About the History Roadshow program

The History Roadshow is a program of curricula-specific presentations tailored for rural (non-Melbourne) History students in Years 11 and 12 and delivered locally through regional tours by subject experts.

Professor Peter McPhee AM, Professorial Fellow, University of Melbourne, presenting at a History Roadshow tour to Goulburn Valley Grammar School, Shepparton

Objectives and intent

The Roadshow’s primary purpose is to provide VCE History students from rural schools with rich curriculum-related experiences.

The Roadshow tours aim to redress rural disadvantage in schools by providing opportunities for senior secondary History students and their teachers to engage with academic and professional historians. Inspiring presenters will stimulate students’ interest in their areas of study and will offer fresh perspectives to extend students’ and teachers’ understanding of historical themes. Roadshow tours will enrich students’ learning opportunities and enhance their engagement with History subjects. The Roadshow aims to help build life-long enthusiasm for the study of history.

Targeted recipients

The Roadshow’s primary audience is students of History in Units 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the VCE (Years 11 and 12) and their teachers at schools in rural Victoria. These students lack easy access to the many enrichment activities available to their peers in Melbourne. Feedback from teachers regularly states that they are not able to organise trips to Melbourne given timetable constraints, distance and the considerable costs involved in transporting students to the city; they lack ready access to academics and the time to design a suitable program for their students. In addition, teachers in rural areas lack easy access themselves to the professional development that comes through contact with peers, subject specialists and academic experts.

Additional recipients of the History Roadshow (from 2015 onwards) are Year 9 and 10 students who are invited to attend a general-interest session (offered as part of each tour) on career pathways that open up from History studies. The session will demonstrate formally to students that History subjects (and Humanities subjects in general) have professional employment outcomes.

About

The History Council of Victoria Incorporated (HCV) is the peak body for history in the Australian state of Victoria. Its vision is to connect Victorians with history and to inspire engagement with the past, their identity and the world today. The HCV champions the work of historians and the value of history. It recognises that history can be written about any place, any person, any period. The HCV advocates why history matters.

Events

Our calendar lists all upcoming public events arranged by the History Council of Victoria (HCV), plus events in Victoria, Australia, that are added by our Friends and Members.

If you are organising an event that relates to History, we encourage you to publicise it on our website.

Advocacy

As the peak body for history in Victoria, the History Council makes submissions on current issues. In doing this, the HCV Board is guided by its Advocacy Policy and by the Value of History, a statement developed co-operatively by the HCV and the History Councils of New South Wales, South Australia and Western Australia.

Prizes

Since 2015, the HCV has been pleased to sponsor the Years 9 and 10 category of the Historical Fiction Competition organised by the History Teachers' Association of Victoria.

Support

Ways to support us:

Subscribe to our free newsletter: https://www.historycouncilvic.org.au/subscribe
Endorse the Value of History statement: https://www.historycouncilvic.org.au/endorse
Find us on socials: Twitter / Facebook / YouTube

Summary

The HCV was formed as an advisory body in 2001 and incorporated in 2003. It comprises representatives from cultural and educational institutions and heritage bodies; history teachers and curriculum advisors; academic and professional historians; and local, Indigenous, community and specialist history organisations.

As the peak body for history, the HCV has both ‘outward-looking’ roles (including advocacy and representation to government and the wider community, consultation, community education, and networking with allied interest groups) and ‘inward-looking’ roles (including member support, information dissemination, and networking between members).

Credits

The History Council of Victoria acknowledges the State Library of Victoria and the Public Record Office Victoria for supply of the archival images that appear on this website.

We acknowledge the National Film and Sound Archive for the right to use of the video footage on the home page, titled "Melbourne: Life in Australia (1966)".

Image credits

Italian sailors on ship at Port Melbourne 1938, Argus Newspaper Collection of Photographs, State Library of Victoria
Chinese procession in Collins near Elizabeth Street 1901, Harvie & Sutcliffe, photographers, State Library of Victoria
People’s homes, Aboriginal station Coranderrk 1878, Fred Kruger Photographer, State Library of Victoria
Chinese nurses at Children’s Hospital under scholarship 1947, Argus Newspaper Collection of Photographs, State Library of Victoria
Ladies physical culture class VRI Melbourne c1931, Public Record Office Victoria VPRS 12903/P0001, 011/02
Melbourne Cup, Derby and Oaks Day, Flemington Racecourse 1936, Public Record Office Victoria VPRS 12903/P0001/4802, 372/30
Flinders Street viaduct at foot of Market Street with advertisement for McRobertson’s Chocolate on bridge, Public Record Office Victoria VPRS 12800/P0003, ADV 1342