Friends exclusive events | National Museum of Australia

Friends enjoy exclusive access to special events including our monthly Object Club and Time Traveller's Book Club.

Object Club

Join us on the last Friday of each month as one of our Museum curators, conservators or other expert staff share their deep understanding of an object or exhibition. Free for Friends, bookings essential.

Object Club – Meet the Director, Katherine McMahon 10.30am–11.30am Friday, July 26, 2024 Free, bookings essential Book tickets

Katherine McMahon has had a stellar career with large cultural institutions and was appointed as director in February 2024. Join us in July to hear Katherine's plans for the Museum. This Object Club will take place in Visions Theatre, not the Friends Lounge. Exclusive to Friends. Join Friends

Object Club – The Norman Hetherington collection 10.30am–11.30am Friday, August 30, 2024 Free, bookings essential Book tickets

How did 800 objects belonging to Norman Hetherington – artist, performer, puppeteer and creator of the beloved Mr Squiggle – end up at the National Museum of Australia? Join Dr Sophie Jensen, Assistant Director of Collections, to learn why and what is in store for this unique Australian collection. Exclusive to Friends. Join Friends

Time Traveller’s Book Club

Our Time Traveller’s Book Club is hosted by the Friends team on the last Tuesday of each month. Free for friends, bookings essential.

Time Traveller’s Book Club – Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee 11am–12pm Tuesday, July 30, 2024 Free, bookings essential Book tickets

Beginning with the Long Walk of the Navajos and ending with the massacre of Sioux at Wounded Knee, this extraordinary book by Dee Brown tells how the American Indians lost their land, lives and liberty to white settlers pushing westward. All Friends welcome. Join Friends

Time Traveller’s Book Club – Elizabeth & John: The Macarthurs of Elizabeth Farm 11am–12pm Tuesday, August 27, 2024 Free, bookings essential Book tickets

Join us to discuss this landmark and revealing biography of Elizabeth and John Macarthur. Historian and award-winning author Alan Atkinson draws on his work on the Macarthur family over 50 years to explore the dynamics of their strong and sinewy marriage, and family life across two generations. Join Friends

Time Traveller’s Book Club – The Surgeon of Crowthorne 11am–12pm Tuesday, September 24, 2024 Free, bookings essential Book tickets

This month we explore the world of words through Simon Winchester’s Tale of Murder, Madness and the Oxford English Dictionary. This monumental task requiring thousands of volunteers revealed an incredible story when the dictionary’s editor, James Murray, travelled to Crowthorne to meet WC Minor, one of the keenest volunteers. Join Friends

Time Traveller’s Book Club – Lessons from History: Leading Historians Tackle Australia’s Greatest Challenges 11am–12pm Tuesday, October 29, 2024 Free, bookings essential Book tickets

Does history repeat itself? How can a knowledge of Australian history enhance our understanding of the present and prepare us for the future? This month we’ll ponder these questions with this collection of essays by a diverse range of historians. Join Friends

2024 Book Club reading list

February

Empress of the Nile: The Daredevil Archaeologist Who Saved Egypt’s Ancient Temples from Destruction by Lynne Olson, ISBN 9781922585998

Buy in Museum Shop

March

Burning the Books: A History of the Deliberate Destruction of Knowledge by Richard Ovenden, ISBN 9781529378771

April

The Bookseller of Florence: Vespasiano da Bisticci and the Manuscripts that Illuminated the Renaissance by Ross King, ISBN 9781784709372

May

Songlines: The Power and the Promise by Margo Neale and Lynne Kelly, ISBN 9781760761189

Buy in Museum Shop

Also recommended to enjoy – Songlines: First Knowledges for Younger Readers by the same authors

June

A Brief History of Japan: Samurai, Shogun and Zen by Jonathan Clements, ISBN 9784805313893

July

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West by Dee Brown, ISBN 9780099526407

August

Elizabeth and John: The Macarthurs of Elizabeth Farm by Alan Atkinson, ISBN 9781742237565

September

The Surgeon of Crowthorne: A Tale of Murder, Madness and the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester, ISBN 9780140271287

Also recommended to read with this one:

The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester
The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams

October

Lessons from History: Leading Historians Tackle Australia’s Greatest Challenges, Carolyn Holbrook, Lyndon Megarrity, David Lowe (eds), ISBN 9781742237473

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2024 Annual Appeal Mr Squiggle and Friends – the Norman Hetherington collection

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