The Crabtree Foundation - Australian Chapter

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The Crabtrove Project

The importance of capturing the arcane wit and wisdom of past Orators and luminaries of the Australian Chapter was first raised by a former Chair, Elder Bryony Cosgrove, in discussion with Hon Sec Phil A'Vard, following the funeral of a revered Elder, Nick Hudson, several years ago. Whereas the annual Orations have been dutifully placed on the Foundation's home page by Keeper of the Web Elder Jim Breen, any insights into the diverse and eccentric characters who presented them had not, until now, been systematically collected, and these insights were at risk of being lost to successive generations of Crabtree Scholars.

From those initial discussions came the Crabtrove Project, a veritable prosopography, which was launched at the 2021 Annual Dinner and Oration. Elders and Scholars have been invited to participate in capturing the personalities and stories of Elders past and present to enrich the history of the Australian Chapter of the Crabtree Foundation.

Prepared under the watchful eyes of the Keepers of the Stories, Elders Anne Semple and Angela O'Brien, the initial collection of stories can now be revealed.

The Stories

1975 Founder - Professor Arthur Brown - Who Brought Crabtree to Australia
Writer: Mr Phil A'Vard

1976 Orator (Oration) - Mr Don Charlwood - Words Flying Free With Crabtree
Writer: Dr Angela O'Brien

1978 Orator (Oration) - Mr Patrick Kilbride - The Bar, Flies, and a Crabby Judge
Writer: Dr Angela O'Brien

1980 Orator (Oration) - Professor David Bradley - The Constant Plagiarist
Writer: Dr Angela O'Brien

1983 Orator (Oration) - Mr Nick Hudson - Nick Hudson Remembered and In Memory of Nick Hudson
Writers: Mr Robert Sessions, Dr Bryony Cosgrove

1992 Orator (Oration) - Mr Jim McGrath - Recollections of the Australian Chapter of the Crabtree Foundation's Living Witness
Witness: Dr Bryony Cosgrove

1996 Orator (Oration) - Professor Rob Willis - Rob makes a Revelatory Visit
Writer: Dr Stephen Downes

2001 Orator (Oration) - Mr Phil A'Vard - Crabtree's Thespian Tradition: Tall Tales and Short Drinks
Writers: Mr Kieran Thompson, Mr Adrian Ponton

2002 Orator (Oration) - Dr Paul Rodan - On Board With Crabtree
Writer: Dr Paul Rodan

2011 Orator (Oration) - Dr Bryony Cosgrove - Formicating on the Crabtree Frontiers
Writer: Dr Bryony Cosgrove

2015 Orator (Oration) - Mr Tim Smith - Crabtree And Me: a personal reflection
Writer: Mr Tim Smith

2018 Orator (Oration) - Dr Jim Breen - Capturing The Story
Writer: Ms Barbara Ainsworth

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