News from Art and Archives

Relocation of Regional Archives and University Art Collection

The Charles Sturt University Regional Archives will be closed from 6 June 2022 to undertake our long-awaited relocation. We will re-open in early 2023

Our new Search Room will be on the top floor of the Merrylees Library on the north campus of Charles Sturt University [see building location]. There is a fantastic view of Wagga from that floor which you will need to come and see for yourself. We will be providing more information on how to find us in the coming months.

The Art Curator will also be moving into the Merrylees Library with us. As part of the renovations, he will be be gaining some dedicated work and storage areas where the University's valuable art collection can be held when not on public display around the campuses.

While the Archives are closed, we will still be attending to mandatory internal and government requests where possible. For other matters, please email us or leave a message on our answering service. While we will be monitoring our email and phone messages, please understand we may not be able to attend to your enquiry during this very busy time.

Portrait of Andy Vann, Vice-Chancellor (2012-2020)

Charles Sturt University periodically commissions portraits of Senior Executive officers; recently one such oil painting was hung in the board room of The Grange in Bathurst. This process is driven by the University Art Collection and funded by The McDonough Endowment.

Portait of Professor Andrew Vann by Yvette Coppersmith in 2020. Melbourne-based, 2018 Archibald Prize winning artist, Yvette Coppersmith was commissioned to paint the Vice Chancellor of Charles Sturt University (2012-2020), Professor Andrew Vann, in October 2019.

Coppersmith is very familiar with portrait commissions, having painted Rupert Myer, Chair of the Australian Council of the Arts (2012-2018); international law specialist, Gillian Triggs, who was the former President of the Australian Human Rights Commission and is a current Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations; Brian Wilson, the former Chancellor of the University of Technology Sydney; and Emeritus Professor Anne Green of the School of Physics at the University of Technology Sydney.

The first meetings, then three sittings, between the Vice-Chancellor and the artist started on 25 November 2019 at the National Gallery of Victoria. Lockdowns and COVID-19 outbreaks delayed the final three sittings of the portrait, which was completed at the end of 2020 and the work hung in The Grange board room in early 2022.

Read more about Charles Sturt University's Senior Executive Portraits

The Tarcutta Mural

Charles Sturt University Regional Archives was asked in 2020 to contribute six stories to the Tarcutta Memorial Hall Mural Project. These have been turned into six podcasts by Eastern Riverina Arts.

Sam Brooks was commissioned by Eastern Riverina Arts to complete a mural on the side of the Tarcutta Memorial Hall to commemorate the community's military and soldier settler history.

Tarcutta's Military History Brought to Life in New Mural

In conjuction with the mural, the Charles Sturt University Regional Archives was asked to contribute six stories which tell the story of the Hall, the locals who went to war, and the ones who became part of the community after the war. Those stories were:

  • The Tarcutta Soldier's Memorial Hall (by Jillian Kohlhagen)
  • The Sacrifices of Esther Bridget Latham (by Jillian Kohlhagen)
  • Private Ken Allison: A WW2 Story (by Jillian Kohlhagen)
  • Charles 'Berry' Bardwell: the man from near the Snowy River (by Wayne Doubleday)
  • Soldier Settlers and the Tarcutta Estate (by Jillian Kohlhagen)

The six stories can now be heard via a number of podcast apps and websites, including:

Apple Podcasts

Audible

Podchaser

Spreaker from iHeart

Spotify

Achieving Higher Education in Albury-Wodonga

Achieving Higher Education in Albury-Wodonga traces the arrival of tertiary education in the Albury-Wodonga region through the story of Charles Sturt University.

Title page of Achieving Higher Education in Albury-Wodonga, by Portia Dilena.Through the use of oral history interviews with past staff and students, it demonstrates the necessity of tertiary institutions in regional Australia in providing equity in services, promoting regional development, and strengthening communities.

This is a well-told story by Portia Dilena and shows why the Albury-Wodonga/Thurgoona campus is 'here to stay in the public good'.

Achieving Higher Education in Albury-Wodonga

The Wal Fife Room

The Wal Fife Room is a fully preserved office of the late Wal Fife, a local Wagga Wagga identity and member of parliament.

The Room, located in the Mount Erin Convent in Wagga Wagga, was set up in 2014 to be an exact replica of Wal's home office from 1988. It contains a wealth of material gathered during Wal's long political career, starting in 1957 until his retirement in 1993. The Charles Sturt University Regional Archives, along with a number of individuals and community groups, is involved in the management of the Room which has been established to replicate a working politician's office and as a research facility (by appointment only).

The Wal Fife Room

"At the Archives"

From 2007 until 2017, the Regional Archives submitted a fortnightly article to the Weekend Advertiser.

Each "At the Archives" article featured a short story of relevance to the Wagga Wagga area and its history. It often contained information about certain collections we hold, the resources available in our Search Room, and how to access the records. A pdf copy of most "At the Archives" articles are available online on our website.

Index to 'At the Archives'