Programs and Activities - 2004
23-26 September: ACSANZ Conference 2004
The biennial ACSANZ Conference was held September 23-26 in Sydney at the Sebel Hotel: Pier One. The Association for Canadian Studies in Australia and New Zealand was founded in 1982 to encourage interest in Canadian Studies and to promote a greater understanding of Canada at all educational levels and in all disciplines. Those in attendance at this year’s conference included delegates from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and India, who met to share their current Canadian Studies research. Canadian Acting High Commissioner Gaston Barban and Canadian High Commissioner Richard Kohler welcomed participants and introduced special guests, Canadian High Commissioner to New Zealand John Donaghy and award-winning Canadian architect Ian MacDonald. Under the conference banner “Learning from each other,” University of Wollongong’s Anne Collett and Dorothy Jones joined an impressive list of distinguished scholars who presented papers on issues such as: conflict and peace, design and modern cities, civil liberties and empowerment, comparative literatures and histories, and indigenous issues. Gerry Turcotte launched Australian writer Joy Hooton’s new novel, Leavetakings, which chronicles the journey of Michel Caseneuve , a fictional character based on the French Canadian Patriotes transported to Australia in 1840 as a result of the 1838 rebellion in Lower Canada. Other highlights of the conference included a Harbour dinner cruise, which toured Canada Bay where the French political prisoners were detained, and a screening of Denys Arcand’s spellbinding film, The Barbarian Invasions.
5 August: All Canada Day
The Centre for Canadian-Australian Studies hosted its fourth All Canada Day as part of an ongoing partnership with the Canadian Government. Operating under the banner of UOW’s International Week – an event dedicated to celebrating the University’s cultural diversity and commitment to international research and study partnerships – Tony McKittrick, Manager of Academic Relations and the Canadian Education Centre at the Canadian High Commission, joined representatives from The Centre for Canadian-Australian Studies, UOW’s Study Abroad Programs, and STA Travel, to promote academic and professional exchanges overseas, in Canada. Both local and international UOW students visited the information booths throughout the day, benefiting not only from the expertise and resources of the event’s organizers, but also from the first-hand experiences shared by former Canadian exchange participants and Canadians currently studying at Wollongong University.
Following the morning’s event, Tony McKittrick, Gerry Turcotte, and a representative from Study Abroad provided a lunchtime seminar for students interested in gaining a more comprehensive understanding of Canada’s culture, climate, and academic lifestyle.
The day was an enormous success, with a record number of students.
Click here to view the day's programme.
25 June: Border Crossings Book Launch
The launch of Centre Director Gerry Turcotte’s latest publication, Border Crossings: Words & Images, took place at the National Archives, Canberra on the evening of June 25th. The event, sponsored by The Canadian High Commission in collaboration with the Association for Canadian Studies in Australia and New Zealand (ACSANZ) and the National Institute of the Humanities and Creative Arts (ANU), was a part of Canada Week, an annual week long celebration of Canada. Prof David Adams, Acting Director, NIHCA introduced Canadian High Commission Jean Fournier, Australian National University Lecturer Denise Ferris, and Macquarie University Professor Donald Ross, who all spoke about Dr Turcotte’s work and the importance of support for Canadian projects in Australia. Dr Turcotte read selections from Border Crossings, accompanied by a slide show of some of the photography featured in the book. The evening concluded with a book signing session by the author.
Published by Brandl and Schlesinger, Border Crossings: Words & Images is a synergistic combination of Gerry’s photography and writing. The photography is taken from a 2002 exhibition of Gerry’s work, and the writing includes poetry, essays and a prose piece written for and performed at the Sydney Opera House for the Sydney Writers' Festival in 2002. The book is “a meditation on the idea of borders as frames, and of renovation as a language of change, migration and escapes. It is also an ode to Australia and Canada and the way their separate qualities overlap in their influence to produce the hybrid vision represented here”.
21 May: Pre-Departure Briefing, Sydney
The Centre for Canadian-Australian Studies was pleased to be involved in a Pre-departure Briefing for Australian university students travelling to Canada on exchange. Centre Director Gerry Turcotte and Dr Debra Dudek helped outline some of the differences between university life in Canada and in Australia. The day's events helped prepare students for some of the difficulties of travelling to a new environment for educational purposes. The session was meant to prepare students for academic and social differences. It also outlined some of the administrative tasks necessary for travel. Students who had previously travelled to Canada on exchange were on hand to offer insight, and to answer questions.
4 May: Indigenous Writers' Night - Celebrating the Voice 4
Presented by the Centre for Canadian-Australian Studies in conjunction with the South Coast Writers' Centre, this year's Indigenous Writers' Night took place on May 4. An intimate crowd gathered at the Aboriginal Cultural Centre to explore some of the sounds and sights of Australia, New Zealand and Canada.
The event was opened by local didgeridoo player David Kennedy. Host and MC Elizabeth Hodgson, a Wiradjuri woman from Wollongong, then offered an introduction before inviting Barbara Nicholson, a local Wodi Wodi woman, to offer a Welcome to Country before reading her own work. Elizabeth Hodgson returned to read her own poetry, and to present the work of The Elders' Writing Group which read further selections of poetry and short prose.
Vocalist Emma Donovan, of Stiff Gins fame, closed out the early portion of the night with accompaniment from guitarist Allan Morris. After a short break for refreshments, provided by caterer Jindars, the evening reconvened with two powerful short films that introduced a Canadian element to the night. Produced by Canadian Native Indians, The Ballad of Crowfoot is an extraordinary collage of images taken from the Canadian National archives which reconstructs, from an Indigenous point of view, the devastating consequences of European settlement in North America. The video is loosely based around the figure of Crowfoot, the legendary 19th-century Blackfoot leader of the Plains. The Owl Who Married a Goose, a film based on Inuit legend and featuring sound and voice in Inuktitut, provided a more lighthearted examination of two mismatched yet love-struck creatures.
The evening concluded with the New Zealand born/Australian based trio Manuhiri. An accomplished international act who have performed at several major Australian and UK festivals, band members Ora Barlow, Maea Martin and Meseppa Eruera closed the night with the sounds of traditional pacifik' music.
7 April: The Barbarian Invasions Premier
Members of the Centre for Canadian-Australian Studies attended the Premiere screening of Canadian Denys Arcand's The Barbarian Invasions , at Dendy Opera Quays Cinema, Sydney on April 7th. The evening was hosted by the Canadian Consulate General, Sydney, and the Consul-General of Canada, L. Richard Kohler, was on hand to introduce the film.
The Barbarian Invasions is the touching story of a dying academic, Rémy, who is joined by friends and family during his final days. The story centers on Rémy's attempt at reconciliation with his son. The title of the film, an allusion to the events of 9/11, is a reminder that the movie is also concerned with the world that we live in and what it means to be a part of the twenty-first century. Although Rémy's story makes for excellent cinema, the film's real delight is its ability to mix laughter and tears, and to make social commentary without preaching.
The Barbarian Invasions won the Oscar for best foreign language film and was nominated for nine Genies, Canada's film awards.
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