The Jane Austen Society of Australia: A Focus on the Future

In 1989 just over a dozen Jane Austen enthusiasts met in Sydney for the first meeting of the Jane Austen Society of Australia (JASA). Nora Walker, who had attended annual general meetings held by the Jane Austen Society of North America (JASNA), was convinced that what North America could do, Australia could do too. She founded the society, was president for six years, and got its program firmly established.

JASA holds meetings in Sydney every two months, with speakers, afternoon tea, sales at a "Regency Fair" table, and much enjoyment for all. Meetings get what is, I believe, the largest attendance at any regular meetings of any Jane Austen society in the world (the JASNA annual general meeting gets more, but that is a once-a-year event)! There is an annual conference (every second year, this is a weekend event held outside of Sydney), a special luncheon held in December to celebrate Jane Austen's birthday, regular study days, and other occasional events such as theater outings, guided walks, picnics, and musical performances. The society publishes its journal, Sensibilities, and its newsletter, Chronicle, twice a year, with an extra news sheet, Practicalities, also sent to members.

There are various groups of JASA in other parts of the country—Brisbane, Newcastle, Canberra, Southern Highlands, and Perth. Separate organizations have been established in Melbourne (JASM) and in Adelaide. A JASA aim for the future is to work more closely with the various regional groups, making sure that all members feel included in the Society.

JASA has recently had a fascinating range of talks and events celebrating the publication anniversaries of the novels and the two hundredth anniversary of Austen's death. But now we are looking to the future and want to make sure that the Society continues to thrive and grow. Getting younger members to come to meetings has been something of a challenge, and we will work on attracting students through essay contests, prizes of one-year memberships, and more talks and increased publicity in schools and universities. JASA also has an excellent library, probably the best publicly available collection of books about Jane Austen in Australia. This has recently been properly catalogued and put online, and students will be able to reference and use it.

The theme of the conference in 2020 will be International Jane Austen, bringing together scholars, enthusiasts, and authors hopefully from Norway, New Zealand, Japan, the United States, South America, and other countries. Members of JASNA and the JAS UK will be invited to attend. There needs to be more close cooperation between the various Jane Austen Societies, especially as the number continues to grow with Societies in the United States, Canada, UK, Ireland, Japan, Argentina, Brazil, Spain, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Italy, and of course Australia. Perhaps ideas could be discussed for an annual "international" publication that goes out to the heads of all the worldwide Jane Austen groups? This would keep the widespread groups in touch and give information about planned conferences and events. This would be invaluable within the international Jane Austen community and could include a sharing of ideas about attracting new members, competitions, new film versions, and fundraising for preservation of buildings connected to Jane Austen.

JASA is moving confidently forward into the future. People now read the novels in new formats such as e-books, but they still read them, study them, and love them. JASA wants to ensure a healthy, vibrant society that will bring knowledge and enjoyment to the next generation of readers and keep Jane Austen well and truly "alive" in Australia.