2025 HCSA Fellows Lecture: David Reilly

Description

The History Council of SA invites you to its annual HCSA Fellows Lecture evening, showcasing the research of the current HCSA Fellow. 

In 2025, Riverland date palm producer David Reilly was awarded the prestigious fellowship to explore the overlooked history of date palms in Australia — a striking plant whose distinctive form appears in photographs across the state, yet whose story remains largely untold. 

At the time of his award, David had traced the first documented date palms in South Australia to Tanunda, but the history of this plant reaches far beyond that moment. 

Join the History Council of SA to discover what this iconic species can reveal about the cultural and environmental history of Australia.  

David Reilly 

David Reilly is a Riverland-based date palm grower and researcher. After a career as a stock agent across rural Australia, he began cultivating dates in 1993. 

His passion for salt-tolerant crops sparked a deep interest in the cultural history of date palms, leading to global research and national recognition. 

Image: Lake Harry Station Date Palms, photograph by E. L. Walpole, approx.1930. SLSA B 47089/7 

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