Deborah Tout-Smith

Deborah Tout-Smith joined the History Council of Victoria in November 2021, representing Museums Victoria. Deborah is Senior Curator, Home & Community, in the History & Technology Department of Museums Victoria. She curates the Home & Community and Military History collections, and co-curates the Clothing & Textiles and Childhood collections.

Deborah is passionate about the documentation, research and interpretation of history. She has curated major exhibitions including World War I: Love & Sorrow (2014) and The Melbourne Story (with Liza Dale-Hallett, 2008). She is currently researching the use of Melbourne’s Royal Exhibition Building by the RAAF and WAAF during World War II, building on the project https://museumsvictoria.com.au/reb/stories/wartime-stories-from-the-royal-exhibition-building/

Deborah is a Member of the Executive Board of the International Council of Museums (ICOM) and is a member of the Advisory Board, Australian Centre for Architectural History, Urban and Cultural Heritage (ACAHUCH), University of Melbourne.

Deborah’s recent publications include Museums, Technology and the Future of Cultural Heritage (ed.) with E Nardi and J Steiger (Anicia, Rome, 2024); Museums, Collections and Communities: Reflections on the Life of Martin Hallett (ed.) with E Whitworth and M Anderson (Museums Victoria Publishing, Melbourne, 2022); Open Horizons: Ancient Greek Journeys and Connections (ed.) with A Visiliki Karapanagiotou and M McFadzean (Museums Victoria Publishing, Melbourne 2022 and National Archaeological Museum, Greece, 2023); Museums, History and the Intimate Experience of the Great War: Love and Sorrow (ed.) with Joy Damousi and Bart Ziino (Routledge, 2021); and World War I: 100 Years (ed.), Beiträge zur Museologie series, vol. 8 (2021).

Deborah holds a Master of Arts in Public History from Monash University.

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
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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