17 September 2021
The Victorian Government is celebrating contributions to the preservation of the state’s rich history for future generations to learn from and enjoy.
Minister for Government Services Danny Pearson today announced the shortlist for this year’s Victorian Community History Awards, as well as the prestigious Victorian Premier’s History Award.
The 2021 nominees tell stories ranging from war and industry, to pandemics, sport and murder, and include biographies, articles, feature-length documentaries and interactive digital experiences.
The rich histories of Aboriginal and LGBTIQ+ people across Victoria feature prominently in the shortlist, alongside many untold stories, including the hidden past of Little Lon in Melbourne and the fishing families of Queenscliff.
Projects also explore the histories of major Indigenous cultural leader Bill Onus, prominent Goldfields businesswoman Fanny Finch, bookseller EW Cole, and the last man to be legally executed in Victoria, Ronald Ryan.
All shortlisted nominees are up for prizes ranging from $500 to $2,000 – with one to be named the winner of the $5,000 Victorian Premier’s History Award.
Final award winners will be announced in October as part of History Month.
These awards are supported by the Victorian Government through the Community Support Fund. See full shortlist below.
Quote attributable to Minister for Government Services Danny Pearson
“These awards are an important way for us to recognise those working tirelessly to bring Victoria’s history to life.”
“Congratulations to the nominees for their work and thank you for continuing to capture, preserve and share our state’s fascinating past.”
Quote attributable to Public Record Office Victoria Director and Keeper of Public Records Justine Heazlewood
“This shortlist is a testament to the continuing effort of local historians, many of whom found inventive ways to share Victorian stories and programs remotely in 2020-21 – we look forward to announcing the winners in October.”
Quote attributable to President of the Royal Historical Society Victoria, Emeritus Professor Richard Broome AM
“Every year the Victorian Community History Awards reveal how creative community historians in Victoria can be in the ways they present the past to the present.”
Victorian Community History Awards shortlist
| History publications | History projects |
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Albert Pompey Austin: A Man Between Two Worlds The Architecture of Manufacturing: Design for Making in Post-War Victoria in the RMIT Design Archives Journal Blak Cook Book: New Cultural Perspectives on Cooks’ Cottage (A Set of Provocations) Changing Fortunes – Ebb and Flow of People and Place in a Pocket of Port Melbourne ‘The Dreaded Pneumonic Influenza Has Made its Appearance Amongst Us’: The Influenza Pandemic of 1918-19 in Gippsland, Victoria in the Australian Historical Studies Journal Dwellers of Fisherman’s Flat Family History and the Long View of the Great War in the Victorian Historical Journal For the Fallen: The 1921-1922 Melbourne Public Library Mural Competition within the setting of Decorative Painting in Australian Art A History of LGBTIQ+ Victoria in 100 Places and Objects In the Eye of the Storm: Volunteers and Australia’s Response to the HIV/AIDS Crisis In the Shadow of the Prom Jas A Munro & Co: The Largest Garage in Melbourne Kurrburra (Koala) the Boonwurrung Wirrirrap and Bard (1797-1849) – A Man of High Degree in the Australian Journal of Biography and History Labassa: House of Dreams Little Lon Made in Lancashire: A Collective Biography of Assisted Migrants from Lancashire to Victoria 1852-1853 One Hundred Years in the Making: Box Hill RSL 1920-2020 On Taungurung Land: Sharing History and Culture Places of Reconciliation: Commemorating Indigenous History in the Heart of Melbourne Save Our Sons: Women, Dissent and Conscription During the Vietnam War The Rise and Fall of Lady Gillott in Melbourne’s Turn-of-the-Century Society in the Victorian Historical Journal Under the Rainbow: The Life and Times of EW Cole Victoria’s Transgender History |
Ablaze – A Feature Documentary Beats, Ballads and Ballrooms: Darebin Live Music Venues 1955-2020 COVID Kids Oral History Project Eastern Market Murder End of an Era: The Last Gippsland Lakes Fishermen Finding Fanny Finch The Geelong Honours Them Project A Miscarriage of Justice On the Land: Our Story Retold Ordinary People in Extraordinary Circumstances: “The Missing” Stories of Chinese ANZAC and Chinese Australian WWII Soldiers Through Childhood Eyes: Hidden Stories of World War Two Understanding Through Testimony Victorian CEDT Index Wadawurrung Country
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Images of the shortlisted projects
