FUTURE EVENTS
Our next speaker evening is at 5 30pm on Tuesday 2 June 2026 at the Society's rooms - 3 Cathedral Street, Maitland.
TOPIC: Federation
Speaker: Cameron Archer
Personalities, Pragmatists and Visionaries
Have you ever wondered how Australia became a nation? How did six quarrelsome,
self-interested colonies put aside their differences and agree to unite as the
Commonwealth of Australia? At the Society’s next history talk, Cameron Archer will
explore these questions in a presentation titled Personalities, Pragmatists and
Visionaries: The Origins and Federation of Australia. Drawing on five decades of
political debate, popular will and remarkable characters—from Henry Parkes to
Edmund Barton and Alfred Deakin—the presentation charts the long and often
turbulent road to Federation on 1 January 1901.
The address is drawn from Cameron’s research at the time of the Centenary of
Federation, and from the public address he delivered at St Ann’s Presbyterian
Church, Paterson, on 8 July 2001—itself a building with deep connections to John
Dunmore Lang, one of Australia’s earliest advocates of Federation. Cameron also
published a small booklet on the subject through the Paterson Historical Society at
the time. This is an opportunity to hear a well-researched and lively account of one of
the most important chapters in Australia’s history—told with a strong local
connection.
All are welcome. Both Society members and the general public.
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Speaker Evenings are held on the first Tuesday of the month (except January) at 5 30 pm.
(A small charge of $5 includes light refreshments provided before and after the speakers delivery.)
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Future Guest Speakers:
2026
7 July 2026
4 August 2026
1 September 2026 Paul Taylor: HMAS Maitland
6 October 2026 Jennifer Buffier: Les Darcy 110 years ago this month he left for America. Why? What was his motivation?
3 November 2026
1 December 2026
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