The annual National Trust Heritage Lectures have acquired a reputation for presenting intriguing and must-see speakers in wonderful venues. On Thursday 13 November Hugh Mackay, capped off the Trust’s events calander with an illustrious Heritage Lecture at the Metcalfe Auditorium – NSW State Library.

Before an audience of 98, Hugh inspired National Trust members, staff, and the general public with his speech on “The role of place in the formation of our personal and social identity”. Hugh’s speech provided a great insight into social identity and how  and why it has evolved over the years, sparking some very interesting questions raised at the end of the night.

Amusing and informative, Hugh left his audience with a desire to take another look at Australian Identity, sense of place and what this means to us - definitely worth a read.

A special Thanks to the Metcalfe Auditorium – NSW State Library for supplying a wonderful venue.

“ If I had to pick the kind of people most likely to restore our sense of community – and therefore to help foster our sense of identity and even of moral responsibility – they would be urban planners, architects and those involved in community development projects, especially community arts organisers. But I’d add to that list anyone interested in protecting and preserving the places and spaces – the buildings, the parks, the lanes and alleys that have helped shape our sense of who we are.

We have nothing to learn from indigenous people about the significance of place in the formation of our identity, but we have a great deal to learn from them about how to protect, preserve and nurture the places that have formed us. Our problem is not that we lack the yearning for a sense of place; that yearning is universal. Our problem, especially compared with Aborigines, is that we’ve often failed to acknowledge that deep need in us”.