I have undertaken a number of public speaking engagements on a range of topics. I have also presented at numerous conferences and panels/symposiums on a range of heritage and communication related topics. I speak at interest group meetings, heritage events, retirement group events and other community events, and am regularly invited to speak at community functions. I have also facilitated training workshops, which can be tailored to your unique needs. Please feel free to browse some of the public lectures I have given below. If you are interested in booking me to speak at your event, just contact me to discuss your needs!
Community Events
2021
Ormiston House: A History for the Past, Present and Future (Australian Heritage Festival – Queensland National Trust (Redlands Branch event)
Hidden Histories: The Tenants of Ormiston House (Historic Ormiston House Lecture Series)
2019
Introduction to the Historic Ormiston House Garden Tour (with Chris Brauns) (Historic Ormiston House)
Migration to the Redlands: A Remarkable Post-War Story (Ormiston Rise Invited Guest Speaker)
Captain Louis Hope and Ormiston House (Australian Heritage Festival – Historic Ormiston House Lecture Series)
The Effects of the Second World War in the Redlands: Global Concerns, Local Impact (Salford Waters Invited Guest Speaker)
Migration to the Redlands: Our Post-War Story (Australian Heritage Festival – Invited Speaker for Redland Museum’s “Trio of Talks”)
2018
Introduction to the Historic Ormiston House Garden Tour (with Chris Brauns) (Historic Ormiston House)
Post-War Migration to Queensland: Local Places, Local History (Wynnum Library Local History Invited Guest Speaker)
Historic Ormiston House, its Residents, and Their History (Historic Ormiston House Lecture Series)
2017
Post-War Migration to Queensland: Our Local Story (Wynnum Manly Historical Society Invited Guest Speaker)
Ormiston and the Second World War (Historic Ormiston House Lecture Series)
2016
European Children and World War II: Displacement, Resettlement and New Homes (Historic Ormiston House Lecture Series)
Ormiston House and Louis Hope (Wynnum Library Local History Invited Guest Speaker)
Migration to the Redlands: Our Post-War Story (Historic Ormiston House Lecture Series)
2015
Ormiston House: Connections to Conflict (Historic Ormiston House Lecture Series)
Ormiston During Wartime: Our Suburb’s Story (Queensland Heritage Week)
Distant Land, Distant Conflict, Personal Connection: Australia’s Own Connections to the Finnish Winter War (Wynnum Manly Historical Society Guest Speaker)
Conference Presentations
2020
Refugee resettlement and the disjuncture between government records and oral histories: ‘Problem cases’ or friendships that ‘held everybody together’? (7th International Symposium of the Finnish Oral History Network FOHN)
Heritage Tourism: Are We Utilising Heritage Tourism to its Full Potential? (Museums and Galleries Small Museums and Galleries Conference)
‘The More Horrible the Thing Was, the More They Laughed’: Refugees, Laughter and Responses to Trauma’ (26th Australian Humour Studies Network Conference)
2019
Resettlement of Displaced Persons and Accommodation in Camp Environments: A Pathway to Freedom, or “Just in Limbo”? (Intimate Stories, Challenging Histories: Biennial Oral History Australia Conference)
Refugees, Laughter and Responses to Trauma (The Laughter Symposium, Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research)
“I know only too well what it’s like to be a refugee:” Displaced Persons’ experiences of trauma and responses to contemporary crisis in Europe (The Revenge of Europe’s Past? Australasian Association for European History 50th Anniversary Conference)
2016
“My Thoughts are Dark”: Echoes of Post-War Refugee Experiences in the Contemporary Conflict in Ukraine (with Dr Robert Mason) (Global Histories of Refugees in the 20th and 21st Centuries)
Panel: Refugees, Social Inclusion and the Legacies of Violence in Australia – Child Refugees and the Legacy of Violence: Disruption, Connectivity and Inclusion (Oceanic Conference on International Studies)
2015
My History, Your History, Our History: Developing Meaningful Community Engagement within Historic Sites and Museums (Museums & Galleries Queensland Conference)
Far From Home: Refugee Settlement Experiences and Challenges to the Family Unit (Australian Historical Association Annual Conference)
2014
Memory, Identity, Community: Building Relationships in the Present While Maintaining Connections with the Past (South East Queensland Small Museums Conference)
Connecting with Conflict: Australian Responses to the Finnish Winter War, 1939-1940 (Australian Historical Association Annual Conference)
Panels/Symposiums
2021
Invited speaker on ABC Radio Brisbane Mornings (speaking on community heritage)
2020
Funding for Small Museums & Galleries – Panel Discussion (Museums and Galleries Small Museums and Galleries Conference)
2019
Refugees, Laughter and Responses to Trauma (The Laughter Symposium, Griffith University Centre for Social and Cultural Research)
Workshops
Marketing Your Museum (Museums and Galleries Queensland Small Museums and Galleries Conference)