A site search provides companies engaged in environmental contaminant investigations with information from the Royal Historical Society of Victoria’s archives and collections.
Our clients are usually environmental and/or engineering consultants who require an assessment of an area of land that is to be developed or redeveloped. This kind of historical report forms part of a Preliminary Environmental Site Investigation (PSI) or ‘Phase 1’ investigation. They are looking for the potential for past site ownership and/or potential site activities that may have resulted in environmental contamination.
Our research gives an account of who or what occupied the site, and when it was operational, in order to determine if there are any causes to investigate further for site pollutants. For example, if the site had agricultural chemicals, a petrol station, a gas or fuel depot, a tannery, a chemical manufacturing factory, oil storage, if it had been a rubbish tip or quarry, or if there is landfill that could make the ground unstable.
Searching is engrossing, painstaking, and sometimes frustrating, but always rewarding, especially when we find what we’re looking for! If you are in need of a site search for your development project, please fill out the form below. Our site specialist historians will get back to you to confirm your details and provide an overview of our fees. Research is completed in 7-10 working days (usually in under a week).
We conduct site searches on the history of occupancy for industrial and residential properties in Melbourne, Bendigo, Geelong and Ballarat. Research concerning Victorian country areas will be general and is rarely site specific.
COSTS
An average site search costs $150 – $250. If you’d like a quote please contact office@historyvictoria.org.au
For an additional fee we can expedite the search if it is urgent.
CLIENT FEEDBACK
30 May, 2019
Dear RHSV office,
I’d like to let you know that the report for the above job was very well researched and provided great detail of the historical land use at and around our subject site. It’s great to get a report like this from you and I look forward to many more like it in the future. Please let the researched know that they’ve done a really great job for us.
Regards,
Alex Patterson | Environmental Scientist | Douglas Partners Pty Ltd
239 A'Beckett Street Melbourne, Victoria, 3000 
03 9326 9288 
office@historyvictoria.org.au 
Office & Library: Weekdays 9am-5pm
