I am an energetic and engaging presenter. If you are interested in hearing more about my work, please get in contact to book a presentation for your local historical society, club or school.
Events for adults marked (A); events for children marked (C)
Check back soon for events in 2026!
Archive of Past Events
Sarah Luke in conversation with Roslyn Burge
Berkelouw’s Leichhardt
6 pm, Friday 5 October 2018
Please RSVP by 1 October 2018 by emailing Australian Scholarly Publishing: aspic@ozemail.com
Join Roslyn Burge (Friends of Callan Park) as she chats with Sarah Luke about her newly-published book, Callan Park, Hospital for the Insane at Berkelouw’s at Leichhardt.
Friends of Callan Park meeting: presentation by Sarah Luke
Writing NSW (Garryowen House, Callan Park)
6.30 pm, Monday 8 October 2018
No RSVP necessary
Sarah Luke’s Callan Park, Hospital for the Insane has been published to celebrate the 140th anniversary of the official opening of Garryowen House as the Callan Park Lunatic Asylum. On the evening of Monday 8th October at the Friends of Callan Park meeting at Writing NSW, she will be speaking about the early patients and staff of the Callan Park Hospital. Come along to hear about the history of the early madhouse, and the process of piecing its unique story together using the patients’ original medical files.
History Talk: Sarah Luke
Leichhardt Library
Tuesday 6 November 2018
Book via Eventbrite
To celebrate the 140th anniversary of the founding of the Callan Park Lunatic Asylum, Sarah Luke has published Callan Park, Hospital for the Insane (Australian Scholarly Publishing).
Sarah’s book explores the early history of the old Callan Park Lunatic Asylum, using Victorian-era medical files to explore the lives of its patients and staff. Discover the workings of the madhouse – from the tiny mansion originally used to house Sydney’s insane – to the magnum opus asylum that was the Kirkbride Complex.
Sarah will present a lecture at Leichhardt Library exploring the lives of the first patients of Callan Park.
Blue Mountains Historical Society Presentation
Hobby’s Reach Research Centre, Wentworth Falls
Saturday 6 July 2019
For bookings, see the BMHS website
Come along to hear about the daily life of staff and patients at Callan Park Hospital for the Insane in the 1870s and 1880s.
HSC Extension History Workshop
Roseville College
September 2019
Private event. If you are interested in booking a similar presentation at your school please get in touch.
Society of Women Writers
State Library of New South Wales
Wednesday 13 November 2019
For bookings see the SWW website
“Noticing the tiny birdcage in the far corner of the photograph: the joy of integrating archival sources into fiction and non-fiction”
In this workshop Sarah will take participants through her process of piecing together the daily routine and lives of the mentally-ill patients of Callan Park and the staff who cared for them. Some archival sources from the 1800s will be provided for a writing workshop focusing on developing observational skills.
2020 NSW History Week – Seminar: Callan Park’s History – What is it Good for? (Friends of Callan Park)
Date and Time: Sunday 13 September, 2:30 pm to 4:40 pm
Presenters: Dr Stephen Gapps and Sarah Luke
Online: see access information here
Remembering those who dwell in the margins: Callan Park and the ‘Vernon Boys’
Sarah will explore the relationship between Callan Park and the Nautical School Ships, Vernon and Sobraon, moored permanently at Cockatoo Island between 1867 and 1911 for the reception of homeless and often criminal boys. Both institutions were home to marginalised groups in society. Today they are generally regarded as ‘awkward’ moments in the history of NSW; they are misunderstood and, in some cases, have been deliberately forgotten or distorted. Sarah will trace the stories of a patient at Callan Park and his son, one of the Vernon boys, both members of a colourful Colonial family – and consider the benefits of knowing the past at these two significant sites.
Online Book Launch for Like a Wicked Noah’s Ark with Gleebooks
Date and time: Friday 4 December 2020, 6.30 pm
Cost: Free! Book here.
TEDxYouth Presentation
Date and time: Friday 26 March, 2021
Location: Abbotsleigh School (private event)
Website: click here
Harbour Trust ‘Trust Talks’
Date and time: Wednesday 14 April 2021, 1 pm until 2 pm
Location: ‘Success Room’, Cockatoo Island and streamed live online (see details here)
Cost: free but registration is required
Description: Sarah Luke will discuss her research into the Nautical School Ships Vernon and Sobraon which were moored at Cockatoo Island for several decades from the 1870s onwards. Fitted up for the reception of neglected and delinquent boys, these ships were New South Wales’ first Public Industrial Schools. With a wholesome curriculum of academic work, trade-training and sport, they sought to rescue the rising criminal generations from further degradation. Sarah will explore the daily workings of the ships, along with some of their most interesting alumni.
Writing Discussion Group of the Society of Australian Genealogists
Date and time: Thursday 8 July 2021, 10.30 am
Details here
Sarah Luke’s first non-fiction book Callan Park, Hospital for the Insane was shortlisted for the 2019 Premier’s History Award and her second book, Like a Wicked Noah’s Ark, was published in October 2020. During this workshop Sarah will explain her writing method and the publishing process, shedding light on her archival research for both the lunatic asylum at Callan Park and the Nautical School Ships Vernon and Sobraon.
History Now: State Institutions
State Library NSW
5-6 pm Wednesday 5 October, 2022
Free but bookings essential here.
Join historians Sarah Luke (Macquarie University) and Professor Paul Ashton (University of Technology Sydney) in conversation with Dr Jacqueline Wilson (Australian Catholic University).
Sarah Luke (Macquarie University): What happens when memories fade and urban myths flood the halls of old sandstone institutions? Sarah Luke will consider how historical context can help us navigate the original intentions of institutional welfare sites, like Callan Park in Rozelle, even when misunderstandings and assumptions speak the loudest. Sarah Luke is a teacher and author. Her first book, Callan Park, Hospital for the Insane (2018), was shortlisted for the 2019 NSW Premier’s History Awards. Her second book, Like a Wicked Noah’s Ark: The Nautical School Ships Vernon & Sobraon was published in 2020. She is currently a PhD student researching the life of Dr Frederic Norton Manning, NSW’s first Inspector General of the Insane.
Professor Paul Ashton (University of Technology Sydney): The Parramatta Female Factory Precinct is one of the most powerful places in Australia. It can tell us much about Australian history and society and transnational connections to other parts of the world. It can tell us about the development of many things including the welfare state, the evolution of silent systems of institutionalisation, medical history, the heritage industry and urban politics. But who has the authority to interpret and present it? Paul Ashton is adjunct at and co-founder of the Australian Centre for Public History at the University of Technology Sydney. His publications include What is Public History Globally? (Bloomsbury) and Once Upon a Time: Australian Writers on Using the Past. He is a Board member of the Parramatta Female Factory Precinct Association.
Tracing staff who worked in NSW’s hospitals for the insane in the mid-to-late-nineteenth century
Society of Australian Genealogists (SAG)
Saturday 26 August, 2023
Online/Zoom conference: In Search of… the Australian Welfare Experience. Details via SAG here.
Historian Sarah Luke is currently researching the staff of the NSW Lunacy Department under the first Inspector General of the Insane, Dr F. Norton Manning, between 1879 and 1898. She will give some practical advice about how to uncover details of staff who worked in the colony’s lunatic asylums, and describe the working conditions of these men and women.
History Now: Creative Non-fiction for Children (A)
State Library NSW
5-6 pm Wednesday 1 November, 2023
Free but bookings essential
Join historians Sarah Luke and Professor Paul Ashton in conversation with Matthew Richardson (Halstead Press).
The relationship between creative non-fiction and historical fiction is a close one, with both bringing joy to readers and writers alike. These literary twins exploit the silences in the historical record, often giving voices to the marginalised with a little more, or a little less, fiction to bridge the gaps. But how much value do these text types have in the teaching of History and English in the classroom? Sarah asks: are they ‘real’ history, or just stories which give a passing nod to ‘the facts’?
Paul Ashton will talk about the role of serendipity in writing creative-non-fiction for children.
National Maritime Museum Talk and Book Signing (A)
Australian National Maritime Museum (Sydney)
2-3.30 pm Tuesday 13 February, 2024
Free but bookings essential
Sarah Luke will discuss her research into Sydney’s Nautical School Ships (1868-1911). Signed copies of Like a Wicked Noah’s Ark will be available to purchase.
School holiday activity at the National Library of Australia: creative writing workshop (C)
National Library of Australia (Canberra)
Two workshops: Thursday 18 July 2024, 1-2.30 pm; Friday 19 July 2024, 10-11.30 am
Book here: 18 July and 19 July
Sarah’s new NLA Publishing title, Marion and the Forty Thieves takes you aboard the Sobraon, a magnificent floating boys’ school that once existed in Sydney. Follow along to learn how to create the hook to your story and write a climactic scene for your character using historical images.
This workshop is targeted at children aged 10 to 12 years of age, and bookings are essential. All writing material will be supplied.
Children’s Book Talk: Marion and the Forty Thieves (C)
Saturday 20 July, 2024, 2 pm to 3.30 pm
National Maritime Museum, Sydney
Book here.
Join author Sarah Luke as she talks about her new children’s book about the story of a girl on a floating school in Sydney Harbour in the 1890s.
‘Meet the Author’: Sarah Luke introduces Marion and the Forty Thieves (A)
Monday 22 July, 2024, 7.30 pm to 8.30 pm
Online, via zoom, for the Society of Australian Genealogists
Details here.
Join Sydney-based historian Dr Sarah Luke as she introduces her new middle grade children’s novel, Marion and the Forty Thieves.
Marion and the Forty Thievesis based on Sarah’s research into Sydney’s Nautical School Ships Vernon and Sobraon which were anchored at Cockatoo Island between 1867 and 1911. She has previously published a full history of this school as Like a Wicked Noah’s Ark (Arcadia, 2020).
Based on the life of Marion Neitenstein, daughter of the school’s principal, Sarah’s new novel offers an entertaining insight into this unusual nineteenth-century institution for neglected boys. Readers will embark on a thrilling journey through turn-of-the-century Sydney with Marion herself as the sole girl among a ship full of ragtag schoolboys. Marion’s world takes a dangerous turn when she discovers a new student, Alexander Walker, planning to rendezvous with the notorious Forty Thieves gang. Determined to uncover their sinister plans, Marion fearlessly ventures into the treacherous Rocks neighbourhood at night…
Featuring a strong female heroine and a diverse cast of characters, Marion and the Forty Thieves is set to captivate young readers with its blend of history, adventure, and intrigue. The book is accompanied by real photographs from the ship, portraits of Sobraon boys and images of Sydney street scenes from the era.
Storytime special: Marion and The Forty Thieves (feat. Dr Sarah Luke) (C)
Cockatoo Island
Friday 17 January 2025, 10.30 am to 12.30 pm
$10 per person (or $35 for a family) – book here.
Celebrate the school holidays and join us on Friday 17 January for an exciting storytime session. Special guest, Dr Sarah Luke, will introduce families to her new novel, Marion and the Forty Thieves, partially set on Cockatoo Island.
In addition to reading a passage from her novel, Sarah will do a book signing (limited books available for purchase on the day) and lead a hands-on creative writing workshop for the children in attendance. Inspired by archival photos, they’ll craft a captivating hook for their own historical fiction story.
Atlas Club: Guest Author (C)
Atlas Club, State Library NSW (online)
Tuesday 1 April 2025, 4 pm to 5pm (online)
Participants need to be a member of the Atlas Club to attend.
Sarah will read from her novel, Marion and the Forty Thieves, and answer questions about her book and writing process.
Creative Non-Fiction: Researching Sydney’s Nautical School Ships to Create Marion and the Forty Thieves (A)
Stanton Library (North Sydney)
Thursday 8 May 2025, 6 pm
Presented by the North Shore Historical Society. Details here.
In 2024 Dr Sarah Luke published Marion and the Forty Thieves (NLA Publishing), a creative non-fiction novel for middle grade readers. Marion and the Forty Thieves was born out of Sarah’s archival research into Sydney’s Nautical School Ships Vernon and Sobraon, which she published in 2020 as Like a Wicked Noah’s Ark (ASP). In this talk, Sarah will explore the history of this interesting boarding school, which educated and sheltered boys in NSW between 1867 and 1911. She will also discuss her approach to writing creative non-fiction for children, and how this offers opportunities to give voice to silenced figures from history.
Free History Writing Workshop (Lane Cove Historical Society Event) (A)
The Cove Room at the Lane Cove Council Offices
Tuesday 17 June, 4.30 pm to 6.30 pm
Book here.
Aspiring history writers are invited to participate in a free History Writing Workshop presented by Dr Sarah Luke. This workshop, organised by the Lane Cove Historical Society and with the generous support of Dr Luke, is free and open to all – but you must register.
It is also specially timed for anyone planning to submit an entry for the LCHS Lane Cove History Prize.
NSW History Week 2025 Event for The Friends of Callan Park (A)
Writing NSW (Callan Park)
Saturday 13 September 2025, from 2 pm
Bookings TBA
Water Stories: Dr F. Norton Manning, Assistant Surgeon of the HMS Esk
Nineteenth-century alienist Dr F. Norton Manning is well known as one of the driving forces behind the establishment of the Callan Park Hospital for the Insane in the 1870s. As Inspector General of the Insane (1879 to 1898) he oversaw and grew NSW’s Lunacy Department. Callan Park was the jewel in his crown. But what was Manning’s life like, prior to his arrival in NSW? Manning’s early medical career in England was difficult and soon after graduating he ran away to sea, becoming an assistant surgeon on the British Navy’s HMS Esk. Sarah will explore Manning’s maritime experiences on the Esk, including his roles during both times of peace and war.
NSW History Week 2025 School Event (C)
Stanton Library (North Sydney)
Tuesday 9 September 2025
Contact Stanton Library directly for more information, and to book a school group
Sarah Luke’s new novel for middle-grade readers, Marion and the Forty Thieves (NLA, 2024), takes you aboard the Sobraon, a magnificent floating boys’ boarding school that once existed in Sydney. Permanently-anchored beside Cockatoo Island, the ship was home to three hundred boys – and Marion Neitenstein, the only daughter of the ship’s captain.
Come along to hear all about the Nautical School Ship Sobraon, its interesting pupils, and (of course!) the real-life Marion Neitenstein.
In this one-hour workshop, Sarah will read from her book, discuss her writing process, and also present some interesting archival photographs of the floating boarding school.
Target audience: ages 7 to 12.
Reconsidering the Burials at Gladesville Hospital (A)
‘Willandra’, 770 Victoria Road, Ryde
Saturday 11 October 2025, 10.30 am
Presented by the Ryde District Historical Society
The current site interpretation of the cemetery at Gladesville Hospital makes use of several tropes frequently perpetuated in descriptions of graveyards attached to nineteenth-century psychiatric institutions. The underlying assumption is that the site contains 1,226 unmarked burials which are symbolic of a horrendous social marginalisation, and that these people were swiftly ‘forgotten’ in death due to the stigma of being buried in an institutional graveyard. By contrasting Gladesville’s institutional cemetery with other public graveyards in NSW, Sarah will show that in fact Gladesville’s burial ground presented a rather good deal to its pauper patients since it offered memorialisation, and high security, which was in stark juxtaposition with public burials off-site.
Sarah Luke 