Level 3 Mortlock Wing State Library of South Australia North Terrace Adelaide SA 5000

Lectures

The RGSSA hosts a series of stimulating lectures on a broad range of geographical topics, both current and historical.

Lecture Program

Monthly Lectures are generally held on the third Thursday of the month at 5.30 pm, preceded by drinks and nibbles from 5:00 pm in the Hetzel Theatre, Institute Building on the corner of North Terrace and Kintore Avenue. Members are requested to make a gold coin donation to help offset the cost of hospitality. The cost for non-members is $10. Meetings may be followed by an optional light dinner at a local venue.

Lunchtime meetings are held during the cooler months of the year. Members are requested to make a gold coin donation while the cost for non-members is $5.

Videos of some previous lectures are available on YouTube.

The Royal Geographical Society of South Australia Lecture Program is supported by the State Library of South Australia.

Upcoming Lectures

20 February 2025 | 5:30 pm

Monthly Lecture

Update on Timor Leste 5 years on

An update on the lecture presented in September 2020: ‘Youth & Well Being in Timor Leste: Opportunities & Challenges for the Nation Building Process'

27 March 2025 | 5:30 pm

Monthly Lecture

French exploration in South Australia

Could Australia ever have been French? For this talk, Danielle will narrate a richly illustrated documentary film exploring the role French exploration played in Australia's colonial history.

10 April 2025 | 5:30 pm

Monthly Lecture

How High am I? The history of the Australian Height Datum

Understanding your elevation is integral to many decision-making processes; from determining a safe development threshold to avoid flood risk, for monitoring sea-levels, through to making sure sewers flow downhill as designed. But have you ever wondered how a vertical datum is defined and how you then establish this for a country that is also a continent? This talk will explore the history of the Australian Height Datum, the huge task of realising the concept, and how it has been modernised more recently to remain fit for purpose in a modern world where understanding your 3D position is becoming more important than ever.