As the centenaries of the Great War come to an end, two leading Melbourne museum curators reflect on how museums have represented the experience of Australians at war over the last few years.

As Director of Exhibitions and Collections at Melbourne’s Shrine of Remembrance, Jean McAuslan has played a central role in shaping the Shrine’s response to the Anzac centenaries.

As Deputy Head of Humanities (Exhibitions) at Museums Victoria, Deborah Tout-Smith was Lead Curator for the World War I: Love & Sorrow exhibition at Melbourne Museum.

Facilitator Alistair Thomson from History at Monash University is author of Anzac Memories: Living with the Legend (1994 and 2013) and was a member of the advisory team for Love and Sorrow.

Together they will discuss: How have museums responded to the challenges and opportunities posed by the Great War centenaries? How have museum visitors experienced the war centenary exhibitions? To what extent and in what ways have museums sought to reshape what we know of and how we respond to that war and its impacts? 

The audience at this seminar will have the opportunity to present their own insights and to ask questions of the panellists.

Please book your seat at this free event by clicking the RSVP button at the foot of this page. 

With thanks to the series sponsors, Monash University Publishing and the Monash University History Program:

and to the organising partners:

The seminar is part of an ongoing series, Making Public Histories, that is offered jointly by the Monash University History Program, the History Council of Victoria and the Old Treasury Building. Each seminar aims to explore issues and approaches in making public histories. The seminars are open, free of charge, to anyone interested in the creation and impact of history in contemporary society. Click HERE to learn about other events in the series.

Monash University's Arts faculty is delighted to invite you to the Louis Green Memorial Lecture, an annual public lecture on intellectual and social history in honour of the late Monash University historian Louis Green.

This year, Alison Lewis, Professor of German at the University of Melbourne, explores some little-known facets of the ‘softer’ exercise of power in the GDR and, in particular, instances of what Michel Foucault called a “micro-physics of power” in the last decade of SED rule.

The lecture will be presented on Wednesday 31 October from 6 pm to 7.30 pm at State Library Victoria. Admission is free, but bookings are essential via this website.

2 March 2018

The History Council of Victoria (HCV) is pleased to advise that Australian Scholarly Publishing has released a history of state secondary schooling in Victoria by John Andrews and Deborah Towns.

The authors have prepared two separate publications:

• ‘A secondary education for all’?: A History of State Secondary Schooling in Victoria, and
  
  
• Unlocking the Past: What Stories Does Your School Have to Reveal?

The HCV commissioned the authors to write a centenary history of post-primary state education in Victoria, then provided support to Australian Scholarly for its publication. The resulting volumes were released in late February 2018 with a foreword by Dr Adrian Jones OAM, a former Chair of the HCV.

Australian Scholarly has kindly offered the HCV Friends a substantial discount on the recommended retail price for each book. The discounted prices ($30 and $16.50) include postage within Australia.

Use this order form to obtain your own copies of these two significant volumes.

Polish Your Presentation Skills Workshop - HTAV Members Event

An exclusive offer for Friends of the HCV

When:            Tuesday, 13 February 2018, 4.00 pm – 6.30 pm

Where:           Melbourne Grammar School

Presenter:      Dr Deb Hull, Executive Officer of the HTAV

Cost:               $25.00

Registrations close:  Wednesday, 7 February 2018

Click HERE to download the booking form.

About the Workshop...

Want to be a more memorable and charismatic public speaker?

Sure, you can talk to students and close colleagues. But perhaps you still get nervous about presenting to your peers. Or you’d like to present at a conference but you’re hesitating. Maybe you have (or aspire to) a leadership role where you need to present to large gatherings of people

Join Dr Hull for a workshop which will improve your skills and banish your nerves, and all without losing your own authentic style. You will cover the three pillars of great oral presentations:

• Organising your content so that your audience absorbs and remembers it.
• Choosing your non-verbal communication.
• Using visual content to enhance (and not compete with) your narrative.

It will be fun, fast-paced and relevant. You WILL use what you learn. And by the time you leave you’ll have your next speech, workshop or lesson plan completely sorted!

Just a 10 minute tram trip from Flinders Street Station, this event is not to be missed.

On 19 October 2017, friends and supporters of the HCV gathered at the Old Treasury Building in Melbourne for the official launch of the Friends of the History Council of Victoria.

The HCV Chair, Dr Liz Rushen, welcomed guests and introduced the guest speaker, Professor Emeritus Stuart Macintyre AO, FAHA, FASSA, the HCV’s first Chair and one of Australia’s most influential historians. Professor Macintyre is currently the Chair of the Heritage Council of Victoria. His talk was entitled 'History and Heritage'; here is the abstract: 

Heritage is in the news as Melbourne’s growth threatens places that people want to keep. History, an awareness and appreciation of the past, receives less attention. How might Victorians make more of their history?

A vote of thanks was then proposed by HCV Board member Garrie Hutchinson. 

LISTEN NOW! If you missed the event, or want to hear the speeches again, you can listen via this link:

L-R above: Garrie Hutchinson, Dr Liz Rushen (current HCV Chair), Diane Gardiner AM (past Chair of the HCV) and Professor Stuart Macintyre AO (inaugural HCV Chair).

The launch was part of History Week in Victoria.

These photos from the event capture the enthusiasm and attentiveness of everyone on the night:

The 2017 Making Public Histories seminar series was presented as a joint initiative of Monash University, the Old Treasury Building and the History Council of Victoria.

The series was generously supported by the three partner organisations and sponsored by the School of Philosophical, Historical and International Studies at Monash University. Gifts for the speakers were kindly donated by Old Treasury Building and Monash University Publishing.

Here is an outline of the seminars:

Performing Refugee History: Voices from Contemporary Australia

Speakers / performers:
Michael Green
Stephanie Arnold 

Convenor: 
Professor Alistair Thomson, Monash University

Click here to learn more

Tuesday 2 May 2017

Reinterpreting Heritage Houses: Re-imagining Rippon Lea

Speakers:
Martin Green, National Trust of Australia (Vic)
Emeritus Sir John Monash Distinguished Professor Graeme Davison AO, Monash University
Dr Linda Young, Deakin University

Convenor: 
Professor Alistair Thomson, Monash University

Click here to learn more

Tuesday 6 June 2017

Making Digital Aural History: Australian Lives: An Intimate History  

Speakers:
Anisa Puri, President, Oral History NSW
Professor Alistair Thomson, Monash University

Convenor: 
Professor Christina Twomey, Monash University

Click here to learn more

Monday 24 July 2017

Slavery and its Legacies

Speakers:
Professor Manisha Sinha, Draper Chair in American History, University of Connecticut
Dr Clare Corbould, Australian Research Council Future Fellow, Monash University

Convenor: 
Professor Christina Twomey, Monash University

Click here to learn more

Tuesday 3 October 2017

The Medieval Past in Melbourne

Speakers:
Professor Stephanie Trigg, The University of Melbourne
Dr Felix Nobis, Monash University
Dr Helen Young, La Trobe University)

Convenor:
Dr Kathleen Neal, Monash University

Click here to learn more

Tuesday 5 December 2017

1917: Melbourne at War

Speakers:
Professor Joy Damousi, The University of Melbourne
Adjunct Professor Judith Smart, RMIT University

Convenor: 
Professor Alistair Thomson, Monash University

Click here to learn more

The History Council of Victoria (HCV) has completed a number of projects that promote history and heritage. These include:

Advocacy about current issues to decision-makers in government (ongoing)

Drought Stories: A Spoken and Visual History of the Current Drought in Victoria, 2009-2010

One Place, Many Stories, a digital learning resource for middle to upper primary students, 2011-2016

Sponsorship of the annual Historical Fiction Competition for Year 9 and Year 10 students, since 2015

The HCV also delivers an annual program of events, including:

Annual Lecture, sharing fresh thinking and new evidence on an historical topic, since 2004

History Roadshow for VCE history students in rural and regional Victoria, with support from the Department of Education and Training since 2006

Making Public Histories, a series of free seminars, since 2008

Each project requires resources, so please contact us if you are able to support our work or would like to discuss commissioning a new project.