Making Public Histories: Thinking about the weather heatwaves and history in twentieth century Australia

Heatwaves are forgotten killers as deaths occur silently, in homes and institutions. In urban and temperate areas heatwaves evaporate from our memory, erased by the drama of fire, flood and storm.
Environmental historians recognise the importance of climate as not simply a “backdrop against which history is played out” but an active force in Australian life. Through hospital records, diaries and press reports, we examine daily life in the mid-twentieth century as heatwaves unfold, finding that decisions about sleep, food, housing, clothing and social interaction, as well as professional and domestic labour, were disrupted and negotiated.
By uncovering the everyday practices by which people negotiate weather, in urban, regional and remote areas, we reveal how heatwaves have been crucial in shaping the Australian idea and experience of climate.

Join us for three expert speakers and a topical panel discussion.

Speakers

MANDY PAUL- ‘Fearful heat’: the January 1939 heatwave in Tarntanya/Adelaide
Mandy is a public historian and museum professional whose current research interests include the history of heatwaves in Tarntanya/Adelaide, and the power of museum collections. She is Head of Collections at the History Trust of South Australia and a visiting Research Fellow in the School of Humanities at the University of Adelaide.

ROCHELLE SCHOFF- Thermometer conscious: keeping an eye on the mercury in everyday life
Rochelle is a graduate researcher in environmental history in the Department of Archaeology and History, La Trobe University. Her research focuses on drought and extreme weather and considers relationships between people and climate across regional southeastern Australia during the twentieth century.

REBECCA JONES- Living with heat in arid Australia
Rebecca is an environmental historian with particular interest in Australian climate, weather, rural health and adaptation. She worked as a public historian in Victoria and at Monash University and the Australian National University. She is the author of Slow Catastrophes: Living with drought in Australia (Monash University Publishing).

The seminar is part of an ongoing series, Making Public Histories, that is offered jointly by the Monash University History Program, the History Council of Victoria and the Old Treasury Building. Each seminar aims to explore issues and approaches in making public histories. The seminars are open, free of charge, to anyone interested in the creation and impact of history in contemporary society.

We thank the series sponsors, Monash University Publishing, the Monash University History Program and the Old Treasury Building.