Geelong

Wednesday 4 February 2026
Presented Kendrah Morgan

Morning Lecture:
MIRKA AND GEORGES: A CULINARY AFFAIR
Time & Venue: 10:30am at Newcomb Hall, 82 Wilsons Road, Newcomb.

The extraordinary story of Mirka and Georges Mora, with their classic French recipes, photographs and studio images.

Kendrah Morgan is Senior Curator at Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne.

Evening Lecture:
GRANT FETHERSTON: DESIGN FOR LIFE
Time & Venue: 6pm at Geelong West Town Hall, 153 Pakington Street, Geelong West.

This is the story of the great furniture designer who was born in Geelong. He is famous for his furniture designs, especially the ‘Contour Chair R160’ chair and his chairs became icons of the atomic age.

Wednesday 4 March 2026
Presented Susan Kay-Williams

Morning Lecture:
IMPERIAL PURPLE TO MARIE ANTOINETTE’S FLEAS: The colourful history of textiles
Time & Venue: 10:30am at Newcomb Hall, 82 Wilsons Road, Newcomb.

The fascinating story of how dyes were discovered, made, and used from the earliest time to the end of the 18th century. It is a story that travels from Europe to India and the Americas, a story of exploration, invention, war, the church, money, power, and sex.

Evening Lecture:
THE HISTORY OF EMBROIDERY
Time & Venue: 6pm at Geelong West Town Hall, 153 Pakington Street, Geelong West.

This lecture describes embroidery from the 10th century, clothing of the Tudor monarchs, 17th century imports from Inda and China, William Morris and finally today.

Susan was the Chief Executive of the Royal School of Needlework, based at Hampton Court Palace for 17 years. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and the Chartered Institute of Marketing and in 2015 was made a Fellow of the Society of Dyers and Colourists in recognition of her work on the history of dyes.

Wednesday 15 April 2026
Presented Anne Harbers

Morning Lecture:
TRAVELLING THE CONTINENT: The Grand Tour in the 18th Century
Time & Venue: 10:30am at Newcomb Hall, 82 Wilsons Road, Newcomb.

The grand tour was undertaken by many young English aristocrats, focusing on classical education but leading also into different styles of country house decoration and art.

Evening Lecture:
M C ESCHER: Master of Illusion
Time & Venue: 6pm at Geelong West Town Hall, 153 Pakington Street, Geelong West.

The work of Mauritis Cornellis Escher has long fascinated the viewer due to its optical illusions. We will see that his work was increasingly inspired by mathematics.

Ann is an independent art historian and lecturer focusing on European and Australian artists. Her current research delves into 17th century Dutch art, and European Art and Decorative Arts. She has published works on collecting, art and science, and lectured widely in Australia, Europe and the USA.

Wednesday 13 May 2026
Presented Zara Fleming

Morning Lecture:
THE ARTS AND CRAFTS OF KASHMIR
Time & Venue: 10:30am at Newcomb Hall, 82 Wilsons Road, Newcomb.

For 2000 years this tiny area has produced an astonishing diversity of art and crafts, influenced by Buddhist. Hindu and Islamic cultures: gardens, temples, carpets, sculptures and more.

Evening Lecture:
JOURNEY ACROSS THE HIMALAYAS
Time & Venue: 6pm at Geelong West Town Hall, 153 Pakington Street, Geelong West.

This lecture explores the Buddhist areas and ancient trade routes in the Himalayas, in the principalities and kingdoms from Ladakh to Bhutan and then Tibet.

Zara is a freelance lecturer, art consultant and exhibition curator, specialising in the art and culture of Tibet, the Himalayan areas and Mongolia.

Wednesday 17 June 2026
Presented Peter McNeil

Morning Lecture:
FASHION AND ART
Time & Venue: 10:30am at Newcomb Hall, 82 Wilsons Road, Newcomb.

For centuries, artists have engaged with an influenced fashion. So too have art forms such as painting, sculpture, printmaking and photography.

Evening Lecture:
CAFÉ SOCIETY
Time & Venue: 6pm at Geelong West Town Hall, 153 Pakington Street, Geelong West.

This lecture examines style icons in the inter-war years and the early 1950s: Grace Kelly, Fiana Vreeland, the Duchess of Windsor and others.

Dr Peter McNeil FAHA, is a Distinguished Professor of Design History, and a leading international scholar in the fields of design history, fashion studies and material culture.

Wednesday 8 July 2026
Presented Charlie Hall

Morning Lecture:
PEGGY GUGGENHEIM: A Life of Collecting
Time & Venue: 10:30am at Newcomb Hall, 82 Wilsons Road, Newcomb.

“I am a museum”, Peggy Guggenheim’s collection is one of the most iconic assemblages of 20th century art in the world.

Evening Lecture:
THE VENICE BIENNALE: A Many-headed Beast that Emerged from the (Supposed) Civilising, Enlightened Spirit of the Napoleonic Revolution
Time & Venue: 6pm at Geelong West Town Hall, 153 Pakington Street, Geelong West.

The Venice Biennale has had a huge impact on the Contemporary Art world, being the main event for any self-respecting art collector, connoisseur or critic. This talk discusses the inception and concept of the Biennale, and its subsequent growth over the 125 years.

Charlie is a passionate arts educator, lecturer, and guide, based in London and Italy. He is Director of the highly regarded John Hall Venice Course for gap year students and leads tours in Italy.

Wednesday 12 August 2026
Presented Tessa Boase

Morning Lecture:
THE HOUSEKEEPER’S TALE: The Women Who Really Ran the English Country House
Time & Venue: 10:30am at Newcomb Hall, 82 Wilsons Road, Newcomb.

Working as a housekeeper was one of the most prestigious jobs a 19th and early 20th century woman could want, and also one of the toughest. A series of poignant and dramatic stories about some of Britain’s most prominent households.

Evening Lecture:
LONDON’S LOST DEPARTMENT STORES
Time & Venue: 6pm at Geelong West Town Hall, 153 Pakington Street, Geelong West.

London’s sumptuous Victorian and Edwardian department stores changed the capital – and changed its women. Shoppers of every rank were lavishly wooed, seduced and often undone by the temptations laid out before them in these new ‘cathedrals of desire’

Tessa Boase is a freelance journalist, author, lecturer, and campaigner with an interest in uncovering the stories of invisible women from the 19th and early 20th-centuries

Wednesday 9 September 2026
Presented Mariska Beekenkamp-Wladimiroff

Morning Lecture:
MONDRIAN’S EVOLUTION INTO ABSTRACTION
Time & Venue: 10:30am at Newcomb Hall, 82 Wilsons Road, Newcomb.

Mondrian is forever known in history for the artist who created the extremely recognisable elementary colour field paintings. This lecture follows this evolution, his self-discovery, and his belief in a new world order

Evening Lecture:
THE ART OF LAUGHTER
Time & Venue: 6pm at Geelong West Town Hall, 153 Pakington Street, Geelong West.

Comical paintings were abundant in the Dutch Golden Age genre paintings depicting people and animals misbehaving, being silly, naughty and laughing out loud.

Mariska has a BA and MA in Art History, majoring in The Dutch Baroque Arts from the 17th century at the Courtauld Institute of Art, London.

Wednesday 14 October 2026
Presented Graham Jones

Morning Lecture:
MUSIC POWER
Time & Venue: 10:30am at Newcomb Hall, 82 Wilsons Road, Newcomb.

Music has been used in battle as a means to communicate orders, help give soldiers courage and to improve the morale of the Armed Forces. Is it still relevant in today’s military?

Evening Lecture:
THE MUSIC OF THE CARIBBEAN
Time & Venue: 6pm at Geelong West Town Hall, 153 Pakington Street, Geelong West.

Musical culture in the Caribbean is a synthesis of African, European, Indian and indigenous influences. Each island has its own complex rhythm patterns and styles.

Graham Jones has recently retired as the Senior Director of Music Household Division and Director of Music Coldstream Guard, positions unequally in military music in Great Britan.

Wednesday 11 November 2026
Time & Venue: 6pm at Geelong West Town Hall, 153 Pakington Street, Geelong West.
Annual General Meeting followed by
ON THE WILD SIDE
Presented Pieter de Vries

“In this lecture, I’ll share my techniques for capturing extraordinary images for Sir David Attenborough and National Geographic. From playful Macaque monkeys in China to majestic Cassowaries in Northern Australia, I’ll illustrate my presentation with segments from my nature documentaries.”

Sydney filmmaker Pieter de Vries is one of the leading documentary cinematographers in the world, travelling six months of the year to every imaginable location. His career has seen him filming the Red Army in China, rats in the sewers of New York, and the wreck of the Titanic with director James Cameron. Pieter has contributed to programs hosted by Sir David Attenborough and was Director of Photography for Darwin’s Lost Paradise. His numerous awards have included Cinematographer of the Year, and an Emmy nomination. His work has featured on NBC, BBC, History, Discovery and National Geographic Channels, as well as on ABC Television.