The RHSV, in partnership with the Heritage Council Victoria, celebrates 50 years of the Victorian Heritage Register. The event will offer insight into the history and functioning of the Register, which should be of interest to all concerned with preserving our heritage.

2024 marks the 50th Anniversary of Victorian state government heritage legislation. In 1974, after years of campaigning by Victorian heritage conservation activists, the first buildings were included in the Victorian Historic Buildings Register to protect them for current and future generations. The Historic Buildings Register eventually became what we know today as the Victorian Heritage Register.

This event will be chaired by Professor Charles Sowerwine, Chair of the RHSV’s Heritage Committee. Charles will open with a few words about the 50th anniversary of the Historic Buildings Act 1974 and the beginning of the Victorian Heritage Register.

Professor Graeme Davison will speak on The Victorian Heritage Register: The Founding Years. Graeme Davison, well-known to RHSV members as a scintillating historian, is also someone with extensive experience of the Heritage Council and of the creation and evolution of the Register.

What’s in the VHR in 2024? Dr Marina Jansen, a historian with Heritage Victoria, will provide an overview of the Register and share insights from the VHR Analysis Project 2023-24. She will explain the registration process and describe the VHR Enrichment Project which aims to increase the diversity of heritage types, historical themes and social groups in the Register.

And finally we will hear from Dr Steve Campbell-Wright Heritage Council member. Steve Campbell-Wright is a cultural historian with particular interest in the influence of place on the culture of organisations and communities. He is a respected researcher and author on subjects ranging from built heritage and military culture to automotive history. Steve will bust some myths surrounding heritage and discuss Council’s role with regards to the Register.

Housekeeping

This event will be hybrid so presented in person in our rooms and also via ZOOM. Those purchasing Zoom tickets will be sent the log-in details 24hrs before the event.

An automatically generated confirmation of booking email is sent on booking – please check your Trash or Spam folders if this email does not turn up in your In Box.

As with most of our events, refreshments will be served from 5:30pm – 6pm when the lecture starts (the Zoom session also starts at 6pm). There will be Q&A at the end of the lecture.

This is a History Month event. Click on the logo for the full program