In the FEDERATION OF AUSTRALIAN HISTORICAL SOCIETIES INC e-BULLETIN No. 113 – 28 July 2013 recently received at the Society was this notice about The International Famine Commemoration this month.
The Australian Monument to the Great Irish Famine (1845-1848) is located at the Hyde Park Barracks, on Macquarie Street, Sydney, Australia. The monument was inspired by the arrival in Australia of over 4,000 single young women, most of whom were teenaged orphans. They arrived under a special emigration scheme designed to resettle destitute girls from the workhouses of Ireland during the Great Famine.
The Great Irish Famine Commemoration Committee (GIFCC) have broadened their activities to commemorate all who left their homes seeking a new life in the colonies and States of Australia but these workhouse orphan girls and the historical links back to Ireland remain the focus of this project.
Over the weekend of 25-28 August, the GIFCC is hosting the International Famine Commemoration in Sydney.
- Friday 23 August 2013 - Dinner in NSW Parliament House
- Saturday 24 August 2013 - Seminar in NSW Parliament Theatrette
- Sunday 25 August 2013 - 14th Annual Gathering at the Famine Memorial at Hyde Park Barracks
For further information, visit the website: www.irishfaminememorial.org