jones from the SA Museum. The Overland Telegraph Line was constructed only a decade after Stuart’s explorations. The telegraph stations became the first points at which Aboriginal and Western cultures came together. We are yet to fully appreciate the contribution made by the Overland Telegraph operators and the Aboriginal people, who served as cultural brokers along Mr Stuart's line.
Friday 16th April. Take a tour of a John McDouall Stuart Journey - 11 Days. More Information Here.
Friday night 16 April: 7.00 pm. Film Night at the old ‘Walk-In’. Venue: Pioneer Theatre in Parsons Street (now YHA Hostel). Sponsor: McDouall Stuart Branch of the National Trust. There’ll be a film night in Snow Kenna’s historic open air theatre, with shorts and a feature film related to the week’s theme.
Saturday morning 17 April: 8.00 am. Stuart Town Walking Tour with Jose Petrick. Venue: Various historic buildings of town. Sponsor: McDouall Stuart Branch of the National Trust. Local historian and author Jose Petrick will lead an informative tour of discovery and reveal things about Stuart town that only Jose can provide!
Saturday 17 April from 11.00 am to 12.00 noon. Alice’s Treasures: A White Glove Tour of the NT Archives Service. Venue: NT Archives Service, Ground Floor Minerals House, 58 Hartley Street. Sponsor: Northern Territory Archives Service. Come along and have a behind the scenes tour of the NT Archives Service where original records relating to Alice Springs and its people are held. Come and see the mysteries and histories that await you in the repository. Get some advice on how to look after your own treasures. Numbers are strictly limited and bookings are essential. Contact Carolyn Newman on 89515669 to book your place in history.
Saturday afternoon 17 April from 1.00 pm to 3.00 pm. Historic Buildings Bus Tour. Venue: Meet at the Hartley St School. Sponsor: McDouall Stuart Branch of the National Trust. Heritage advocate, artist, blacksmith and engineer Dave Leonard will take people on a bus tour of heritage properties and locations around Alice Springs.
Sunday 18 April from 11.00 am to 2.00 pm. The Road the War Built. Venue: Stuart’s Bush Kitchen, Norris Bell Avenue. Sponsor: National Road Transport Hall of Fame. The National Road Transport Hall of Fame is holding an open day to commemorate the naming of Stuart Highway which was constructed during the war years. There’ll be a free sausage sizzle and country music.
Sunday evening 18 April. Ecumenical Church Service. Venue: Anglican Church of the Ascension, Bath Street. Rev Bob George will host an Ecumenical Thanksgiving Service.
Past Ceremony at Stuart's statue
The Annual Remembrance Ceremony will be held on July 25th 2010, at Stuart's statue in Adelaide, South Australia.
The Society is planning an event in South Australia on October 7th 2010, to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Stuart, Kekwick and Head returning from the centre of the continent - Stuart's 4th Journey. Please revisit this page later for more details.
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