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Past events

Showing 1 - 12 of 213 results
1789 Map of the Malabar Coast

Dalrymple Charts of the Malabar Coast

Mapping the Unknown: Cartographers' strategies for navigating uncertainty
14 Oct 2025 | 6:00pm - 7:00pm

We explored early modern maps with cartographic historian Chet Van Duzer.

Online
Theatre
Past event
Talks and ideas
Assistance animals icon Assistance animals icon
Assistance animals welcome
Assistive learning icon Assistive learning icon
Hearing induction loop
Wheelchair icon Wheelchair icon
Wheelchair accessible
Film poster for Brazen Hussies featuring a woman, yellow background and women's protestors, with pink and purple protest graphics

Brazen Hussies documentary film poster, and cover image, Unfinished Revolution by Virginia Haussegger, 2025 (detail)

Brazen Hussies: Then and now
02 Oct 2025 | 6:00pm - 8:30pm

We reflected on the women's liberation movement of the 1970s and examined what feminist activism looks like today. 

Online
Theatre
Film screening
Past event
Talks and ideas
Panel discussion
Assistance animals icon Assistance animals icon
Assistance animals welcome
Assistive learning icon Assistive learning icon
Hearing induction loop
Wheelchair icon Wheelchair icon
Wheelchair accessible
Children seated at a table doing craft activities
School holiday activity: 1975 - 1 October, 2:00pm
01 Oct 2025 | 2:00pm - 3:00pm

We travelled back 50 years with the Library’s Education team!

Lower Ground 1
For kids and families
School holiday event
Past event
Assistance animals icon Assistance animals icon
Assistance animals welcome
Wheelchair icon Wheelchair icon
Wheelchair accessible
Children seated at a table doing craft activities
School holiday activity: 1975 - 1 October, 10:30am
01 Oct 2025 | 10:30am - 11:30am

We travelled back 50 years with the Library’s Education team!

Lower Ground 1
For kids and families
School holiday event
Past event
Assistance animals icon Assistance animals icon
Assistance animals welcome
Wheelchair icon Wheelchair icon
Wheelchair accessible
An adult and child reading a book with a dog sitting between them.
Story Dogs on Sunday - September 2025
28 Sep 2025 | 2:00pm - 3:00pm

We had a paw-sitive reading experience with the Story Dogs program.

Foyer
Books and authors
Storytime
For kids and families
Past event
An image of a desert with the Friends event sticker

Dr Chris Carter, Image of an archaeological site in the Atacama Desert

Archaeology of water with Dr Chris Carter
18 Sep 2025 | 6:00pm - 7:30pm

Dr Chris Carter and the Friends of the National Library hosted an enlightening talk about how water is essential for human survival.

Foyer
Online
Theatre
Friends of the Library event
Past event
Two men talking with each other, Kim Beazley and Caspar Weinberger

Australian Overseas Information Service, Portrait of Kim Beazley with Caspar Weinberger, U.S. Defence Secretary, 1988, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-136622610

Fellowship talk: Defending Australian Territory
17 Sep 2025 | 12:30pm - 1:30pm

Honorary Fellow Associate Professor Andrew Carr discussed his research on the history of Australian defence policy.

Online
Theatre
Past event
Talks and ideas
Fellowship talk
Assistance animals icon Assistance animals icon
Assistance animals welcome
Assistive learning icon Assistive learning icon
Hearing induction loop
Wheelchair icon Wheelchair icon
Wheelchair accessible
Book cover pictured next to trees in autumn colour

Book cover, The Man who Planted Canberra: Charles Weston and His Three Million Trees, and image (detail) courtesy Adrian Kelson Photography

Book launch: The Man Who Planted Canberra
12 Sep 2025 | 10:30am - 11:30am

We held a special book launch event for Robert Macklin's definitive biography of Charles Weston.

Offsite
Books and authors
Book launch
Past event
Booked out
Christos Tsiolkas wearing a blue shirt standing in front of the ocean by a rock pool

Image credit: Zoe Ali

2025 Ray Mathew Lecture: Christos Tsiolkas
11 Sep 2025 | 6:00pm - 8:00pm

Award-winning author Christos Tsiolkas delivered the 2025 Ray Mathew Lecture, exploring the idea of 'Fence-sitting', and its place in the modern world.

Online
Theatre
Books and authors
Past event
Talks and ideas
Flagship lecture
Booked out
Assistance animals icon Assistance animals icon
Assistance animals welcome
Assistive learning icon Assistive learning icon
Hearing induction loop
Wheelchair icon Wheelchair icon
Wheelchair accessible
Book cover for A House Divided, headshot of Clare Hallifax and the 1975 exhibition branding
Teacher Professional Development with Clare Hallifax
10 Sep 2025 | 4:00pm - 5:30pm

Clare Hallifax presented a teacher professional development workshop along with educators and curators from the Library.

Theatre
Author talk
Education/learning
Past event
Workshops and seminars
Workshop
Speakers at the Great Debate 2025
The Great Debate 2025: That Australian history unites us
09 Sep 2025 | 4:00pm - 7:00pm

We held for the Great Debate and the Great Student Debate during Social Sciences Week 2025.

Theatre
Past event
Talks and ideas
Assistance animals icon Assistance animals icon
Assistance animals welcome
Assistive learning icon Assistive learning icon
Hearing induction loop
Wheelchair icon Wheelchair icon
Wheelchair accessible
Letter from Jane Austen to her sister Cassandra, 11 June 1799

Letter from Jane Austen to her sister Cassandra, 11 June 1799, nla.obj-229629481

Jane Austen and her legacy – 250 glorious years
20 Aug 2025 | 6:00pm - 7:00pm

Susannah Fullerton OAM, President of the Jane Austen Society of Australia delivered a public lecture marking the 250th Anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth.

Online
Theatre
Past event
Talks and ideas
Assistance animals icon Assistance animals icon
Assistance animals welcome
Assistive learning icon Assistive learning icon
Hearing induction loop
Wheelchair icon Wheelchair icon
Wheelchair accessible

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