Orange will host the History Council of NSW's annual History Weekend on October 28-29.
A series of events have been planned for anyone interested in history and heritage to immerse themselves in the rich history of the Orange and Bathurst regions.
Orange Mayor Jason Hamling said the event offered the opportunity to examine history and the region from a different perspective.
"This is a rare opportunity to discover amazing stories of the past that some people may not have heard before and see the region through the eyes of historians with in-depth knowledge of the heritage and history of the area," Cr Hamling said.
Bruce Pascoe.
The weekend will begin with the free 'Connecting Culture: Tracing Ancestors' workshop from 11am to 2pm on Friday 28 October at the Hotel Canobolas.
The workshop will introduce participants to the diverse family history collections at the State Library of NSW. Melissa Jackson is a First Nations family history specialist whose expertise is in the areas of language enquiries and material, cultural consultation and First Nations family
history. First Nations people and anyone wanting to know how to trace mob are encouraged to attend. Lunch will be provided.
A highlight of the weekend will be the Annual History Lecture and cocktail party, which will be held from 6pm to 8pm in the Hotel Canobolas Ballroom on Friday 28 October.
The lecture aims to engage and educate the community about the vitality, diversity and meaning of history and its practice, from the perspective of a leading Australian historian.
This year's lecture will be presented by Professor Bruce Pascoe, an Indigenous Australian writer of literary fiction, non-fiction, poetry, essays and children's literature. His works have been published nationally and internationally and have won several national literary competitions.
Mr Pascoe will pose the question, "What will change if we all have a better understanding of Australian History pre-contact?".
To wrap up the weekend's events, a Hidden Histories bus tour of the Orange and Bathurst regions will be held on Saturday, 29 October.
During the tour leading local, not-so-local and First Nations historians will peel back the layers of history in the region to reveal its key people, conflicts, transformations and buildings.
The tour will include visits to the Pillars of Bathurst and Abercrombie House, the Beekeepers Inn at Vittoria and the Performing Arts Gallery in Blayney. Dr Stephen Gapps will conduct a talk on the Frontier Wars at Kings Plains before the group returns to Orange to attend an after-hours tour of Mulaa Giilang - Wiradjuri Stories of the Night Sky at Orange Regional Museum.
Registrations are essential for all events and can be booked via the History Council of NSW website.
The annual History Weekend is supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW and Destination NSW, and Orange City Council.
