Recent News

Introducing Claudia, our new Images Collection Officer

Welcome Claudia Donovan, the newest member of the RHSV team! She will be joining us mid-May to start her new...

Congratulations 2024 Victorian Community History Award winners

Congratulations to everyone who took part in the 2024 Victorian Community History Awards! We extend our heartfelt thanks for your...

Welcome Joanna and Oliver!

Our two newest staff members will be joining us next week. Oliver Sperlich, who will be filling a brand new...

Have you ever thought you’d like to work in a bokshop?

The RHSV bookshop is getting more successful every year - in 2024 our sales increased by 50% on 2023 which...

Spotlight

'Letters to a Critic' wins Premier’s History Awards

Australian art through the letters of leading critic Alan McCulloch

Described by judges as “an artwork in itself”, Letters to a Critic: Alan McCulloch’s World of Art by Rodney James took out the main prize at the Victorian Community History Awards for 2024. Author Rodney James has mined the rich archival treasure of the McCulloch Papers to create a lively combination of biography and illustrated book of letters. Witty, irreverent, profound and heartfelt, these previously unpublished letters, critical essays, illustrations and works of art provide a unique insight into the art and lives of Australia’s most famed art personalities as they simultaneously reveal McCulloch’s role as critic, gallery director and mentor.

Get your copy and join the conversation

What's on at the RHSV

The rise of public health engineering in Victoria 1925-1940
May 20 @ 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm
The rise of public health engineering in Victoria 1925-1940: The Sewerage Districts’ Acts 1915, 1925 and 1928, and the consu...
Historical Society Network Leaders: Victoria-wide Conference and Networking Day 2025
May 23 @ 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
The RHSV is delighted to host an opportunity for leaders from the diverse historical society networks throughout Victoria to come ...
RHSV AGM + 2025 Weston Bate Oration: Professor Emeritus Graeme Davison
May 27 @ 5:00 pm - 7:30 pm
Melbourne from the Air From the balloon to the drone, and from the Exhibition Building viewing platform to Skydeck, Melburnians ha...

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YARRA BIRRARUNG: ARTISTS, WRITERS AND THE RIVER

Curated by Dr Judith Buckrich. Designed by Daisy Searls. From 28 November 2024 to July 2025 - 28 November 2024 - July 2025

This exhibition is an illustrated history of life on the Yarra. Through the lens of artists and writers, the book explores how life has flourished on the river, including recreation, industry and land use, as well as infrastructure, natural history and social history.

Upcoming Victorian History Events

Submit your local history event

Malvern Walk: Explore Stonnington’s Rich History
May 14 @ 10:30 am - 12:00 pm
Starting at the iconic clock tower of the Malvern Town Hall, you’ll embark on a captivating journey through the heart of Malvern...
Labassa Open Day
May 18 @ 10:30 am - 4:00 pm
Although more than 700 people have lived at Labassa, it has miraculously survived with most of its opulent Victorian era decoratio...
Friends of La Trobe’s Cottage Reception
May 19 @ 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm
La Trobe Society Members and Friends are invited to attend the Friends of La Trobe's Cottage Reception to meet the recently appoin...