History

New clues shed light on ‘pivotal’ moment in the great Pacific migration

The peopling of the Pacific is one of the most significant migrations in human history. And now an archaeological discovery on a small island in Papua New Guinea has recast the early scope of this settlement, in a finding archaeologists say could explain the migration east three millennia ago.

New website to preserve PNG history

Voices from the War is an oral history collection of interviews with men and women from six provinces in PNG about their own, or their relatives', experiences of the war.

The oral history project and website was developed by Deakin University in collaboration with PNG’s National Museum and Art Gallery.

Launched on Friday as part of the International Museum Day, the website links with this year’s theme “Hyper-connected museums: New approaches, new publics” by combining traditional and modern ways of communicating”.

National Film Institute archive deteriorating

The film collection in the archives is deteriorating.

Film archivist, Michelle Baru, said Brian Bell has responded by sending their technician to assist.

“The functions of the National Film Institute are clearly defined in Section 21 of the National Cultural Commission Act 1994. In practical daily terms, the NFI’s primary mission is in producing films and video documenting Papua New Guinea’s rich and diverse cultural heritage, and to actively engage in fostering the growth of a Melanesian Film Culture and Industry,” Ms Baru explained.

Anthony Joshua v Joseph Parker fight will make 'history' in Cardiff

WBA and IBF world heavyweight champion Joshua meets WBO title-holder Parker at Cardiff's Principality Stadium.

It will be Briton Joshua's fourth stadium bout but, with 80,000 fans expected, represents a new level of interest for New Zealand's Parker.

"It took me a few times to get used to it," Joshua told BBC Radio 5 live.

"It's an experience he hasn't faced yet. It is daunting, it is overwhelming.

Princess Diana's 'traditional' memorial raises eyebrows

Chesterfield Borough Council last weekend launched a "well dressing" with a blessing service that marks the 20th anniversary of Princess Diana's death in a Paris car crash.

A well dressing involves using only natural materials, including seeds, berries, leaves and flowers to make a mural.

Djs gather 50 years on to mark the golden age of British pirate radio

And the British government was furious.

Back in the 1960s, when pop and rock were taking over the music scene, British teenagers had to turn to pirate radio stations to hear bands like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.

Barred from broadcasting from land, stations such as Radio Caroline and Radio London had taken to the water, using rusty old ships moored in international waters to broadcast to millions of eager listeners across the UK.

This Indigenous community flipped the roles in colonial photos

"It was set up to gather the Indigenous people from out in the bush and chain them up and bring them into Coen ... to get them off the country," says artist and Kaantju traditional owner Naomi Hobson.

Now, in collaboration with photographer Greg Semu, Hobson has set out to explore this history by recreating brutal archival images.

But in Semu's images the script has been flipped — often the victims pose as abusers. And the entire Indigenous community of Coen was involved in the recreations.

Scared to speak

Shakespeare's Globe Theatre set to come alive in Melbourne

"We're going to pop up in six weeks. A three-storey, 900-person, 100-tonne theatre," Miles Gregory, the project founder, said.

"There will be incredible fights, hundreds of litres of fake blood, cannons firing. It is an immersive theatre experience.

"People will get splashed."

The pop-up Globe Theatre was built in Auckland in 2016 to mark the 400th year of Shakespeare's death and after several sell-out seasons is coming to Melbourne's Sidney Myer Music Bowl in September.

A history of Mother's Day: From campaigns for peace to cards, flowers and family reunions

Some mums may be given cards, flowers and gifts, while others may enjoy breakfast in bed or a lunch out.

Mother's Day has long been a part of the Australian calendar, but where did the idea to dedicate the second Sunday in May to honouring motherhood come from?

The modern Australian celebration of Mother's Day actually grew out of calls for peace and anti-war campaigns following the American Civil War (1861-65).

Ballarat keeps Doctor Blake alive as ABC kills off crime series

Locals and tourists alike crane past barriers to get a glimpse of the filming for ABC TV's The Doctor Blake Mysteries.

But not this year.

The soon-to-be-aired fifth season of the murder mystery drama will be the last after the ABC announced the cancellation of the show earlier in the year.

Set in Ballarat in the 1950s, The Doctor Blake Mysteries follow the travails of a country doctor and his housekeeper who are drawn in to solve crimes that often stump the local police.