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NLA News - homeSeptember 2005 Volume XV Number 12


CALENDAR

OF EVENTS

Author! Author!
An Afternoon with
Kate Grenville

Date: Sunday 16 September
Time: 3:30 pm
Venue: Bookplate
Cost: Friends $12;
non-members $17
Bookings essential:
(02) 6262 1698

 

The 2005 Kenneth Myer Lecture, presented by
Tim Costello AO
The Seeds of Change: Serendipity and
Social Movements

Date: Thursday 6 October
Time: 6 pm
Venue: NLA Theatre
Cost: Free admission, donations to the National Library Treasures Gallery
welcome
Booking essential:
(02) 6262 1698

 

 

For bookings, details of membership and subscriptions, contact:
Friends of the NLA
National Library of Australia
Parkes Place
CANBERRA  ACT  2600
Tel: (02) 6262 1698
Fax: (02) 6273 4493
Email: friends@nla.gov.au
Web site: www.nla.gov.au/friend

September Friends

The Kenneth Myer Lecture series commenced in 1990 as a major annual event for the Friends of the National Library of Australia. The Lecture was named for Kenneth Baillieu Myer AC, who was chairman of the Library Council from 1974 to 1982, and a long-time friend of the Library. The 2005 Kenneth Myer Lecture will be given on Thursday, 6 October at 6 pm, by Tim Costello AO. His topic will be The Seeds of Change: Serendipity and Social Movements.

With qualifications in Law and Theology, Tim Costello’s career path has been a powerful expression of his commitment to social justice. After ordination as a Baptist Minister in 1986, Tim established a vibrant and socially active ministry at St Kilda Baptist Church. In 1993 he became the Mayor of St Kilda and from 1995 to 2004 he was Minister at Collins Street Baptist Church and Executive Director of Urban Seed, a Christian not-for-profit outreach service for the urban poor. In February 2004, Tim accepted the role of Chief Executive of World Vision, Australia’s largest overseas aid organisation, having been drawn to their philosophy of helping the poorest of the poor. In this appointment he has witnessed the worst of humanitarian disasters and seen the most inspiring human responses to suffering. In July 2004 Tim Costello was named 2004 Victorian of the Year and in June 2005 he was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO).

Come along to the National Library on 6 October to hear Tim speak. Free admission; donations to the National Library Treasures Gallery welcome. Bookings are essential on (02) 6262 1698.

Meanwhile, don’t forget that Kate Grenville is coming to the Library on Sunday 18 September. Her latest work is set in the early nineteenth century on what was then the frontier: the Hawkesbury River. William Thornhill, an illiterate Thames bargeman and a man of quick temper but deep feelings, steals a load of timber and is transported to New South Wales in 1806. After being pardoned he takes up land on the river, which looks certain to make him rich. There’s just one problem. The land is already owned: it’s been part of the territory of the Darug people for perhaps 40 000 years.

Kate’s ancestor may well have lived a life something like William Thornhill’s. The seed for The Secret River was planted on the day she took part in the 2001 Reconciliation Walk across Sydney Harbour Bridge. As she revealed in a recent Bulletin interview: ‘I suddenly thought: is he an ancestor I need to be ashamed of? Was he one of the settlers who went out and shot Aborigines?’ The Secret River plunges the reader into the experience of frontier life. It doesn’t judge any of the characters or their actions, just invites the reader to ask the question: ‘What might I have done in that situation?’

Where else would you rather be at 3:30 pm on Sunday 18 September, than at our beautiful Bookplate café, sharing afternoon tea with Kate Grenville and hearing her talk about her work and give a reading from The Secret River.

JILLIAN EDWARDS
Acting Executive Officer
Friends of the National Library of Australia

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