Recent News

Media release: Royal Historical Society of Victoria announces new Executive Director
On behalf of the Council of the Royal Historical Society of Victoria (RHSV), President, Robert Pascoe, is pleased to announce...
Read More

Suspension of Victorian Community History Awards
The Victorian government funded the Victorian Community History Awards (VCHA) from its inception in 1998 to 2024. Sadly, the government...
Read More

National Trust of Australia (Victoria) and Royal Historical Society of Victoria Issue Joint Statement on Victorian Planning Reforms 
The RHSV, in a joint statement with the National Trust of Australia (Victoria), call on the Victorian Government to ensure...
Read More

Movers and shakers at the 2025 AGM
A big congratulations to the movers and shakers announced at our AGM on Tuesday. Our first announcement is a big...
Read More
Read More News

Spotlight

Explore the casebooks of the first Resident Judge for the District of Port Phillip

Dive into these invaluable records

What's on at the RHSV

See More Events

The Burying of Melbourne

Curated by David Thompson. Designed by Susan Fitzgerald. - 4 September 2025 to March 2026

In the mid-1850s, some areas of the Melbourne CBD were buried under a layer of clay at the direction of Melbourne City Council, a rather extraordinary event that until recently had been largely forgotten. The Burying of Melbourne exhibition tells the story of the events leading up to the burial event, the consequences of the filling, and looks at some of the archaeology discovered beneath the clay.

Upcoming Victorian History Events

Submit your local history event
Scroll

Collection Spotlight

Visit the Collection Lounge
A pale blue handwritten ledger from October 17, 1854, showing financial accounts between Jo George Mugleston and the owners of the Eureka Hotel, the Bentleys. The document lists services rendered, cash loans, and bowling alley fees, with monetary amounts in pounds/shillings/pence format. This ledger is dated the same day of the historic Eureka Hotel riot that saw the hotel destroyed by fire.
Grayscale image showing Cremorne Gardens with statues
The Ancient Mariners of Victoria Logo

Featured Books

Yarra Birrarung: Artists, Writers and the River by Dr Judith Buckrich
Yarra Birrarung: Artists, Writers and the River is an illustrated history of life on the Yarra. Through the lens of artists and writers, the book explores how life has...
Order Yours

Granville Stapylton: Australia Felix 1836, second in command to Major Mitchell. By Gregory C. Eccleston
Assistant Surveyor Granville Stapylton’s intimate journal, written while serving as Second-in-Command in Major Mitchell’s expedition in ‘Australia Felix’, in 1836, is here published as a faithful transcription from the...
Order Yours

Find Your Local Historical Society

See list of societies

Our Partners

Scroll