Download the summary of the Community History Awards 2008 here (PDF, 386KB). (To view this document you will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer).

Winners and Commendations

The winners of the Victorian Community History Awards 2008 were announced recently at a ceremony held on Saturday, 31 May 2008, at Queens Hall, Parliament House.

The Overall Winner for 2008 was a Register titled Eaglehawk & District Pioneer Register Volume 6 - T-Z
by Annette O'Donohue & Bev Hanson

The culmination of 17 years of almost non-stop research to find and list every adult person who spent time on the Eaglehawk Goldfields before 1880. Volume 6 contains 392 pages crammed with names, statistics, sudden deaths, robberies, triumphs, court cases, marriages, births, tragedies and people's foibles. A baby pulls down a hot teapot and is scalded to death. A miner strikes it rich in Poverty Gully.

There is possibly no other Australian work like this extraordinary series, which now totals 1,936 pages chronicling the stories of more than 9,600 individuals or families whose presence and activities can be traced to the goldfields. The authors say in a note, that nobody was considered too trivial to leave out.

The Judges honour Volume 6 as an individual work, but they are conscious it is one which cannot be separated from its predecessors.

The winners and the commendations of the six categories can be viewed below.

If you have any queries regarding these Awards please contact the Marketing Department at Information Victoria.

The Victorian Community History Awards 2009 are now open.

Category Finalists

Best Collaborative / Community Work

Collingwood Plaques Project
by Collingwood Historical Society Inc.

The Collingwood Historical Society has identified and recorded a variety of significant sites with an emphasis on industrial heritage. The sites range from early wool-scouring works along the Yarra, to a boot factory where the author Alan Marshall worked in the 1930's, and upon which he based his acclaimed novel, How Beautiful Are Thy Feet. An excellent web page provides illustrations and detailed information.

Best Audio-Visual Multimedia

Football Stories from Country Victoria
by Malcolm McKinnon and The Victorian Country Football League

The humour, the folklore and the fierce loyalties of country football are ideal as an Audio/Visual subject. This DVD contains 21 short films. The stories on this DVD illustrate yet again that country football arouses a passion so strong that in critical times, it can hold a community together. Also, you can have a lot of laughs.

Best Walk / Tour

Bayside Architectural Trail
by Bayside City Council

There are eight trails and eight maps, each one listing such amenities as public transport routes, cafes and comfort stops. But the most striking things are the 100-plus buildings along the way, which date from the 1840's and range in design from modern homes to Queen Anne houses, colourful bathing boxes, Gothic Revival Churches and the palatial Brighton Town Hall. Where possible, information is given about the architect, the architectural features and the date the place was built. This is an outstanding entry in its category.

Best Print / Publication

The View from Connor's Hill
by Barry Heard

The author of this book is a Vietnam Veteran who turned to writing as therapy for post traumatic stress disorder. We should all be glad that he did, for he is a born story-teller and a faithful observer of the big and little things that give an Australian community its purpose and zest.

Barry Heard's first chapter on his dog is an outstanding piece of writing. Later, he played country football, the descriptions of which are vivid. It is possible that the High Country communities have never been so lovingly portrayed as they are here. As a portrait of this part of Australian life, the book is a valuable memoir of its time.

Best Exhibit / Display

Migration Memories - Robinvale
by Robinvale Network House

About 40 ethnic groups live side by side in the small community of Robinvale. Some of the stories were gathered at the Robinvale multicultural festival in 2007 and also at the town's secondary college, in a procedure which resembled show-and-tell. People were asked to show a possession they cherished from their former lives.

Best Community Research, Registers and Records

The Streets of Hamilton: Western Victoria Australia: a history of the People behind the Names
by John McKay and Hamilton History Centre Inc.

A huge amount of research underpins this large and commendable explanation of Hamilton's street names. It is handsomely produced and is full of interesting biographical and other information. One does not need to live in Hamilton to find it arresting. A photograph accompanies each entry. Most streets took the names of prominent local men, but some were named after the breeds of sheep - a practice which reflects Hamilton's position as a prominent wool centre. We are happy to report that some women also had the distinction of being named - but not many.

Commendations

Best Collaborative / Community Work

Arapiles: a million mountains
by Keith Lockwood

Class Act: Melbourne Workers Theatre 1987-2007
Edited by Glenn D'Cruz

Hastings Memories
Compiled by Susan Rowe, Hastings-Western Port Historical Society Inc.

Best Audio-Visual / Multimedia

Local History on Talking Book
by City of Boroondara, Library Services

Welcome To The Sorrento Museum
by Nepean Historical Society Inc.

Best Walk / Tour

Discovering Portarlington's History: a driving trail
by Lorraine Stokes, Portarlington History Group

Walk Into History 4: Six more great walks in Stonnington
by Di Foster and Steve Stefanopoulos, Malvern Historical Society Inc.

Best Print / Publication

The Lamb Enters the Dreaming: Nathanael Pepper & the Ruptured World
by Robert Kenny

Arthur Boyd: A life
by Darren Bungey

Diversity and Discovery: The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute 1965-1996
by Sir Gustav Nossal

The Emerald Strand: Nineteenth-century Irish-born Manufacturers
by Keith Pescod

Crescendo: Melbourne Symphony Orchestra - Celebrating 100 years
by Stella M. Barber

Best Exhibit / Display

A Celebration of Chinese History
by Bright & District Historical Society

Jewish Museum of Australia
by Jewish Museum of Australia

Best Community Research, Registers and Records

Chartered Scoundrels: A brief history of Port Melbourne hotels
by Pat Grainger, Port Melbourne Historical and Preservation Society

Beersheba: The men of the 4th Light Horse Regiment who charged on the 31st October 1917
by Graeme Massey, History Department, Warracknabeel Secondary College

Port Melbourne 1919-1939
by David Thompson, Port Melbourne Historical and Preservation Society

Useful Links

Information Victoria Bookshop: Local History - Victoria's best bookshop for local histories.
http://www.bookshop.vic.gov.au

Royal Historical Society of Victoria
http://www.historyvictoria.org.au/

Public Record Office Victoria - the archives of the State Government of Victoria.
http://www.prov.vic.gov.au

Awards Archive

Victorian Community History Awards 2009
Victorian Community History Awards 2007
Victorian Community History Awards 2005
Victorian Community History Awards 2004
Victorian Community History Awards 2003
Victorian Community History Awards 2002
Victorian Community History Awards 2001
Victorian Community History Awards 2000
Victorian Community History Awards 1999
Victorian Community History Awards 1998