2013 is the bi-centenary of Dr John Rae. As part of 'John Rae 200' celebrations, Stromness Museum is planning to hold a conference to celebrate his achievements. It will be held in Stromness, Orkney from the 28th - 30th September 2013. This 3 day conference will comprise of papers, workshops and events, evening lectures and fieldtrips.

Papers of relevance to the following themes are invited:
Day 1 "Travelling in the Arctic during the 19th Century. Dr John Rae in the context of Arctic Exploration.
Day 2 "Dr John Rae and ethnographic collections of Cree, Inuit and North West Coast technology."
Day 3 "Dr John Rae and the Hudson's Bay Company: Orcadians in the "Nor Wast".

Please submit paper abstracts of Max 300 words, plus full name, title and institution, address and email by December 20th 2012 to:
johnrae200@stromnessmuseum.co.uk or to the following address: The Curator, John Rae 200, Stromness Museum, 52 Alfred Street, Stromness, Orkney KW16 3DH 01856 850025

Friday 6 July to Monday 9 July sees a special exhibition of oil paintings by AR Woods, a Thames piermaster, who is believed to have painted the famous Ness Battery mural. Three paintings are on show, two of which have been acquired for Ness Battery, with the third having been brought specially up from Shropshire for this weekend only.