The 1st annual conference of Automotive Historians Australia was a great success in September 2016! With a range of academic, enthusiast and social activities, the program was enjoyed by all who participated. See below for some highlights:
Here is a taste of the action!
Please visit our YouTube channel for more full filmed version of each of the paper presented in 2016.
Hosted by RMIT Design Archives, RMIT School of Architecture and Design, and Monash University Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture, this exciting conference program included:
RACV Harley Tarrant Cocktail Party: RACV City Club in Melbourne, 1st September
Inaugural Ron Tauranac Lecture: Professor Penny Sparke at RMIT Design Hub in Melbourne, 2nd September
Conference dinner: The Lincoln in Carlton, 2nd September
Conference paper sessions and AHA Annual General Meeting: RMIT Design Hub in Melbourne, 1st - 3rd September
Motor enthusiast displays (artefacts/ memorabilia/ documents/ posters/ drawings): RMIT Design Hub in Melbourne, 1st - 3rd September
Automotive site tour to Smith collection, Kyneton, 4th September
To see a full video versions of presentations at the conference, please sign up as an AHA member.
We hosted a range of exciting papers from local and international academic and enthusiast speakers, reflecting on the past, and projecting what the future for automotive may hold. An exciting centrepiece of these sessions was the Inaugural Ron Tauranac Lecture, delivered by invited author Professor Penny Sparke, author of the acclaimed book A Century of Car Design. See her full lecture below:
Penny Sparke is a Professor of Design History and Director of the Modern Interiors Research Centre, Kingston University. Since 1975 she has taught the History of Design to undergraduate and postgraduate students at Brighton Polytechnic and, from 1981 to 1999, at the Royal College of Art. She has also, since that time, worked in the field of late nineteenth and twentieth century Design History and has lectured, curated exhibitions, broadcast and published widely in that broad field both in the UK and overseas. Professor Sparke is an Honorary Senior Fellow of the Royal College of Art. To see a full video version of this and other presentations at the conference, please sign up as an AHA member.
Conference delegates rubbed shoulders with academic and automotive industry insiders at the opening night Harley Tarrant Cocktail Party at the RACV City Club. The conference dinner was a roaring success at The Lincoln, an iconic Melbourne pub reflecting the culinary quality of this cosmopolitan city. Finally the site tour of the Smith Collection in Kyneton was a fascinating finale to the program on Sunday afternoon.
The Automotive Historians Australia Committee would like to thank all who participated and helped to make this highly successful event run so smoothly.
Published proceedings are now available above, and please visit our YouTube channel for full filmed version of each of the paper presented.
We look forward to another great event next year!
PS Check out all the highlights in the gallery below
Conference details:
Academic conveners:
Professor Harriet Edquist - harriet.edquist@rmit.edu.au
Dr. Mark Richardson - mark.richardson@monash.edu
Simon Lockrey - simon.lockrey@rmit.edu.au
Place: RMIT Design Hub: Melbourne, Australia
Date: 1 – 4 September, 2016
Contact: conference@autohistoriansaustralia.org
