Each year THRA invites a prominent Australian (usually a writer and typically an historian) to present a special lecture in honour of Peter Ross Eldershaw.
One of the founding members of THRA, Peter edited Papers and Proceedings from 1951 until his sudden and untimely death in 1967. He had been made the Association's second Life Member in 1958. An outstanding archivist, he played a leading role in framing the Tasmanian Archives Act 1965: a milestone in Australian archival legislation. Robert Sharman published a memoir of Peter Eldershaw in 1967.
The list of Eldershaw lecturers is an honour roll of Australian history, beginning with the inaugural speaker Geoffrey Blainey and continuing with speakers such as Henry Reynolds, Tom Griffiths and Grace Karskens. The lecture has provided a platform for local historians, too, with Brian Plomley, Ken Dallas, Dan Sprod, Michael Roe, Alison Alexander, and Stefan Petrow among them. For a list of the Eldershaw lecturers click here.
Most of the Eldershaw lectures have been published in Papers & Proceedings, usually in the following year, and can be purchased through INFORMIT.