[November 2024] Celebrating 10 years of the Bettison & James Foundation, with two panels {Science & Environment} and {Art & Culture} presented at AFF 2024, featuring nine Bettison & James Awardees. Panels moderated by arts journalist and film critic Stephen Russell and senior journalist at 'The Guardian', Tory Shepherd.
Pictured below are Bettison James Awardees (L – R) Greg Mackie, Jackie Huggins, Pat Rix and Angela Valamanesh, participants on the Art & Culture panel at Adelaide Film Festival 2024, with moderator Stephen Russell, microphone in hand, sitting beside Angela Valamanesh.
The Jim Bettison and Helen James Foundation is celebrating its 10th year in 2024. Established in 2015, the $50,000 Bettison and James Award recognises high achieving Australians whose exemplary and inspiring life-long work, within their area of expertise, has benefited the wider Australian community.
The Foundation’s most important aim in marking its 10th year, was to celebrate the 11 Bettison and James Awardees and their important work. We wanted to create a space where others can engage with the stories they have to tell and be as inspired as we have been, by their purposeful lives, their achievements and the significant benefits they have brought to our Australian community. So in November 2024, the Foundation gathered together 9 of the Awardees (sadly missing the late Robert McFarlane, and the wonderful Meryl Tankard, who was directing a production in Europe) to engage with each other and to speak at two Adelaide Film Festival events on Saturday 2 November 2024.
The Awardees spoke on two panels – the Art & Culture panel moderated by arts journalist and film critic Stephen Russell, and the Science & Environment Panel, moderated by Tory Shepherd, senior journalist at The Guardian.
Further images and information about these talks and the Awardees on the AFF website.
Many thanks to AFF Director Mat Kesting and his team at the Adelaide Film Festival, for their support. The Adelaide Film Festival administers the Bettison & James Award on behalf of the Bettison & James Foundation.
[18 Oct 2023] 'Jack of Hearts QX11594' Written by Jackie Huggins and Ngaire Jarro
In March 2023, the long list for the year’s annual Stella Prize was announced. It was a perfect moment to turn our thoughts to Bidjara/Birri Gubba Juru woman from Queensland, Jackie Huggins AM FAHA and her sister Ngaire Jarro.
Their co-authored book Jack of Hearts QX 11594 was longlisted for the 2023 Stella, and the Bettison and James Foundation congratulates Jackie and Ngaire both, on this wonderful achievement.
Jackie was the 2018 recipient of the Bettison and James Award, which she decided to put towards achieving the dream of working with Ngaire on a biography of their beloved father, John Henry (Jack) Huggins III, who died when the sisters and their brother, John, were young children. They all had a yearning to find out more, to delve into the story of their dad, a young man whose wartime experiences shortened his life.
Following in the footsteps of his own father, John Henry Huggins II, who enlisted and fought in World War I, Ngaire and Jackie’s father joined the AIF. He was taken prisoner by Japanese forces, working on the infamous Thai-Burma ‘Death Railway’, including the bridge across the River Kwai.
This father and son were two of the thousands of known and unknown First Nations men and women, now acknowledged and commemorated by the Australian War Memorial, who have served and continue to serve, in the Australian armed forces.
Jackie decided in 2018, to use the Bettison and James Award monies to fund research, travel, editing and other associated costs of putting Jack of Hearts QX 11594 together for submission to the publisher, Magabala Books, in Western Australia. The book was accordingly published and launched in April 2022.
The launch was supported and hosted by the State Library of Queensland, and fittingly held in the Anzac Square and Memorial Galleries which sit at the Ann Street and Central Station end of the Square, right below the Anzac Memorial, that time-honoured family meeting place since times gone by, when there were no mobile phones and meeting places were necessarily iconic and highly visible.
It was a joyful and emotional book launch, with State Library of Queensland CEO & State Librarian Vicki MacDonald AM presiding and introducing the speakers. Following emotional tributes to their Dad and their family by Jackie and Ngaire, the book was launched with a heartfelt speech by former Governor-General Dame Quentin Bryce.
As the event ended and guests streamed out of the galleries into the crisp April evening, the illuminated Anzac Memorial was a poignant reminder that the wounds of war are long-lasting and widespread. It was also a reminder of the generosity of Jim Bettison and Helen James, who wanted to acknowledge the lifetime work of dedicated people like Jackie Huggins, and to make it possible for them to use the Award money, should they choose to, for projects close to their hearts.
A word about the Stella Prize
Stella https://stella.org.au/ is aptly headquartered at the State Library of Victoria in Swanston Street Melbourne, and promotes gender equality and cultural change in Australian literature. The Stella Prize is a major literary prize awarded annually to a woman writer of an outstanding book selected for originality, literary excellence, and capacity to engage. In 2023, the Stella Prize was awarded to Sarah Holland-Batt for her 2022 book, The Jaguar, poetry, University of Queensland Press.
'Jack of Hearts, QX11594'
Bettison and James Awardees to speak at Adelaide Film Festival 2022
Adelaide Film Festival 2022 has programmed talks by two inspiring Bettison and James Awardees – Pat Rix, 2022 recipient, and Dr Bob Brown, 2021 recipient. Book tickets to each of these talks (and ‘The Giants’ a film exploring the intertwined fates of trees and humans in this poetic portrait of environmentalist Bob Brown and the Forest) by following the links below.
Sat Oct 29, 10:45 AM
Tutti: A Vision for Change, a free event, exploring how an arts organisation for ‘everyone’ addressed issues too complex to examine in words, and conveyed powerful messages that broke down barriers.
Join Pat Rix for an in-depth interview about her lifetime journey building an artistic community based on trust and respect. In 1997 Pat began a small choir which grew to become one of Australia’s most beloved and progressive multi arts organisations, Tutti Arts.
Sun Oct 30, 11:15 AM
The Tarkine in peril: Adelaide’s nearest great rainforest.
Join Bob Brown for a personal conversation about natural beauty and the front line.It is hard to fathom that in 2022 old-growth forests are still under anthropogenic attack, especially in Australia. In this presentation the 2021 Bettison & James Award recipient and former Federal Greens Senator Dr Bob Brown, offers insights into the majesty of the Tarkine, sharing his firsthand encounters of front line resistance and why action to protect Adelaide’s nearest great rainforest is urgently required.
The Giants: Fri Oct 28, 7:00 PM
November 2021
ANNOUNCING BOB BROWN AS
THE 2021 BETTISON and JAMES AWARD RECIPIENT
The Jim Bettison and Helen James Foundation and Adelaide Film Festival (AFF) proudly announce that Dr Bob Brown, environmentalist, human rights campaigner and former political leader, is the recipient of the annual Bettison and James Award.
Established in 2015, the prestigious $50,000 award recognises high achieving Australians whose exemplary and inspiring life-long work, within their area of expertise, has benefited the wider Australian community.
Dr Bob Brown was born and educated in rural NSW and worked as a doctor before becoming the face of the campaign to save the Franklin River in 1982.
He was elected to the Tasmanian state parliament in 1983 and during his tenure most notably advocated for gun law reform, gay law reform and achieved the expansion of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area.
In 1996 Bob was elected to the Senate, where he led the national debate for 16 years on issues including climate change, democracy, preventative healthcare, conservation, and human rights.
Bob resigned from the Senate in June 2012 to establish the Bob Brown Foundation, a not for profit organisation dedicated to supporting action campaigns for the environment in Australia and our region. He is a published author and acclaimed photographer.
April 2020
THE 6th RECIPIENT OF THE BETTISON AND JAMES AWARD
The Jim Bettison and Helen James Foundation is pleased to announce internationally recognised palaeontologist Professor John Long, from Flinders University, as the recipient of the annual Bettison and James Award.
Established in 2015, the prestigious $50,000 award recognises high-achieving Australians whose exemplary and inspiring life-long work, within their area of expertise, has benefitted the wider Australian community.
Adelaide Film Festival CEO and Creative Director, Mat Kesting, said, “The Adelaide Film Festival is proud to be associated with the Jim Bettison and Helen James Foundation. This award has enabled some outstanding individuals to continue to extend their brilliant work and we congratulate the next recipient, Professor John Long, as he joins a number of impressive individuals who have all made substantial contributions to the Australian community.”
Professor Long’s research achievements have broadened the understanding of science, evolution and the processes of knowledge creation for all Australians and have led to ground-breaking discoveries that have refined our views of the evolution of life.
Professor Robert Saint AM, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Research at Flinders University, where Professor Long teaches and supervises PhD students, said, “An incredibly worthy recipient, Professor John Long is at the forefront of expanding global knowledge about the evolution of life on earth and is making crucial discoveries about vertebrate evolution that explain key characteristics of humans today. From discovering the origins of sex to revealing the hidden mysteries of remote Antarctica, including what it tells us of climate change, his insatiable appetite to unlock the past is informing our future. John truly epitomises the Flinders University determination to make a difference.”
Doreen Mellor, spokesperson for the Jim Bettison and Helen James Foundation, said, “Professor Long’s achievements in both science communication and scientific research and discovery have long inspired many, including children who love dinosaurs, grown-ups who want to understand more of the history of human evolution and civilisation, and the worldwide scientific community. The Jim Bettison and Helen James Foundation is delighted to be able to acknowledge Professor Long’s outstanding past and continuing contributions in Australia and internationally.”
An award-winning author, educator and science communicator, Professor Long’s public appearances, lectures and writing about prehistory and evolution – which include fiction and non-fiction books for adults and children – are an accessible exploration of a wide range of topics, including the evolution of life, the history of fishes, Australia’s dinosaurs and ancient mammals, and ancient Antarctica, through to climate change and the history of human civilisation.
Professor Long believes in the power of Integrating the humanities within science, stating, “While science can provide answers to specific questions about our key issues, there also needs to be more collaboration with the humanities to find real solutions to our problems today.
“I look forward to using this award to progress my upcoming sciences-humanities cross-disciplinary book and documentary film project. We are excited to have the backing of the SA Film Corporation in the form of start-up funding, and this award will allow us to further invest in sharing knowledge of science and life on Earth to benefit our communities and future.”
Professor Long joins the alumni of exceptional Australians who are previous recipients of the award: historian and social justice activist Jackie Huggins AM FAHA, social documentary and arts photographer Robert McFarlane, pre-eminent figure in Australian dance Meryl Tankard, adventurer and environmental scientist Tim Jarvis and creator of the Adelaide Festival of Ideas, Greg Mackie OAM.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The Adelaide Film Festival administers the Bettison James Award on the behalf of the Bettison and James Foundation.
ADELAIDE FILM FESTIVAL
The ADL Film Fest has secured a reputation around the globe as an essential screen culture event and was named in Variety Film magazine’s 50 Unmissable Film Festivals list. The ADL Film Fest takes place immediately after the Venice and Toronto Film Festivals, signifying the beginning of the awards season. Australian screen industry icons Margaret Pomeranz and David Stratton are patrons of the festival. More: www.adelaidefilmfestival.org
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2975519302498680
https://news.flinders.edu.au/blog/2020/03/06/paleo-professor-receives-adelaide-film-festival-award/
April 2019
ANNOUNCING THE 5TH RECIPIENT OF THE BETTISON AND JAMES AWARD
The Bettison and James Foundation is pleased to announce the highly accomplished writer, historian, and social justice activist Jackie Huggins AM FAHA, a Bidjara / Birri-Gubba Juru woman from Queensland, as the fifth recipient of the annual Bettison and James Award.
This prestigious award recognises a lifelong body of work that has shown an exemplary, significant and inspiring contribution to the wider Australian community, and awards $50 000 to each recipient. The awardee may have any area of expertise including the arts and humanities, social justice, the environment or the sciences and may take the opportunity to continue their life’s work.
Jackie Huggins’ phenomenal body of work has seen her make dynamic and highly significant contributions to the wider Australian community for more than four decades. Having worked extensively across academic, government and community spheres, Dr Huggins has published widely on Australian Indigenous issues, and in particular on history and women’s studies. She has served on many committees, advisory boards, inquiries and commissions, notably in the areas of Reconciliation, Indigenous education and employment, domestic and family violence, the prison and corrections system, constitutional reform and philanthropy. Dr Huggins is currently the co-chair of the National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples, the peak organisation representing the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Following the Award Dr Huggins announced she will to continue her work researching and writing a book on the social impacts surrounding the history of Aboriginal soldiers in both World Wars, soldiers who went to war without their people yet being citizens of their own country.
Dr Huggins’ book will tell a story of great significance nationally, and also to her personally, coming from an Aboriginal military background. Her grandfather, John Henry Huggins I, served in World War 1 and was wounded twice in Belgium. Her father, John Henry Huggins II, was a POW in World War 2 on the Thailand-Burma Railway. He died at the age of 38 from his war injuries, leaving her mother to raise four children on her own. To further her research, Dr Huggins travelled to Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore in February 2019 in a delegation of Aboriginal descendants of POWS as part of the Australian War Memorial project.
Dr Huggins will join the alumni of exceptional Australians who are previous recipients of the award: social documentary and arts photographer Robert McFarlane, pre-eminent figure in Australian dance Meryl Tankard, adventurer and environmental scientist Tim Jarvis and creator of the Adelaide Festival of Ideas Greg Mackie OAM.
Doreen Mellor, spokesperson for the Jim Bettison and Helen James Foundation:
“We have the greatest admiration for Jackie Huggins’ longstanding and valued contribution to the Australian community through her work with Indigenous issues in the social justice arena, and as an author and historian. The Jim Bettison and Helen James Foundation is delighted to be able to honour her contribution and provide this opportunity for Jackie to pursue a project close to her heart.”
Dr Jackie Huggins AM FAHA:
“I am elated to receive this prestigious award from the generous benefactors, The Jim Bettison and Helen James Foundation. After writing my Mother’s biography, it is indeed a dream come true that I now pen my Father’s. Two stories of remarkable Aboriginal people.”
Mat Kesting, Adelaide Film Festival CEO and Creative Director:
“The Adelaide Film Festival is proud to be associated with the Jim Bettison and Helen James Foundation. This award has enabled some outstanding individuals to continue and extend their brilliant work. The Festival is thrilled by today’s announcement that Jackie Huggins is the next recipient, joining a number of impressive individuals who have all made substantial contributions to the Australian community.”
Dr Alison Ravenscroft, Reader/Associate Professor in English, La Trobe University:
“Dr Jackie Huggins has made outstanding contributions to social justice in this country. She has also been a champion of Indigenous arts and scholarship, supporting the recognition of the centrality of Indigenous contributions to the most urgent ethical and political debates of our times. This award is a wonderful recognition of the breadth and importance of her work.”
MEDIA INFORMATION:
Interviews: available with Dr Jackie Huggins – please forward all requests.
Media contact: Alicia Brescianini, ABCG Film ph: 0400 225 603 e: alicia@abcgfilm.com
Thursday 28 March 2019
Dr-Jackie-Huggins
October 2018
ROBERT McFARLANE’S PHOTOGRAPHIC WORK FEATURED AT THE 8th ADELAIDE FILM FESTIVAL
The work of photographer Robert McFarlane, recipient of the 2017 Bettison and James Award¹, was featured at a special screening of the film Robert McFarlane: The Still Point in October 2018.
A brief survey of the lifelong work of McFarlane, one of Australia’s most respected and pioneering documentary photographers, the film was part of the Starstruck and The Waiting Room discussion evening hosted by the Samstag Museum of Art in the Allan Scott Auditorium at the University of South Australia.
Lively discussion by panel members Robert McFarlane, Molly Reynolds & Rolf de Heer followed on from the film and was chaired by curators of Starstruck, Jennifer Coombes and Penelope Grist.
Reynolds and de Heer are both international award-winning filmmakers and the artist creators of The Waiting Room, a cinematic installation for which the multi-talented McFarlane wrote the catalogue introduction. The installation showed alongside the exhibition, Starstruck: Australian Movie Portraits, at Samstag.
Starstruck features several photographic works by Robert McFarlane, including a candid shot of Toni Collette as she tries on wedding dresses during production of the iconic Australian film Muriel’s Wedding. This image and others in the exhibition came to sparkling life as the discussion progressed. McFarlane delighted the audience with his skills as a raconteur, in response to audience questions about various of his images included in Starstruck.
The event, presented as part of the 2018 Adelaide Film Festival, commenced with a welcome by Erica Green, Director of the Samtag Museum of Art, and introductory remarks were provided by Mira Soulio, Director of the film Robert McFarlane: The Still Point, and Doreen Mellor, representing the Jim Bettison and Helen James Foundation.
Pictured below is Robert McFarlane, entertaining a large audience in the auditorium as well as his fellow speakers on stage. In the foreground of the image are Molly Reynolds and Rolf de Heer and in the background, Penelope Grist.
Image: Courtesy Samstag Museum of Art, photographer Morgan Sette
¹Note: In 2019 it was decided to shorten the title of the Jim Bettison and Helen James Award to the more convenient Bettison and James Award
January 2018
THE 2017 BETTISON & JAMES AWARD RECIPIENT – PHOTOGRAPHER ROBERT MCFARLANE.
The Adelaide Film Festival and the Jim Bettison and Helen James Foundation today announces leading Australian social documentary and arts photographer, Robert McFarlane as the recipient of the 2017 Bettison and James Award¹. The award, now in its third year, recognises individual Australians who have contributed exemplary and inspiring lifelong work of high achievement in their area of expertise, with benefit to the wider Australian community.
Robert McFarlane has been capturing defining moments of Australian life for more than half a century. From his early work in the 1960s capturing the now iconic images of a young Indigenous activist Charlie Perkins at university and the Beatles arriving in Australia, McFarlane went on to photograph many historical Australian moments both big and small over the subsequent decades. Prime Ministers, film directors, Go-Go dancers, artists, surgeons, activists and workers, all have found themselves in front of McFarlane’s lens as he uniquely chronicled the changing face of Australia.
“Robert McFarlane is one of Australia’s most eminent documentary photographers, and a noted critic and writer on photography. The National Library of Australia is honoured to hold a large collection of his powerful portraits of notable personalities and candid images of social life and conditions. Robert McFarlane has made an enduring contribution to Australian photography over his long career and is richly deserving of this significant award from the Jim Bettison & Helen James Foundation”. – Dr Marie-Louise Ayres, Director-General, National Library of Australia.
“Congratulations to a great South Australian, Robert McFarlane on receiving this prestigious award. It’s fantastic that Robert’s evocative body of work and multitude of achievements have been recognised.” – Premier and Minister for the Arts Jay Weatherill.
¹Note: In 2019 it was decided to shorten the previously titled ‘Jim Bettison and Helen James Award’ to the more convenient Bettison and James Award .
Charles Perkins, photographed by Robert McFarlane
October 2016
ANNOUNCING THE 2016 BETTISON & JAMES AWARD RECIPIENTS & THE 2015 INAUGURAL RECIPIENT ORATION TO BE DELIVERED AT THE 2016 ADELAIDE FESTIVAL OF IDEAS
The Adelaide Film Festival and Jim Bettison and Helen James Foundation announce the recipients of the annual Bettison and James Award¹ with not one but two recipients, Adventurer and Environmental Scientist Tim Jarvis and leading Australian Dancer and Choreographer Meryl Tankard.
The 2016 recipients will be acknowledged at the Adelaide Festival of Ideas’ (AFoI) ‘Thinking Adelaide – a Passion for Connecting & Collecting’, event with the inaugural recipient of the Award, Greg Mackie OAM.
The AFoI event, an “In Conversation” with festival special guest Phillip Adams on October 23, is an opportunity for Mackie to present and discuss the innovative work that he was able to pursue, following the Award. Mackie has been researching and working towards the establishment of a ‘Thinking Adelaide’ global network of innovators and thought leaders, drawn from participants of the Adelaide Festival of Ideas and the former Adelaide Thinkers in Residence Program. The initiative, an extension of his longstanding work in the cultural sphere, aims to enhance Adelaide’s national and international standing as a promoter of new thinking.
Greg Mackie said, “I look forward to sharing the ideas that have evolved, following this amazing and generous Award. Connecting and collecting are in our cultural DNA!”
¹¹Note: In 2019 it was decided to shorten the previously titled ‘Jim Bettison and Helen James Award’ to the more convenient Bettison and James Award .
October 2015
ADELAIDE FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES INAUGURAL BETTISON & JAMES AWARD RECIPIENT
Adelaide’s Greg Mackie was announced as the recipient of the 2015 Bettison and James Award¹. Adelaide Film Festival Director Amanda Duthie made the announcement during the Festival’s closing night Sunday October 25, 2015.
Amanda Duthie, Director of Adelaide Film Festival said, “I am delighted that the Adelaide Film Festival has the opportunity to work with the Foundation to administer the newest philanthropic Award to honour the work of big thinkers, bold leaders and creative innovation. Congratulations to Greg Mackie who embodies all of these qualities”.
“We are very pleased that Greg Mackie is the inaugural recipient of the Award, as his work over the years has benefited the community enormously. Jim and Helen admired and respected his work and the contribution of the Festival of Ideas. They would be so thrilled to see the Award now established.” Doreen Mellor, spokesperson for the Jim Bettison and Helen James Foundation
The Jim Bettison and Helen James Foundation now calls for applications for the 2016 Award. Details are available at www.adelaidefilmfestival.org.
¹Note: In 2019 it was decided to shorten the previously titled ‘Jim Bettison and Helen James Award’ to the more convenient Bettison and James Award .
September 2015
The Jim Bettison and Helen James Foundation is pleased to announce that the Adelaide Film Festival will be the administering Partner for the Bettison and James Award¹. The Foundation is delighted to partner with the Adelaide Film Festival which is committed to events and activity that provide a deeper and more rigorous understanding of the way we live now and how we could live in the future.
A press release announcing the inaugural Jim Bettison and Helen James Award recipient will be distributed later in 2015.
¹Note: In 2019 it was decided to shorten the previously titled ‘Jim Bettison and Helen James Award’ to the more convenient Bettison and James Award .