WINNER

Letters to a Critic: Allan McCulloch’s World of Art

By Rodney James

Letters to a Critic makes an important contribution to the history of Melbourne and Victoria’s art worlds and creative life through a detailed examination of the art critic Alan McCulloch, who was a significant voice in the second half of the twentieth century. It follows McCulloch’s commitment to the development of improved arts awareness and to encouraging and promoting emerging Australian artists. His reviews and critiques of emerging artists, who were often working within new and experimental modes, provided important support for their careers.

In championing a new awakening of modern art, McCulloch contributed to the reshaping of Melbourne in the 1960s. He developed and championed the popular Herald Outdoor Art Show, and also supported avante garde painters and sculptors. He embraced Aboriginal art in the 1960s, and promoted work that Melburnians weren’t quite yet ready for, such as Vault (1980) by sculptor Ron Robertson-Swann (recently listed on the Victorian Heritage Register).

Although largely focused on Melbourne, McCulloch’s work also influenced developments in regional Victoria, and in other states and territories.

With an exquisite production design by the Miegunyah Press, the book is an artwork in itself.

WINNER

Albert Park. Bridport St and Beyond

Middle Park and Albert Park
History Group

This project, by members of the Middle Park and Albert Park History Group, takes a thorough, detailed and highly contained approach to local heritage and their surrounding suburbanscape. It examines key examples of built heritage by revealing previous occupancies, evaluating relevant documentation and unlocking local memories. Albert Park: Bridport St and Beyond is a pleasing example of a polished, well-structured and engaging collaborative local history publication.

WINNER

Victoria’s Earliest Porcelain Works

By Gregory Hill

Richly illustrated, the book features photographs of finished products, makers’ marks, and rarely seen images of potters, workers, and their workplaces. Set against the broader social history of the period, this story weaves together many elements, including technical skill, changing materials and production processes, evolving popular tastes, and artistic expression, offering a compelling insight into Victoria’s ceramic heritage.

WINNER

Faces of Peace

By Bendigo Military Museum

The Faces of Peace Storytelling Project exemplifies the best of local history projects. The use of narrators from the local area – in this case Central Victoria – is particularly critical to the success of the project. Through these narrators we learn how the values and experiences gained growing up in their local community were applied to their peacekeeping roles overseas. Equally, the viewer sees how experiences gained in broader global events are brought back home to colour life in the local community. The personalised storytelling, done with care and professionalism, offers direct insights into the impact of conflict. 

WINNER

Women, Conscription, War

By Alexandra Pierce

This 15-episode podcast tells the story of the Melbourne women who opposed the Vietnam War and the National Service Act from 1965–1972. Each thematic episode weaves together narratives from fifty-eight oral history interviews conducted by Alexandra Pierce for her project, while also including (through the website) contemporary archival documents, photographs and protest ephemera and invaluable bibliographies of primary and secondary source material. Created as a response to a gap in the historical record, this podcast series fills that gap and then some. The podcast approach makes the women’s stories and the wider history accessible to a wide audience. The fact that this history podcast was produced by a solo oral historian without institutional support is truly inspirational.

WINNER

‘Back to School’: A History of Local Schools in Heidelberg 1851–2000

By Heidelberg Historical Society

‘Back to School’: A History of Local Schools in Heidelberg 1851–2000 was a comprehensive exhibition curated by Heidelberg Historical Society with involvement from Greensborough Historical Society. The histories of some 72 schools, large, small, government and private, were included in the exhibition. A wide number of sources were used to compile these histories. In addition to its nostalgic appeal for locals, the histories were firmly placed within the wider context of the Victorian government education system. The lasting value of the exhibition is that it has made the various school histories available for the future through a number of databases.