About the talk
We are familiar with the traditional, often romanticised images and stories of prospectors, diggers up and down on their luck, rushes into the wilderness, mining mates, camp life and lonely deaths in the bush. 'The rush to be rich' lured a multitude of people to the fields - travellers and observers, itinerants and settlers, builders and speculators. This period and place has been fertile ground for the proliferation of myths and legends. Some myths have passed comfortably into history. Do we see different things and things differently when we re-took at the historical evidence from the perspective of the 21st century? This talk will explore that question, re-examining the representations of 1890s travellers, such as Albert Calvert and Walter Hodgson, Catharine Bond and May Vivienne, as well as some iconic photographic images and personal writings. It tells a (somewhat) different history of the 1890s fields. About the Speaker Dr Lenore Layman is a Murdoch University historian who researches widely in Western Australian history. She has recently published 110° in the Waterbag. A History of Life, Work and Leisure in Leonora, Gwalia and the Northern Goldfields; and Powering Perth. A History of the East Perth Power Station and the Electrification of Perth. She is the historian member of the team which has produced the Australian Asbestos Network website on the health disaster of asbestos use in Australia. Lenore has published numerous articles on aspects of Western Australia's industrial, labour and health history, and is currently assisting the National Party of Australia (WA) with the writing of the party's centenary history (1913-2003). Members Free, Non-Members $5 donation For further information contact 6488 2354 or email [email protected]
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