The 2023 Victorian Community History Awards were presented at the Arts Centre Melbourne on the 2nd of February 2024 by Public Record Office Victoria in partnership with the Royal Historical Society of Victoria. See below for the full list of winners and commendations:
Victorian Premier's History Award
- WINNER St Kilda 1841-1900: Movers and Shakers and Money-makers by Carmel McKenzie
Carmel McKenzie was awarded the Victorian Premier’s History Award
Judges' Special Prize
- WINNER Frontier Magistrate: The Enigmatic Foster Fyans by John Cary
Collaborative Community History Award winner and commendations
- WINNER On Bunurong Country: Art and Design in Frankston by Lisa Byrne and Dr Jane Eckett
- Tales from Rat City: A Local Subaltern History Podcast and Performances Set in the Goldfields of Western Victoria by Dr David Waldron
- Once Upon An Island - The Early Days of Phillip Island by Anne Oswin, Eleanor McKay and Sarah Hudson from the Phillip Island and San Remo Advertiser
- Queenscliffe Revealed: Hidden Histories - New Narratives by Queenscliffe Historical Museum
Local History Project Award winner and commendations
- WINNER Houses of North and West Melbourne by Elio Sarpi
- Veterans Public Arts Trail by Australian National Veterans Arts Museum
- Rekindling Father McHugh's Kilmore by Kilmore Historical Society
- Albert Park: Gardens to the Sea by Middle Park and Albert Park History Group
Small Organisation History Project Award winner and commendations
- WINNER Precious Objects: Shared Memories of our Collective Past by Willaura Modern Incorporated at Historic Railway Station Gallery in association with Willaura Historical Society
- Pioneers, Celebrities and Legends of Airport West by Cathie Mahon, John Tait, Airport West History Group Inc.
- Sebastopol School Days: A History of the Sebastopol Primary School No.1167 1873-2023: 150 Years of State Education by Margaret J. Phyland and Susan M. Parker, Sebastopol Historical Society Inc.
History Publication Award winner and commendations
- WINNER Staging a Revolution: When Betty Rocked the Pram by Kath Kenny
- Into the Darkness: The Story of Minnie and William Eason by Karen J Collins
- Wooden Rails and Green Gold: A Century of Timber and Transport Along the Yarra Track by Peter Evans, Light Railway Research Society of Australia
- Family Business: The Simmie Family of Simmie & Co and Harpsdale by Dr Andrew J Kilsby
- Garryowen Unmasked: The Life of Edmund Finn by Elizabeth Rushen
- Justice in Kelly Country: The Story of the Cop Who Hunted Australia's Most Notorious Bushrangers by Lachlan Strahan
Small History Publication Award winner and commendations
- WINNER Flinders Cargo Shed: Heritage and Environs by Flinders District Historical Society
- A Darker Shade of Moonlite: A Creative Biography by Craig Cormick
- From Rural Health to Community Strengthening: The Story of the Mirboo North & District Community Foundation by Dr Julie Fenwick
- Quartz Hill: The Gold Mining History of Bristol Hill, Maryborough by Craig Roberts, Maryborough Midlands Historical Society
Digital Storytelling Award winner and commendations
- WINNER Unknown Melbourne by Julian O'Shea
- The Frankston Murders by Vikki Petraitis for Casefile Presents
- Bonegilla Stories by Simon Reich
- The Rest Is Up To You: A Podcast by Jon Thija, Simon Abrahams and Kate Rhodes, Melbourne Fringe
Community Diversity Award winner and commendations
- WINNER Nyernila by Charlton Neighbourhood House
- Chasing the Dragon's Tale: Researching Box Hill's Pioneer Chinese Residents by Box Hill Historical Society
- Horace Street Green: A Personal Past by Edward Duyker
- Survivors and Thrivers: Male Homosexual Lives in Postwar Australia by David Gould
Oral History Award winner and commendations (presented in collaboration with Oral History Victoria)
- WINNER Don't Be Too Polite Girls by Richard Lowenstein and Martie Lowenstein
- Our Lives, Our Stories: Geelong Care Leavers Talking Back to their Records by Abigail Belfrage, Consulting Historian with The History Dept, with the Australian Orphanage Museum Project Team
- Beyond Bourke Street: Melbourne Buskers in the Digital World by Daniel Bacchieri
- Stonnington's Young Voices of the Pandemic by Way Back When Consulting Historians and City of Stonnington
History Interpretation Award winner and commendations
- WINNER The Lost City of Melbourne by Gus Berger, Gusto Films
- Eye Spy! Waking our Secret Agents by Heidelberg Historical Society Inc.
- Whispers from the Past by Friends of Churchill Island Society Inc.
- William Bailey's Haunted Mansion: A Live Action Roleplaying Game Performance by Dr David Waldron
- Melbourne Royal: Celebrating 175 Years by Melbourne Royal
History Article Award winner and commendations
- WINNER No Mention of the Great Famine: Interpreting a Gap in Dr John Sington's Autobiographical Narrative by Sylvia Morrissey for Victorian Historical Journal
- A Grassroots View of Spanish Influenza in Melbourne by Mary Sheehan for Victorian Historical Journal
- Not Invisible, Not Silent, Not Nameless: Dja Dja Wurrung Contributions to Nineteenth-Century Goldfields Society in Central Victoria, Australia by Fred Cahir, Rodney Carter, Jason Kerr, Marlene Burchill, Ron Kerr, Tom Baksch, Rick Nelson and Dan Tout for Cultural and Social History
- Livingston: A One-Teacher School in the Gippsland Hills, 1913-1938 by David Harris for Victorian Historical Journal
- Discovering an Archive by Lucinda Horrocks for Provenance
- Industrial Schools in Victoria 1864-1872 by Russell Spencer for Victorian Historical Journal
Resources
*This is a small selection of photographs taken on the day. If you'd like to see more, please email Tara Oldfield at media@prov.vic.gov.au.
The Victorian Community History Awards are supported by the Victorian Government through the Community Support Fund.