This editorial introduces the inaugural issue of Historical Encounters. Robert J. Parkes outlines the journal’s origins, intellectual foundations, and aims: to explore how individuals and communities engage with the historical worlds they encounter, and to bridge scholarship across disciplines concerned with historical consciousness, culture, pedagogy, and curriculum. Motivated by a commitment to open access and author copyright retention, the journal was established through the HERMES Research Network at the University of Newcastle. Parkes situates the venture within an international dialogue fostered by prior collaborations linking Australian, Nordic, and North American traditions of history education and geschichtsdidaktik. He recounts influences from his research fellowship in Sweden, where concepts such as “historical culture” and “historical consciousness” deepened the journal’s thematic focus. The editorial also acknowledges the collaborative labour of editors, reviewers, and contributors whose collective effort realised the first issue. Featuring research from Australia, Canada, Finland, Sweden, and the Netherlands, the collection illustrates the diversity of current inquiries into history education, historical theory, and public history. Parkes closes by inviting scholars to contribute to and sustain this open scholarly platform dedicated to encountering history within and beyond borders.