The BSR Outreach Programme
Ashby's last week in Australia was frantic, as he traversed 2,880 kilometres of the continent's eastern coastline in six day. During it, he gave six lantern lectures in four capital cities (Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide) to crowds eager to see his slides of Rome and hear about an opportunity to compete for a life-changing residency.
These lectures were unlike anything he had given before. Instead of listening quietly, his audience of students, academics, State Governors and the Italian diaspora clapped and cheer throughout each presentation. Indeed, according to the Adelaide Advertiser, one Italian gentleman thanked Ashby for his 'immense artistic service' to Rome and expressed his enthusiastic support for the Allies. In this regard, Ashby's lectures were a form of soft diplomacy, and they were well remembered sixteen years later.
Ashby faced certain challenges in stagging these events. He was, after all, a stranger to the sprawling continent, its limited communications infrastructure, and its sparse and disparate population. Yet, he wrote, 'I get lectures everywhere'! in a mid-trip letter to Evelyn Shaw. That success can be attributed to his lantern lectures. These, he tailored for specific groups (architects and artists) and the broader community as well. Moreover, in addition to networking with academics, Ashby engaged with the print media. In this respect, he placed a few carefully worded advertisements in newspapers and gave journalist pre and post-lecture interviews. Doing so generated an impressive amount of free press on the BSR.
Correspondence: Thomas Ashby to Evelyn Shaw, 19 August 1914. BSR Administrative Archive, Box 51.
Article: 'General News', The Advertiser (10 September 1914). 8. [State Library South Australia.]
