Category: Recent News

For most historical societies we are entering the season for extreme weather – fires and floods and we should all be thinking preparedness! 
 
The Australian Institute for the Conservation of Cultural Material Inc (AICCM) has developed some great disaster-response material including a calendar: 
https://aiccm.org.au/disaster/disaster-preparedness-calendar/
 
Other resources concerning fire, flood and mould can be found on their website
https://aiccm.org.au/disaster/
 
Being prepared really works in times of emergency when you will probably be battling disaster on your home-front as well as for your historical society.

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The RHSV bookshop is getting more successful every year – in 2024 our sales increased by 50% on 2023 which was already a record year. And it is getting too large for the staff to look after it so we are looking for volunteers to make sure our sales keep on increasing. We have two brilliant volunteers in place but need at least 3 more.

There are a myriad of jobs associated with the bookshop –

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After 6+ years at the RHSV, our fabulous Treasurer Daniel Clements is standing down from the role. Daniel has moved out of Melbourne to Port Arlington and the commute, despite the bracing ferries, is just too arduous. Daniel has overseen a period of growth and reform for the RHSV and, financially, we have never been in a better position.

So the search is on for a new Treasurer. The full PD can be read here

The Treasurer automatically joins the RHSV Council and a couple of other committees.

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DEADLINE HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO 31 JANUARY 2025.

Do you know an unsung hero who has left a lasting legacy in the local history of your community? You are invited to nominate someone who has made a significant contribution to be considered for commemoration in a new place name.

Anyone who has left a lasting legacy can be nominated. For example, the person may have been known for community and volunteer work,

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31 March 2025 is the extended deadline for lodging the annual not-for-profit self-review return. Nearly all historical societies, if they are an incorporated association, will need to lodge this return. However, if your society is already a charity it is exempt from lodging a self-review. By lodging this return you are proving to the ATO that your society is exempt from paying income tax. 

This is the link to the page on the ATO website where it outlines the steps you take to lodge the review.

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The latest RHSV article in CBD News has been published and can be read in full here (scroll down to P20). Written by Julie Bevan

 

The man in his coat and stovepipe hat drives his cart away from us down the empty street towards the nothingness at the centre of the image, leaving only the newsboy to stare towards us sentinel-like defending his territory. And defending his territory was a necessary skill.

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An elegant colossus reaches for the sky

” Captured by amateur photographer Pierre Robin in early September 1959, this is one of the last photographs to capture the solid presence of the Colonial Mutual Building on the north-west corner of Collins and Elizabeth streets.

It rises here from a busy urban setting, trams running along the two major thoroughfares, jostling for space with pedestrians and vehicles. In the foreground is an iconic two-toned Holden FE station wagon,

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Congratulations Ruby Louise Oosthuizen!

The annual Don Gibb RHSV Australian History Prize is awarded to the La Trobe University student who gained the highest mark in the third-year subject ‘Making History’ and , in 2024, the prize was presented to Ruby Louise Oosthuizen. Ruby made a podcast: ‘The Whitewashing of Australia’s Ecological History Seen Through the Tale of a Platypus’. Ruby is completing a double degree in Science and Arts. She earned a cash prize and an RHSV membership,

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We hope to be able to make an announcement soon about the launch of the Victorian Community History Awards 2024.

 

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We look forward to welcoming as many members as possible to the RHSV’s Special General Meeting (SGM) and Annual General Meeting (AGM). To register for the SGM and AGM or to record your apologies please click here.  You can use the same link to book for the Weston Bate Oration which follows the AGM (with a short break for refreshments). Non-members too are always welcome.

On Tuesday evening,

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Our 4th podcast, VOICES FROM MELBOURNE’S CHINATOWN, is available for download from Spotify.

 

In this episode of our History Victoria Podcast, Past Lives, Sean Reynolds interviews Mark Wang, CEO of Melbourne’s Chinese Museum to explore the evolving identity and culture of the vibrant Chinese-Australian community. 
 
Mark delves into his family’s deep roots in Victoria, tracing back to his great-great-grandfather who arrived before the gold rush.

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PROV is facing more than just funding cuts at the moment.

A bill was introduced into the Legislative Assembly this week by the Government that would, amongst other things, see the abolishment of the Public Records Advisory Council.  Given the importance of the PRAC in advising the Minister and the Public Records office on the operation and implementation of the relevant Act, and subsequently the storage and archival of public records, we were looking for feedback from the perspective of historical societies,

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