The 2018 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:

Tuesday 6 March 2018

Tuesday 8 May 2018

Material Culture: Stories from Objects

Presenters:
Sarah Hayes, Deakin University
Margaret Anderson, Old Treasury Building

Convenor:
Margaret Birtley, History Council of Victoria

Click HERE for further information.

Tuesday 12 June 2018

Wikipedia and history

Dr Mary Tomsic, The University of Melbourne 
Justine Clark, co-founder of Parlour; women, equity, architecture
Associate Professor Murray Phillips, The University of Queensland

Convenor:
Pru Mitchell, President of Wikimedia Australia

Click HERE for further information.

Tuesday 10 July 2018

Making Aboriginal histories

Presenters:
Alexandra Roginski, Australian National University
Dr Billy Griffiths, Deakin University
Dr Shannon Faulkhead, Museums Victoria and Monash University

Convenor:
Professor Lynette Russell FRHistS FASSA, Monash University

Click HERE for further information.

Tuesday 28 August 2018

History and Fiction

Presenters:
Dr Linda Weste, The University of Melbourne
Dr Kelly Gardiner, La Trobe University
Dr Ali Alidazeh, Monash University

Convenor:
Dr Kathleen Neal, Monash University

Click HERE for further information.

Tuesday 13 November 2018

Curating the Anzac Centenaries: War, Memory and the Museum

Presenters:
Jean McAuslan, Shrine of Remembrance
Deborah Tout-Smith, Museums Victoria

Convenor:
Professor Alistair Thomson, Monash University

Click HERE for further information.

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.

Update, October 2018: This book won the 2018 Collaborative Community Award in the Victorian Community History Awards. The HCV congratulates the authors and the publisher on their fine achievement.

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)

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 and jointly adopted in July 2019

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. 

The 2016 Making Public Histories seminar series was presented as a joint initiative of State Library Victoria, Monash University and the History Council of Victoria. Here is what was covered.

Thursday 24 March 2016

The Day that Shook Russell Street

Speakers:
Detective Inspector Bernie Rankin, Victoria Police
Geoff Wilkinson OAM, Founding Media Director of the Victorian Police
Martin Green, Learning & Interpretations Manager, National Trust of Australia (Victoria)

Chair:
Associate Professor Seamus O’Hanlon, Monash University

Click HERE to learn more.

Did you miss this seminar? It was kindly recorded by State Library Victoria. Click here to watch the video.

Thursday 21 April 2016

First drafts of History: Rediscovering Victoria's war correspondents

Speakers:
Fay Anderson, Monash University
Garrie Hutchinson, University of Melbourne
Richard Trembath, University of Melbourne

Click HERE to learn more.

Did you miss this seminar? It was kindly recorded by State Library Victoria. Click here to watch the video.

Thursday 18 August 2016

The Role of History Today: in our cities, our institutions and our communities

This seminar was held as a lead-up event to Working History, the 2016 national conference of Professional Historians Australia. 

Speakers:
Lisa Murray, City of Sydney
Chris Johnston, Context Pty Ltd
Andrew May, University of Melbourne

Chair:
Associate Professor Seamus O’Hanlon, Monash University

Click HERE to learn more.

Wednesday 16 November 2016

Bread and stones: historians using and preserving digital sources

Speakers:

Michael Jones, University of Melbourne / Museum Victoria 
Sarah Slade, State Library Victoria 
Daniel Wilksch, Public Record Office Victoria 

Chair:
Owen ONeill, Public Record Office Victoria 

Click HERE to learn more.

Did you miss this seminar? It was kindly recorded by State Library Victoria. Click here to watch the video.

The 2015 Making Public Histories seminar series was presented as a joint initiative of State Library Victoria, Monash University and the History Council of Victoria. Here is what was covered.

Treasures and troves: the secret lives of books

Speakers:
Des Cowley, History of the Book manager, State Library Victoria
Richard Overell, former Rare Books Librarian, Monash University
Dr Anna Welch, curator, State Library Victoria

Thursday 23 July 2015

New directions in making history

Speakers:
Professor Al Thomson, Monash University
Emeritus Professor Graeme Davison AO, Monash University
Sarah Rood, Principal Historian, Way Back When Consulting Historians Pty Ltd
Anne Burrow, Genealogy Librarian, State Library Victoria

Tuesday 29 September 2015

S. T. Gill as eyewitness: art as historical evidence

Chair:
Associate Professor Alison Inglis (The University of Melbourne)

Speakers:
Emeritus Professor Sasha Grishin, Australian National University (and curator of the exhibition, Australian sketchbook: Colonial life and the art of S. T. Gill)
Dr Jan Croggon, Historian, Sovereign Hill Museums Association
Dr Andrew Lemon, professional historian

Thursday 26 November 2015

Melbourne's Alice: Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland as source, artefact and inspiration in art, science and history

Chair:

Dr Michelle Smith, Alfred Deakin Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Deakin University

Speakers:
Dr Wendy Garden, Senior Curator, Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery
Dr Juliet O'Conor, Children's Research Librarian, State Library of Victoria
Dr Nurin Veis, Manager Scienceworks, Museum Victoria

The panel discussing new directions in making history,
at the State Library of Victoria, 23 July 2015. 
Photo credit: Way Back When

The 2014 Making Public Histories seminar series was presented as a joint initiative of State Library Victoria, Monash University and the History Council of Victoria. Here is what was covered.

A land fit for heroes? Shattered Anzacs and the legacy of World War I.

Speakers:
Professor Bruce Scates, Chair of History and Australian Studies, National Centre for Australian Studies, Monash University
Professor Al Thomson, Professor of History, Monash University

Thursday 12 June 2014

The therapeutic imagination and public history: Reflections on trauma and memory. 

Speakers: 
Dr Sean Field, University of Cape Town and former Director of the Centre for Popular Memory
Professor Susannah Radstone, University of South Australia

Thursday 24 July 2014

Worlds Apart: A Comparative History of Responses to AIDS in Australia and the United States. 

Speaker: 
Dr Paul Sendziuk, University of Adelaide

This event is the Annual Lecture of the History Council of Victoria and is presented in conjunction with the AIDS 2014: 20th International AIDS Conference. 

Thursday 7 August 2014

The city and the stage: musical theatre in Melbourne. 

Speaker: 
Dr Peter Wylie Johnston, University of Melbourne

Thursday 25 September 2014

Cultivating Community: garden making and public history.

Speakers: 
Richard Aitken, co-editor of Australian Garden History, author and heritage consultant
Christina Dyson, co-editor of Australian Garden History and heritage consultant
Sharon Willoughby, Manager of Public Programs at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Cranbourne

Thursday 30 October 2014

Oral History in the Digital Age

Speaker:
Professor Michael Frisch, University of Buffalo

Thursday 20 November 2014

Remembering Black Saturday: Five Years On

Speakers:
Liza Dale-Hallett, Senior Curator, Sustainable Futures, Museum Victoria
Dr Robert Kenny, Senior Research Fellow, Alfred Deakin Research Institute, Deakin University