24th September Richard White will speak on What’s happening to Australia’s national symbols?

The symbols of a nation never stand still – they are constantly changing, despite the desire to think of them as immovable. Even during the four years of editing and updating a new edition of Symbols of Australia, originally published in 2010, it was hard to keep up as well-established national symbols shifted on their foundations. This illustrated talk surveys a range of Australia’s national symbols, from the formal to the popular, the commercial and the humorous, examining their origins, their many and varied meanings, and how they have changed over time.

Richard White taught Australian history and the history of travel and tourism at the University of Sydney from 1989 to 2013. His publications include Inventing Australia, The Oxford Book of Australian Travel Writing and On Holidays: A History of Getting Away in Australia. His current research interests include the history of tourism’ in Australia and the history of the cooee, but he has to admit he spends more time in the garden than at a desk. A new edition of Symbols of Australia (co-edited with Melissa Harper and first published in 2010) appeared in 2021.