Western Australia – An Historical Boast with Richard Offen

Western Australia – An Historical Boast

Western Australians do not seem keen to boast about the history of their State, in fact few residents realise that on their own doorsteps are many features and places of international historical significance.
Starting with fossils in the Pilbara and some of the earliest evidence of Aboriginal communal living, to the remains of a fort on the Abrolhos Islands, Richard Offen’s talk will give a virtual tour of some of the places that give Western Australian a very special status
in the world’s history. Add to this some of the early buildings of the Swan River Colony, set up in 1829, and Richard will comprehensively debunk the myth that Western Australia has no history or heritage!

Richard Offen: Biography
After working in education for several years, Richard Offen joined the staff of the UK National Trust in 1989 and from 1992 until 2003 was responsible for the Trust’s famous Neptune Coastline Campaign. Under his direction the campaign raised over £28
million, enabling the Trust to buy and protect nearly one hundred miles of the spectacular British coastline.
Richard has wide experience of heritage matters around the world. During his time with the Trust, he worked with organisations in the USA, Spain, Malta and the Czech Republic, helping them develop conservation strategies and fundraising plans.
During a six-month sabbatical in 2001, Richard worked on secondment to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Washington DC and spent time on an exchange program with the Historic Houses Trust of New South Wales and the
National Trust in Australia (WA) in Perth.
In 2005 he emigrated to Western Australia to become Executive Director of the newly formed organisation, Heritage Perth. During his time in that post, he gained great popularity as a lecturer and broadcaster on both radio and television. He is probably best
known in Perth for his Monday morning history spot on the 720 ABC Breakfast Show with the late, much missed Eoin Cameron, and still has regular spots on ABC Perth, Capital Radio and 6PR.
Since retiring, Richard has written the Perth editions of Pavilion Books’ very popular series ‘Then and Now’ and ‘Lost Perth’. ‘Perth  Then and Now’ has the distinction of requiring a reprint before it was launched and is now on the Australian ‘best seller’ list having sold around 20,000 copies to date. ‘Lost Perth’ has also now joined its companion of the Australian ‘best seller’ list. His third book for the same publisher, ‘A Perth Camera’ was published in November 2022. Richard has also written histories of St Mary’s Anglican
Girls’ School (‘A Place to Grow’ – published 2021) and Bunbury Cathedral Grammar School (‘The School in the Bush’ – also published in November 2022).
When not in his study/library, Richard is an active parishioner and Churchwarden of Christ Church, Claremont, sits on the Heritage Council of Western Australia; is President of both the Friends of the Battye Library and the Royal Western Australian Historical Society; and is a member of the selection panel for the Royal Agricultural Society of Western Australia’s Hall of Fame