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What's on

Explore our events, exhibitions, workshops and talks.

In the spotlight

Parents and child smiling and talking in the Library's Treasures Gallery
Treasures Gallery
Daily

The Treasures Gallery is where you can find highlights from our physical and digital collection

Exhibition
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Assistance animals welcome
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Wheelchair accessible
A black and white image of two women sitting on concrete steps, one holding woodworking tools, the other painting at an easel and holding a parasol
Book launch - Double Act: Eirene Mort and Nora Kate Weston
02 Mar 2026

Dr Sylvia Martin, in conversation with Frank Bongiorno, launches her new book about prominent Australian artists Eirene Mort and Nora Kate Weston, and their incredible 60-year creative partnership.

Event
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Assistance animals welcome
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Hearing induction loop
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Wheelchair accessible
Text in a retro font reading '1975 Living in the Seventies' on a bright orange background
1975: Living in the Seventies
14 Aug 2025 - 09 Mar 2026

Look back on life in the 70s including politics, feminism, pop culture, news of the day, and more.

Exhibition
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Assistance animals welcome
Wheelchair icon Wheelchair icon
Wheelchair accessible
A woman with long hair tied back stands in the centre of the image wearing a white shirt and navy jacket
2026 Ann Moyal Lecture: Professor Georgina Long AO
19 Mar 2026

Professor Georgina Long AO delivers the 2026 Ann Moyal Lecture, addressing the question 'When groundbreaking cancer treatments save 50% of patients, what happens to the other half?' 

Event
Talks and ideas
Flagship lecture
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Assistance animals welcome
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Hearing induction loop
Wheelchair icon Wheelchair icon
Wheelchair accessible

Events

A woman stands in the centre of this image, looking to the left and smiling. She is in front of an aeroplane and wearing a jacket.

Large photograph of Freda Thompson in flight gear, holding cap and googles, from the Papers of Freda Thompson, c. 1934, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-3923190274

Coffee with the Curator and Conservator: Treasures Insights
18 Feb 2026

Join the Friends of the Library and delve into the Library's 2025 Treasures Gallery refresh. **Booked out**

Event
Friends of the Library event
Collection talk
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Assistance animals welcome
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Wheelchair accessible
Etching of mythical sea creatures and a figure preparing to jump into the sea

Britomartis jumps into the sea, image courtesy Lorna Hutson

England's 'island nationhood?' with Professor Lorna Hutson
19 Feb 2026

Professor Lorna Hutson examines early modern legal and poetic texts to explore the concept of England's 'island nationhood'.

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
A short haired woman with black rimmed glasses in a checkered, button down shirt, smiling at the camera

2025 Creative Arts Fellow Julie Gough

Enaction Plan: Reassembling the past with Julie Gough
26 Feb 2026

Julie Gough will discuss her recent Fellowship research focusing on colonial collections and their role in shaping Tasmanian Aboriginal histories.

Event
First Australians
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
View all events

Exhibition

Text in a retro font reading '1975 Living in the Seventies' on a bright orange background
1975: Living in the Seventies
14 Aug 2025 - 09 Mar 2026

Look back on life in the 70s including politics, feminism, pop culture, news of the day, and more.

Exhibition
Assistance animals icon Assistance animals icon
Assistance animals welcome
Wheelchair icon Wheelchair icon
Wheelchair accessible

Explore more

Volunteer Library tour guide smiling and greeting a tour group, made up of people of various ages, in the foyer.
Library tours
Orange, brown and white painting hung in the main reading room

Minnie Lumai (b. 1940), Yab-yab-gnerni-gnim (Sugarbag Dreaming), 2009, natural ochre on canvas ; 130 x 125 cm, Main Reading Room.

Artworks in and around the building
Two young women having morning tea at the Bookplate cafe

Bookplate cafe

Cafes
Woman browsing books on display at the Library's Bookshop
Bookshop
People reading and talking in a large, sunny room at tables, desks and computer stations

Main Reading Room

Reading rooms

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