Victorian Community History Awards open

Last year''s Victorian Community History Award winners.

Local community groups, historians and writers are being encouraged to apply for this year’s Victorian Community History Awards.

The awards are held annually to recognise the contributions made by Victorians in the preservation of the state’s history.

Presented by Public Record Office Victoria and the Royal Historical Society of Victoria, the awards celebrate the people involved in community history projects who are dedicated to telling their local stories and help Victorians to better understand their past.

The 2017 Victorian Premier’s History Award winner, John Burch, said the awards are a great opportunity to acknowledge the “precious commodity” that is community history.

“Across Victoria community organisations are rediscovering and preserving our history, often without any outside assistance,” he said.

“The Victorian Community History Awards offer these organisations two things – recognition of the importance of what they do and inspiring models of what can be done.”

Entries are open for numerous categories such as the Victorian Premier’s History Award, Collaborative Community History Project, Local History Project and History Publication.

Past award-winning and commended projects have included local history publications and exhibitions by history groups and museums, sports histories by local clubs and fans, honour boards and displays by RSLs and schools.

Individual documentary projects, publications, apps and websites by individuals seeking to share the stories of their towns, businesses, and local people have also been amongst award-winning projects.

All entries must be received by 5pm, 8 July. Visit prov.vic.gov.au for details.