Art, Espionage and Professor A.D. Trendall
Schedule
Tue Apr 01 2025 at 06:00 pm to 07:30 pm
UTC+11:00Location
Shrine of Remembrance | Melbourne, VI
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Explore the intriguing world of wartime intelligence and uncover the extraordinary career of Professor A.D (Dale) Trendall (1909–1995) – classical scholar, cryptographer, and art historian.Dale Trendall, a contemporary of the five English spies at Cambridge University in the 1930s, moved to the University of Sydney before the Second World War. During the war, he used his expertise in ancient Greek vase painting to decode Japanese messages, directly contributing to the Allies’ success in the Pacific theatre of war.
When it was revealed that Japanese forces had intercepted Australian ciphers in Timor, Trendall devised his own code—Trencode—which was used by the Australian military from 1942 to 1946.
Join archaeologist and Director of the Trendall Research Centre Dr Gillian Shepherd for a lecture uncovering the story of Trendall’s life and work and exploring the unexpected connections between wartime intelligence and ancient art.
𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫
Dr Gillian Shepherd is Director of the A.D. Trendall Research Centre for Ancient Mediterranean Studies and Senior Lecturer in Classics and Ancient History at La Trobe University. She completed her undergraduate degree in Classics and Fine Arts at the University of Melbourne and her doctorate in classical archaeology at Trinity College, Cambridge. Her research interests focus on ancient Greek burial customs, but through her position at La Trobe University she has discovered intriguing new avenues to explore, including A.D. Trendall’s work in cryptography and its profound influence on wartime intelligence.
𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐋𝐚 𝐓𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲’𝐬 𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞.
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Where is it happening?
Shrine of Remembrance, Royal Botanical Gardens, SHRINE OF REMEMBRANCE RESERVE, St Kilda Rd, Melbourne VIC 3004, Australia,Melbourne, Victoria, AustraliaEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
