News
We're closing our rooms for the holiday break, but you can still keep up with us online!
Our Annual General Meeting will take place on Sunday 9th September at 2:00pm.
The President's and Treasurer's Reports and the election of the Committee will be followed by a presentation and a presentation and talk by Deborah Tout-Smith from Museums Victoria.
Deborah has been a museum curator for over 30 years and has worked in the Humanities Department of Museums Victoria since 2002. She has curated several major exhibitions at Melbourne Museum, including WWI: Love & Sorrow (2014) and Melbourne Story (2008, with Liza Dale-Hallett). Her talk will take us behind the scenes at the museum and discuss her work on early Brighton.
The talk will be followed by a Silver Service afternoon tea.
Where: First floor, Bayside Arts & Cultural Centre, corner Wilson & Carpenter Streets, Brighton (lift available)
Price: Free, but please RSVP for catering purposes
Open House Melbourne is back, and we're delighted to once again be taking part.
The Brighton Historical Society will be open to visitors between 1 and 5pm this Saturday and Sunday (July 28 and 29). Whether you've never visited us before or you're a regular face, this is a great chance to drop in, view our latest exhbits, find out about our work, ask any burning historical questions or just have a chat!
While you're here, make sure you take in the rest of Bayside's Open House offerings. In addition to the BHS, the Gallery, Town Hall, Brighton Theatre Company, Council Chambers and associated meeting rooms will be all be open. The Gallery has a great exhibition on at the moment featuring historical and contemporary artworks highlighting how water is central to place and identity, and it's well worth a visit.
When: Saturday and Sunday, July 28 and 29, 1pm to 5pm
Where: Bayside Arts and Cultural Centre, corner Wilson and Carpenter Streets, Brighton
Cost: Free!
[Image: Council meeting in the old Brighton Town Hall's council chambers - now home to the BHS.]
The Brighton Theatre Company is hosting a fundraising evening for the BHS, featuring supper and a performance of their new production, Other Desert Cities.
A Pulitzer-nominated play by Brothers & Sisters creator and West Wing contributor Jon Robin Baitz, Other Desert Cities tell the emotionally-charged story of family coming to terms with long held secrets. For the first time in years, Lyman and Polly Wyeth host a family Christmas at their richly-appointed home in Palm Springs, California - but when their daughter Brooke announces that she's writing a tell-all memoir about an incident from the family's past they'd all rather forget, the festivities are thrown into disarray. With its richly-drawn characters and witty yet lacerating dialogue, Other Desert Cities deliver both humour and pathos.
When: Wednesday 15th August 2018, 7:30pm for 8:00pm curtain
Where: Bayside Arts and Cultural Centre, corner Wilson and Carpenter Streets, Brighton
Tickets: $25 (includes performance and supper)
Bookings: Contact Brighton Historical Society
Brighton Historical Society invites you to a viewing of the film Icebergers on Sunday, 22nd April 2018 at 2.00pm.
Icebergers follows the story of one man's journey from Britain to Australia to discover the Brighton's cold water swimmers, the Icebergers, who brave the chilly waters of the bay year-round. An inventive, hilarious and often very wet film that will take you to the pier politics of cold water swimming, the true romance and comedy of the steam room, and the adventures and predicaments of taking on a full winter with just a pair of bathers and a waterproof camera!
The screening will be followed by a Q and A session with filmmaker David Brooks, and afternoon tea will be provided.
Cost: Members $10, Non-members $15
Venue: Brighton Historical Society, 1st floor, Bayside Arts and Cultural Centre
Bookings essential.
Fifty-five years ago an extraordinary book, A History of Brighton, was published. It created ripples never felt before and possibly never to be repeated in Australian history circles. The author was Weston Bate, a veteran crewman in the RAAF and a greatly loved master at Brighton and Melbourne Grammar schools.