08 September 2023
Local history groups and scholars will continue to be recognised for their important work in celebrating Victoria’s past through new Andrews Labor Government funding for grants and awards.
The Labor Government will invest $423,000 to support the Victorian Community History Awards, including the $5,000 Victorian Premier’s History Award, and a new round of grants in the Local History Grants Program.
Minister for Government Services Danny Pearson confirmed the new support while announcing 42 groups from across the state had been awarded grants in the 2022/23 round of the Local History Grants Program.
The program supports community organisations with grants of up to $15,000 for projects that preserve and share the materials and memories that make up Victoria’s history. The program, administered by Public Record Office Victoria, has been running for 21 years.
Recipients include the Australian Living Peace Museum, granted $15,000 for the development of an app-based walking tour of the Melbourne CBD that shares stories of six key sites and people central to peace activism during World War I.
The tour will focus on the little-known histories of peace activists of the time with a focus on State Parliament, St Patrick’s Cathedral, Trades Hall, Old Melbourne Gaol, Melbourne Magistrates Court and 215 Latrobe Street – the site of the Women’s Political Association.
Also receiving funding are Bidwell First Nations Clans Aboriginal Corporation for preservation work, Melbourne Athenaeum for digital stories related to Victoria’s cultural history and the Ballarat and District Irish Association for its “Lost Irish Women of Eureka” project.
The Horsham Historical Society won support for a digitisation project while Omeo Historical Society received backing to help conserve court records.
The Victorian Community History Awards are run by Public Record Office Victoria in partnership with the Royal Historical Society of Victoria. A call for entries for the 2023 awards will be made soon.
Visit prov.vic.gov.au for details of Local History Grants Program recipients and past Victorian Community History Awards winners.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Government Services Danny Pearson
“It’s important that we preserve our past and celebrate our history – it helps guide the way forward.”
“Grants and awards recognise the amazing work that local groups and historians are doing every day and we’re proud to support them.”
Quote attributable to Public Record Office Victoria Director and Keeper of Public Records Justine Heazlewood
“For more than 20 years, Public Record Office Victoria has been proud to administer programs to fund and award community projects that capture and share the local, social and community history of Victoria.”
