Charles Sturt University (CSU) will give 500 copies of a new book to Bathurst Regional Council to mark the 200th anniversary of the settlement of the city. CSU Vice-Chancellor Professor Andrew Vann will deliver the book, From Flag Staff to Town Square - A Guide to the Government Settlement Heritage Trail, to the Mayor of Bathurst, Councillor Gary Rush, on Monday 4 May at Bathurst Regional Council chambers. The formal presentation of the book will be at a bicentenary luncheon on Thursday 7 May. From Flag Staff to Town Square is an illustrated guidebook to the Bathurst Government Settlement precinct and acts to support the interpretation signage for a heritage walk created by the Bathurst Regional Council. "Charles Sturt University and its predecessor institutions have grown and developed with, and as part of, Bathurst," Professor Vann said. "The University is proud to be an integral part of the educational, cultural and economic landscape of the region, and congratulates Bathurst Regional Council on its achievements to date. The university has a strong commitment to working for the betterment of the community into the future. I am delighted to present From Flag Staff to Town Square - A Guide to the Government Settlement Heritage Trail as a gift from the University to the Bathurst community on the occasion of the bicentenary of the establishment of Bathurst. I congratulate and thank the author, adjunct senior lecturer Dr Robin McLachlan, on his fine work, and note the contribution of another University staff member, Ms Natasha Townsend, for the value she has brought to this book as its graphic designer."

The television studio at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst will be used for a Wiradyuri nation-building event on Saturday 2 May. The Wiradyuri-gu Yindyamarra (Respect for Wiradyuri) is a taped discussion with Elders, invited speakers, and relocated Wiradyuri people from 10.30am to12.30pm. CSU alumnus Ms Suzanne Ingram (communication, 1996) will emcee the event. "This is a very special event to be held in a very special place, Bathurst," Ms Ingram said. "The opportunity for our people to connect on country with Wiradyuri from all over to celebrate and discuss our future, our way, to bring young people and Elders together with everyone in between - it's fantastic." Discussion will encompass the recently announced co-naming of Mount Panorama as Wahluu by the Geographical Names Board. This event stems from the First Nations (Native American) initiative in Arizona USA, and is understood to be the first of this kind globally. Wiradyuri-gu Yindyamarra is presented by the Bathurst Wiradyuri and Aboriginal Community Elders in conjunction with the Black Theatre Company. Find out more here. The event is in The Studio (room 117, building 1399), Charles Sturt University, Panorama Ave, Bathurst. CSU staff and students are providing technical assistance.

Selected staff at Charles Sturt University (CSU) will participate in a mental health education program in Bathurst on Wednesday 29 April that's designed to build awareness of the challenges faced by people who hear distressing voices. CSU's School of Nursing, Midwifery and Indigenous Health is hosting the 'Hearing Voices That Are Distressing' simulation program to train some staff to deliver the program within mental health subjects in the paramedic and nursing courses. Lecturer in mental health, Ms Denise McGarry, said, "The School aims to take a lead in training staff and providing this important mental health education across the University and in the local community. We have engaged international expert Mr Arana Pearson from the Hearing Voices Network to train relevant staff to deliver the 'Hearing Voices That Are Distressing' simulation program at the University. This program was developed from the work of Patricia Deegan, an adjunct professor at Boston University, who has been a major influence in the mental health recovery movement," she said. Staff from different Schools and disciplines have also been invited to experience the simulation, but not to receive the training, so they can familiarise themselves with the potential application within their own courses; for example, in policing, justice studies, psychology, teacher education, and other allied health disciplines."

Staff and students at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst paused solemnly today to reflect on the service of young men from one of its predecessor institutions, the Bathurst Experiment Farm. The ceremony was prompted by Mr Sam Malloy, a PhD researcher and sessional academic in the CSU School of Humanities and Social Sciences, who has investigated the 1914-1918 Honor Roll on the historic building on campus known as 'The Cow Shed'. Mr Malloy spoke briefly to those who had gathered to pay tribute, before a wreath was laid by CSU Vice-Chancellor, Professor Andrew Vann, and Head of Campus in Bathurst, Professor Jo-Anne Reid. "It is most fitting that we gather here this morning on the eve of the 100th anniversary of the landing of the ANZACs at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915," Mr Malloy said. "This small historic brick building, which many of us walk past every day, carries this Honor Roll dedicated to 139 young men who served and died in the First World War. These men are not only special because of what they did as patriotic young Australians serving in a war so far away, but they lived and worked where we stand now, as students and staff of the old Bathurst Experiment Farm, which some of us also know as the Bathurst Agricultural Research Station." Mr Malloy noted that this memorial carries not just the names of students, but also the names of teachers and 'farm' staff who taught and supported the students. "These 139 men went about their daily studies and practical work in the paddocks, orchards, and timber and brick buildings that existed here on this campus site in 1915," Mr Malloy said. "This memorial is a poignant reminder of them and the carefree lives they once led, here, at the former Bathurst Experiment Farm. Lest we forget."

Fifty-two senior high school students from around NSW who are interested to become nurses or paramedics will attend a MyDay at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst on Thursday 23 April. MyDays give students a taste of living and learning on campus, and provide useful information about courses and study options. Students also receive information about opportunities and support available, and about how to achieve their goals. Ms Sonja Maria, lecturer in the Bachelor of Clinical Practice (Paramedic) in the School of Biomedical Sciences at CSU in Bathurst, said, "We are excited to present MyDay again this year to high school students. The paramedic team have organised some fun activities on the lawn outside of the simulation centre. The trauma car, various stretchers and other equipment will be on show for the students to explore, including some mock patients." Similarly, students interested to study nursing will experience the clinical simulation ward in the CSU School of Nursing, Midwifery and Indigenous Health, and learn about the increasingly technical role of nurses in a range of settings.

A Charles Sturt University (CSU) PhD student will deliver a public presentation on the history of the Chinese population in Bathurst between the 1850s and the 1950s, on Saturday 18 April. Ms Juanita Kwok, a PhD candidate with the CSU School of Communications and Creative Industries in Bathurst, will talk about her research, with a particular focus on the Chinese market gardeners of Bathurst. "The Chinese population of the Bathurst region was larger and more enduring than many people realise," Ms Kwok said. "The Chinese made significant contributions to the establishment of the Bathurst community and its evolving economy." The talk will follow the Family History Group meeting in the Bathurst Library Meeting Room in Keppel Street, Bathurst, at 2pm Saturday 18 April. Join in to find out more about this little known aspect of Bathurst's history.

The Executive Dean of the Faculty of Science, Professor Tim Wess, presented annual awards to leading Charles Sturt University (CSU) science students in Bathurst on Tuesday 7 April. Professor Wess presented awards to students who have an outstanding academic record in the Faculty's School of Biomedical Sciences, School of Nursing, Midwifery and Indigenous Health, and School of Human Movement Studies. "It was a great honour to give awards to students who have consistently shown excellence by gaining the highest grades," Professor Wess said. "These students are likely to work in the community after their studies, and this can only help to make Bathurst a stronger community." The awards presentation ceremony was at 2.30pm Tuesday 7 April at the Centre for Professional Development at CSU in Bathurst.

Performance in everyday life, and how to better research it, is the focus of a one-day symposium for communication academics at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst on Friday 17 April. Co-organiser of the symposium, Dr Johanna Fawkes, senior lecturer in public relations in the CSU School of Communication and Creative Industries, said, "The Mask symposium is about how identity and professions can be performed, as well as theatrical and artistic works, in this 'age of the selfie'. These days, everyone is obsessed with managing their profile online. What does this mean for society? Are we all celebrities now? The symposium has been designed to encourage new researchers and to develop research capacity in an emerging field of relevance to the School and the wider University." CSU Vice-Chancellor Professor Andrew Vann will formally open the symposium at 9am at the James Hardie Room (building 1286) at the CSU Centre for Professional Development. Approximately 20 academics with interests in theatre, fine arts, professional studies, communication, and photography will deliver presentations at the symposium, which will also include a 1.30pm book launch by Professor Bill Green, editor of The Body in Professional Practice, Learning and Education.

A Charles Sturt University (CSU) student who has worked as a volunteer in Africa and outback Australia seeks donations of old laptop computers for use by medical charities. Mr Jarrod Wolhuter, a final-year nursing student in the CSU School of Nursing, Midwifery and Indigenous Health at CSU in Bathurst, overcame severe depression and social isolation in his youth to work to improve the lives of others in more isolated and disadvantaged locations. He has worked for non-government organisations (NGOs) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and in remote Australia. "Since enrolling in this degree I've lived and worked in two remote Indigenous communities, Wadeye in the Northern Territory, and Mornington Island at the bottom of the Gulf of Carpentaria, where I worked in aged care as an assistant in nursing. All these experiences were both amazing and heartbreaking. In the DRC I worked with doctors who referred to decades-old medical text books because that is all they had. With the number of outdated computers in Australia these days, I suspect there are many redundant laptops gathering dust that would be useful to health workers in disadvantaged areas in the DRC and elsewhere in Africa. Even a small number of donations can revolutionise practices in these remote areas." Mr Wolhuter says his goal now is to finish his degree at the end of 2015, attain the minimum requirements needed to work as a nurse with Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders), and return to wherever needs the most help. "In my heart I'd love to go back to DRC, but as long as I'm doing something constructive and learning, I'll be happy," he said.