Blackheath History Forum

About

Blackheath, in the upper Blue Mountains west of Sydney, is where the Blackheath History Forum’s annual series of seven engaging presentations takes place each winter. The Blackheath History Forum was co-founded in late 2008 by Babette Smith and Gary Werskey. Neal Blewett was its inaugural chair. Gary Werskey served as chair from 2012, Margo Beasley from 2018, and Cath Bishop from 2021. The Forum is managed by a committee of distinguished historians with extensive professional networks, and it has attracted many of Australia’s leading historians to take part in its annual series of talks. For a complete listing of past speakers and topics go to our past programs. The Blackheath History Forum has offered its very engaged and knowledgable audiences programs that allow them to understand Australian history in its broadest contexts, with an emphasis on discussing the past in ways that assist with understanding the present. In recent years we have looked at aspects of Indigenous history, environmental history, prime ministerial leadership, prisoners of war, memoir, sport, nuclear weapons and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation.